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From today's featured articleLandis's Missouri Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Confederate States Army during the early stages of the American Civil War. The battery was formed in late 1861 and early 1862, and was crewed by a maximum of 62 men. It fielded two 12-pounder Napoleon cannons (example pictured) and two 24-pounder howitzers. The battery saw limited action at the Battle of Iuka before providing artillery support at the Second Battle of Corinth, both in 1862. It formed part of Confederate defenses at the battles of Port Gibson and Champion Hill in May 1863. The unit may have suffered the capture of two cannons during the Battle of Big Black River Bridge. Landis's Battery next saw action during the Siege of Vicksburg, but was captured when the Confederate garrison there surrendered on July 4. Although the surviving men of the battery were exchanged, the battery was not reorganized; instead, it was absorbed into Guibor's Missouri Battery along with Wade's Missouri Battery. (Full article...)
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On this dayNovember 30: Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare; Saint Andrew's Day (Christianity); Guru Nanak Gurpurab (Sikhism, 2020); Bonifacio Day in the Philippines
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Invasive species in the Everglades are exotic plants and animals that are not native to the area and have aggressively adapted to conditions in wilderness areas in southern Florida. The Everglades are a massive watershed in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida that drains overflow from the vast shallow Lake Okeechobee that is in turn fed by the Kissimmee River. In the 20th century, Florida experienced a population surge unparalleled in the U.S., accompanied by rapid urban expansion made possible by draining portions of the Everglades. The widespread building created new habitats and disturbed established plant and animal communities. Many of the new residents or tourists in Florida were responsible for introducing plant species to the area by accident, or deliberately to improve landscaping. Approximately 26 percent of all fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals in South Florida are exotic—more than in any other part of the United States—and the region hosts one of the highest numbers of exotic plant species in the world. (This list is part of a featured topic: Everglades.)
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An electric match is a device that uses an externally applied electric current to ignite a combustible compound. This image is a collage of three photographs depicting an electric match at the moment of ignition in the centre, together with the same match before detonation on the left and after detonation on the right. To ignite the match, a suitable electric voltage is applied to a heating element, typically a loop or coil of thin wire, which is encased in a quantity of a flammable pyrotechnic initiator fluid, which then ignites. Photograph credit: Lucasbosch
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