American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins.

The Siege of Vicksburg was a pivotal military campaign during the American Civil War, taking place from May 18 to July 4, 1863. It was a decisive battle for control of the Mississippi River and is often cited as one of the turning points in the war.

Strategic Importance: Vicksburg, Mississippi, was strategically important because it sat on a high bluff overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River. Control of Vicksburg allowed for control of river traffic, which was crucial for the movement of troops and supplies.
Union Strategy: The Union, under Major General Ulysses S. Grant, aimed to split the Confederacy in two and gain control of the Mississippi River. This was part of the broader Anaconda Plan, which sought to suffocate the South by cutting off its resources.

Grant’s Maneuvers: Grant initially attempted several direct assaults and maneuvers to capture Vicksburg, but these were repelled by Confederate forces under Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton. Grant then adopted a strategy of encircling the city.
Siege Tactics: Starting on May 18, 1863, Grant began a formal siege, cutting off supplies and bombarding the city continuously. Union forces dug trenches and constructed fortifications around Vicksburg, isolating the defenders.

Civilian Hardship: The civilian population of Vicksburg suffered greatly during the siege. With food and supplies running low, residents were forced to live in caves dug into the hillsides to escape the constant bombardment.
Military Desperation: Confederate troops also faced dire conditions, with dwindling supplies and no hope of reinforcements. Disease and starvation took a heavy toll on the defenders.

Surrender: On July 4, 1863, after 47 days of siege, Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Grant. This victory, coupled with the Union victory at Gettysburg the previous day, marked a significant turning point in the war.
Strategic Impact: The fall of Vicksburg effectively split the Confederacy in two and gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. It was a major blow to Confederate morale and a significant boost for the Union war effort.

Grant’s Reputation: The successful campaign solidified Ulysses S. Grant’s reputation as one of the Union’s most capable generals, eventually leading to his appointment as General-in-Chief of all Union armies.
Commemoration: The Vicksburg National Military Park was established to preserve the battlefield and commemorate the siege. It serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made and the strategic importance of this campaign in the broader context of the Civil War.

A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.

Pluto has five known moons. These moons were discovered by various astronomical observations and imaging techniques. Here is some information about each of Pluto’s moons:

Charon: Charon is the largest moon of Pluto and was discovered in 1978 by James Christy. It is the only moon of Pluto that was known before the launch of the New Horizons spacecraft. Charon is about half the size of Pluto, making it the largest moon relative to its parent planet in the solar system. It has a diameter of approximately 1,212 kilometers (753 miles) and is locked in synchronous rotation with Pluto, always showing the same face to its parent planet.

Nix and Hydra: Nix and Hydra were discovered in 2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope. Nix is about 42 kilometers (26 miles) in diameter, while Hydra is slightly larger, with a diameter of about 55 kilometers (34 miles). Both moons are irregularly shaped and have highly reflective surfaces. They are located between the orbits of Charon and Pluto.

Kerberos: Kerberos is the fourth moon of Pluto and was discovered in 2011 by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is relatively small, with an estimated diameter of about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles). Kerberos has a highly elongated shape, resembling a dog bone, and it orbits Pluto in the same plane as the other moons.

Styx: Styx is the smallest and innermost moon of Pluto. It was also discovered in 2011 by the Hubble Space Telescope. Styx is irregularly shaped and has a diameter of approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles). It orbits Pluto in a circular path outside the orbit of Charon.

These moons are believed to have formed as a result of a collision between Pluto and another large celestial body in the early stages of the solar system’s formation. They play an important role in our understanding of the Pluto system and provide insights into the complex dynamics of small celestial bodies in the outer regions of the solar system.

The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.

Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.

Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria.

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The Siege of Vicksburg begins.

From the spring of 1862 until July 1863, during the American Civil War, Union forces waged a campaign to take the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi, which lay on the east bank of the Mississippi River, halfway between Memphis to the north and New Orleans to the south. The Siege of Vicksburg divided the Confederacy and proved the military genius of Union General Ulysses S. Grant.

