Early on the morning of 8 January the British attacked General Jackson’s earthworks. General Packenham’s infantry numbered about 8,000 out of a total force of 11,000. He moved his columns forward while it was still dark to get close to the Americans without being seen. But the element of surprise was lost when a junior officer forgot to bring scaling ladders. When he returned with the ladders it was too late, the Americans could see them. The brigade under the command of General Gibbs attacked the left and center of Jackson’s line. But the American artillery tore large holes in the British line. A regiment of highlanders was sent to help Gibbs but suffered tremendous casualties under the American rifle and musket fire. The British second in command, General Gibbs, was killed on the battlefield. General Pakenham, the overall commander, was shot and killed as he rallied his soldiers. The third in command of British forces, General Lambert, finally called off the assault. The British lost 2,057 men while the Americans lost only 71. The British were veterans of the Napoleonic War and were well experienced and fought bravely but could not break the American defense system.
Fort St. Philip was located on the east bank of the Mississippi river. It protected New Orleans from any river approach to the city. The Americans took over the fort, originally built by the Spanish, in 1808. It was rebuilt with bricks and had two facing the river. The bastions were where most of the fort's twenty guns were mounted. The fort was attacked at the same time General Pakenham led his infantry attack on Jackson's earthworks. The fort was by five British warships for over a week. Finally, on 18 January 1815 the British fleet withdrew. They were damaged but had been unable to do much damage to the fort.
As the gunships retreated on January 18th, the British soldiers were recalled to their transport ships. They were required to leave eighteen badly wounded men, two of whom were officers. In their haste they left fourteen artillery pieces and a large quantity of cannon shot. One of the two medical personnel left to take care of the British wounded gave General Jackson a letter from General Lambert. In his letter Lambert stated he had given up all further operations against New Orleans. He asked too that his men be protected and cared for. Jackson had given thought to pursuing the retreating British. But he decided not to risk any of his men's lives needlessly. He thought the lives of ten British soldiers were not worth the loss of one of his own men.
As General Jackson stated in his letter to the Secretary of War, he was not convinced the British had given up on trying to take the Louisiana territory by force. By Jackson's the British had lost over four thousand men either dead, wounded or who had deserted. Jackson left infantry units to guard the earthworks and the Villere plantation should the British return. He brought the rest of his army back to New Orleans on 20 January 1815.
Tlazolteotl
Tlazolteotl (or "Tlaçolteotl") is an Aztec goddess. She is the goddess of purification, steam bath, midwives, sin and adulterers. In Nahuatl, the word "tlazolli" means vice and diseases. Thus, Tlazolteotl was a goddess of filth (sin), vice and sexual misdeeds. However, she was also a purification goddess. Her dual nature is seen in her epithets; "Tlaelquani" ('she who eats filth [sin]') and "Tlazolmiquiztli" ('the death caused by lust'), and Ixcuina or Ixcuinan ('she of two faces'). Her sisters include Tiacapan (the first born), Teicu (the younger sister), Tlaco (the middle sister) and Xocotzin (the youngest sister).
She is the mother of Centeotl and Yum-Kax, the Maya maize god.
Washington Navy Yard shooting
On September 16, 2013, Aaron Alexis, a lone man armed with a shotgun, killed twelve people and injured fourteen others in a mass shooting at the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) inside the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, D.C. The attack happened at around 8:20 a.m. in Building 197. Alexis was shot dead by police after he shot at them.
It was the second-deadliest mass murder on a U.S. military base after the Fort Hood shooting in November 2009, and the deadliest mass murder in the Washington metropolitan area since the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Looper (movie)
Looper is a 2012 American science fiction action-thriller movie directed and written by Rian Johnson. It stars Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, and Jeff Daniels. It was released to positive reviews on September 28, 2012. Critic Roger Ebert gave the movie 3.5/4 stars. It won nine awards and was nominated for twenty-six.
Roman house
Roman houses were of several types. Those in Rome were of at least three different types.
Ordinary people lived in apartment blocks called "Insulae", a kind of apartment building. It housed most people of lower- or middle-class status (the plebs). The wealthiest from the upper-middle class (the equites) had their own homes.
Insulae were of poor quality, but they did have running water and sanitation. Rooms could be owned or rented. They were built in timber, mud brick, and later primitive concrete. They were restricted in height to about 20 metres.
Fires and collapses happened. Among his many business interests, Marcus Licinius Crassus speculated in real estate and owned numerous "insulae" in the city. When one collapsed from poor construction, Cicero said that Crassus was happy that he could charge higher rents for a new building than the collapsed one.
Houses of the rich and upper classes were lavish. The atrium was the most important part of the house. It was where guests were greeted. The atrium was open in the centre, surrounded at least in part by porticoes with high ceilings, that often contained only a little furniture to give the effect of a large space. In the centre was a square roof opening in which rainwater could come, draining inwards from the slanted tiled roof. There were kitchens, bedrooms, a dining room, and a number of open rooms.
The master's office was placed so that the master could see what others were doing. The "domus" was not just a house; it was a place of business as well.
Servants would use a servants' entrance, not the main entrance. Slaves could not leave the house without permission of the master.
A Roman villa was a Roman country house built for the upper classes. There were two kinds of villas. The "villa urbana", was a country seat in easy reach of Rome (or another city). The "villa rustica" was a farm-house estate, like the later English country house. It was occupied by servants who ran the estate.
In the Empire, there was a concentration of Imperial villas near the Gulf of Naples, on the Isle of Capri, at Monte Circeo on the coast and at Antium (Anzio). Wealthy Romans escaped the summer heat in the hills round Rome, especially around Frascati (such as Hadrian's Villa). Cicero had at least seven villas. The oldest of these was near Arpinum, which he inherited. Pliny the Younger had three or four, of which the example near Laurentium is the best known from his descriptions.
Large villas were important to the Roman economy. They dominated the Po valley, Campania, and Sicily, and were also found in Gaul. Villas were centres of mining, pottery, or horse raising. Villas specializing in shipping olive oil to Roman legions in Germany were a feature of the southern Iberian province of Hispania Baetica. Some luxurious villas have been excavated in North Africa in Africa Province and Numidia, or Fishbourne Palace in Britannia.
Yomiuri Giants
The Yomiuri Giants is a Japanese baseball team based in Tokyo. They are owned by a major newspaper company, and are the most successful team in Japan. They play home games at the Toyko Dome.
Dili Municipality
Dili is the name of one of the 13 municipalities of East Timor, which includes the national capital Dili.