The long road to a special relationship took a big step today. In 1782, representatives from the US and Great Britain (NOT "England", as a certain incompetent in The White House just referred to it) signed the preliminary agreement which became the Treaty of Paris. Thus endeth the American Revolution.
Things in New Orleans are about to get confusing, and for once it isn't the alcohol-fueled madness of Mardi Gras. In 1803, the Spanish transfer the Louisiana Territory to the control of the French. Be warned- it won't stay there very long, as the pens are being sharpened for another transfer, this time to the US. And it'll stay there, except for the 4 years of unpleasantness in the 1860s.
Remember yesterday, speaking of the Civil War, when JB Hood and his army slept while a Union force slipped away under their noses? And how annoyed Hood was? Well he sure teaches his army a lesson today: That same Union command, under Schofield is trying to get to the main army at Nashville. They're not having a lot of luck getting away, so they dig in around the town of Franklin. Hood, who has gotten it into his head that his troops are afraid to attack, decides to charge right into the mouths of their guns. Some people refer to it as the "Pickett's Charge of the West". And the results are approximately the same. Hood's army loses a third of its strength (not counting those who presumably desert, as morale isn't the greatest) and also a number of generals- among them Pat Cleburne, who was possibly the best officer in that army, and could have staked a claim to best division commander in the Confederacy. No matter. The Union forces take advantage of the whole bloody mess to slip away again, and this time make it to Nashville, where George Thomas, overall Union commander is preparing to deal with Hood. When that comes- and it's getting closer- it's gonna be even uglier for the South.
In 1939, the Soviet Union sends forces across the border into Finland, expecting to get whatever-the-hell-it-is-they-want in short order. The Finns have other ideas. Yeah, as usual Goliath beats David, but Goliath gets enough of a beat-down to be pretty humiliated. And in this case, David survives, and comes back the later with a bigger friend to try again. And with that analogy beaten into submission, we'll move on.
The next year, a marriage takes place between Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Later, in a precursor of the crap that's now called "reality television", they film a fictional show about their married life. It's fake of course, and was intended to be seen that way, unlike "reality" tv which is fake but intended to convince the dumber among us that it's unscripted.
In 1954, Ann Elizabeth Hodges of Alabama has a rather bizarre day. She was lying on her couch napping when at 2:46 p.m. (exact time coming in ten minutes), she gets a meteorite right in the side. She was okay, but still. She remains the only person to ever be injured by a piece of space debris, and one of only two people to ever be hit by one.
Good timing! I'm done with this, so we can celebrate Ann's big moment together! She'll miss it, what with being dead and all, but it's still cool.
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