Vicksburg was one of the Union’s most successful campaigns of the war. Although General Ulysses S. Grant’s first attempt to take the city failed in the winter of 1862-63, he renewed his efforts in the spring. Admiral David Porter had run his flotilla past the Vicksburg defenses in early May as Grant marched his army down the west bank of the river opposite Vicksburg, crossed back to Mississippi and drove toward Jackson. After defeating a Confederate force near Jackson, Grant turned back to Vicksburg. On May 16, he defeated a force under General John C. Pemberton at Champion Hill. Pemberton retreated back to Vicksburg, and Grant sealed the city by the end of May. In three weeks, Grant’s men marched 180 miles, won five battles and captured some 6,000 prisoners.

Grant made some attacks after bottling Vicksburg but found the Confederates well entrenched. Preparing for a long siege, his army constructed 15 miles of trenches and enclosed Pemberton’s force of 29,000 men inside the perimeter. It was only a matter of time before Grant, with 70,000 troops, captured Vicksburg. Attempts to rescue Pemberton and his force failed from both the east and west, and conditions for both military personnel and civilians deteriorated rapidly. Many residents moved to tunnels dug from the hillsides to escape the constant bombardments. Pemberton surrendered on July 4, and President Abraham Lincoln wrote that the Mississippi River “again goes unvexed to the sea.”

The Seven Years’ War begins after Great Britain declares war on France.

SEVEN YEARS’ WAR. 1756–1763. All four of the major European wars between 1689 and 1763 also involved conflict among the imperial powers in North America and the West Indies. The first three began in Europe and spread across the Atlantic. The final conflict in this sequence was unique in that it began in the Ohio Valley and then spread to the European Continent. Known, confusingly, in America as “the” French and Indian War, this conflict is known in Europe by its duration, the roughly seven years between 18 May 1756 and 10 February 1763.

Although Britain had hoped to confine to North America its fight to remove what it considered to be French encroachments on lands it claimed in the Ohio Valley, events beyond its control ensured that this would not happen. Since 1689, Britain had followed a national security policy of joining with other European powers to curb the efforts of France to dominate the Continent. Pursuing this policy required Britain’s leaders to strike a balance between committing troops to campaigns against French armies and crippling the French economy by using its naval superiority to cut off France’s overseas trade while simultaneously subsidizing its allies to do the actual fighting on the Continent. By the middle of the eighteenth century, this “blue-water strategy” of relying on allies and the Royal Navy had become more feasible. French overseas commerce had grown into a substantial part of the overall French economy, while despite the tug of the Hanoverian connection on George II, there was a growing reluctance on the part of British politicians to be drawn into struggles on the European Continent. Britain had supported Austria with money and troops during the War of the Austrian Succession) and was trying to re-knit an alliance structure that would keep the balance of power stable through money and diplomacy.

France, too, wanted to concentrate on events overseas, but both powers were drawn into a European war when Frederick II of Prussia attacked Saxony in an effort to preempt a new grand alliance of Austria, Russia, and a reluctant France from squeezing him back to being a secondary power. Britain had no choice but to ally with Frederick and send troops and subsidies to the Continent. Although the British army initially performed badly in Germany, Frederick managed to hold off encirclement by hard marching and heavy casualties. British performance improved, culminating in a tactical triumph over the French at Minden on 1 August 1759, but by that time the bulk of Britain’s money, troops, and attention had been shifted to North America. The death of the anti-Prussian czarina of Russia on 6 January 1762 ultimately broke the alliance and saved Frederick. After several years of frustration in North America, the combination of British naval superiority and a series of slow but steady land campaigns that culminated in James Wolfe’s lucky victory at the Plains of Abraham in Quebec on 13 September 1759 capped an annus mirabilus that left Britain dominant at sea and in North America.

Even before the Peace of Paris ratified Britain’s tremendous success, its leaders were grappling with the problems of how to pay the expenses incurred during the war and how to reorder the newly expanded empire. Their choices precipitated the War for American Independence.

Seven Years’ War – Dictionary definition of Seven Years’ War | Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary

Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany during the First Crusade.

Forty five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school board member in Michigan at the Bath School.