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TheBattle of Poison Spring was fought on April 18, 1864, as part of theCamden Expedition during the American Civil War. In support of theRed River campaign in Louisiana, a Union force commanded byFrederick Steele had moved fromLittle Rock, Arkansas, and occupiedCamden. Short on supplies, Steele sent a detachment commanded byJames M. Williams to forage for corn that was reported to be in the area. Confederate cavalry commanded byJohn S. Marmaduke andSamuel B. Maxey attacked the foraging party. Marmaduke's men formed a roadblock to the east, while Maxey's men attacked from the south. The first two Confederate attacks were unsuccessful, but the third broke the Union line. Williams's command was routed, losing its wagon train. African-American soldiers from the1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment were massacred during and after the battle. The defeat at Poison Spring and another defeat at theBattle of Marks' Mills led Steele to retreat to Little Rock. (Full article...)

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Daniel Noboa(pictured)is re-electedpresident of Ecuador.
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On this day

April 18

Roland Garros

1775 –American Revolutionary War: ColonistsPaul Revere andWilliam Dawes, later joined bySamuel Prescott, begana midnight ride to warn residents ofLexington andConcord, Massachusetts, about the impending arrival of British troops.
1881 – The paintedceilings of the Natural History Museum, London, were unveiled when the building opened its doors to the public.
1915 –World War I: Hit by ground fire, French aviation pioneerRoland Garros(pictured) landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and was taken prisoner by German forces.
1949 –The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 came into force, describingIreland as a republic and ending its membership in theCommonwealth of Nations.
1975 –Aryabhata, India's firstsatellite, was launched fromKapustin Yar in the Soviet Union.

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Tyla

The30th Annual South African Music Awards took place on 2 November 2024 at theGallagher Convention Centre inMidrand,Gauteng. Presented by theRecording Industry of South Africa, it honoured music released in 2023 through 2024. Hosted byMinnie Dlamini, the ceremony was live streamed onYouTube and broadcast onSABC 1.Tyla(pictured) won four awards, including theNewcomer of the Year and the Female Artist of the Year for her studio albumTyla. Other winners includedKabza de Small andMthunzi, with three awards for their collaborative studio album,Isimo. (Full list...)

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Christ Crowned with Thorns, sometimes known asChrist Mocked, is anoil-on-panel painting byHieronymus Bosch. It is held in theNational Gallery in London, which dates it to around 1510, though some art historians prefer earlier dates. The painting combines two events from the biblical account of thePassion: themocking of Jesus and thecrowning with thorns. A sereneJesus, dressed in white at the centre of the busy scene, gazes calmly out of the picture, in contrast with the violent intent of the four men around him. Two armoured soldiers stand above and behind him, with two other spectators kneeling below and in front. The soldier to the right, withoak leaves in his hat and a spiked collar, grasps Jesus's shoulder, while the other soldier to the left, dressed in green with a broad-headed huntingcrossbow bolt through his headdress, holds the crown of thorns in a mailed hand, about to thrust it onto Jesus's head. The position of the crown of thorns creates a halo above the head of Jesus. In front, the man to the left has a blue robe and red head covering, and the man to the right in a light red robe is grasping Christ's cloak to strip it off. The figures are crowded together in a small space in a single plane, in a manner reminiscent ofFlemish devotional art of the type popularized byHans Memling andHugo van der Goes.

Painting credit:Hieronymus Bosch

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