A Brief History On September 20, 1835, Brazilian rebels captured Porto Alegre, starting a rebellion that lasted almost 10 years called The Ragamuffin War. The longest war against the Imperial Brazilian government (and second bloodiest), the Ragamuffin war raged between southern, rural “Ragamuffins” or “Gauchos” (cowboys) that wanted a Republican form of government against the northern portion of the country. Digging Deeper Despite an offer of amnesty and peace in 1840, the rebels continued the fight even though no realistic chance of winning existed. The famed Italian revolutionary and uniter, Giuseppe Garibaldi, came to assist the rebels in 1839 and…
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A Brief History On September 8, 1923, the biggest peacetime disaster in U.S. Navy history occurred when commodore Captain Edward Watson of Destroyer Squadron 11 (abbreviated as Desron 11) ignored his radio navigation device and led 9 of his 14 ships to run aground at Honda Point in the Santa Barbara Channel in California, with 7 of the Clemson-class destroyers sinking. Not only were 7 ships wrecked, the remaining 2 were left damaged, and 23 men lost their lives, with many more injured. Capt. Watson accepted blame for the disaster and was punished with the removal of his seniority. …
A Brief History Today, in Yemen, an accidental explosion of munitions killed 22 soldiers from the United Arab Emirates in Yemen. The soldiers are part of a joint Arab force to fight Shiite rebels. Digging Deeper Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Have you ever been to Yemen? If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons! Your readership is much appreciated! Historical Evidence For more information, please see… Human Rights Watch. All Quiet on…
A Brief History On August 30, 1967, the United States Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by a vote of 69-11, the first African-American so confirmed. Digging Deeper Marshall, formerly the Chief Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and appointed a Federal Appeals Court judge by President Kennedy in 1961, had been working as United States Solicitor General (appointed by President Johnson in 1965), the first African-American to hold that position. It was as counsel for the NAACP that Marshall earned his reputation, successfully…
A Brief History On August 26, 2014, we ran a list of 10 Extremely Effective Weapons That Don’t Require Gunpowder or Explosives. This year, we will propose another 10 such weapons that have proven themselves on the battlefield or in self defense against people and animals. (Note: The order listed has no significance.) Digging Deeper 10. Ram, 1st Use Unknown. Useful against enemy fortifications, this can be a simple log carried by 1 or more people and used to batter down doors, walls, vehicles, ships and anything else in the way. For centuries, ships were equipped with rams on the…