Good morning.
There’s a chance of thunderstorms today (about 40%), but Whitewater will have mild temperatures in the 70s and light winds. Sunrise was at 5:21 a.m., and sunset will be at 8:37 p.m.
Whitewater’s July 4th events begin today at 5 PM. Tonight features the Miss Whitewater Pageant at 5, the opening of midway amusements, and live music beginning at 8 from The Now.
On this day in 1863, the Union line holds, forcing Lee to clear the field a day later, at Gettysburg:
On July 3, Lee, having failed on the right and the left, planned an assault on Meade’s center. A 15,000-man strong column under General George Pickett was organized, and Lee ordered a massive bombardment of the Union positions. The 10,000 Federals answered the Confederate artillery onslaught, and for more than an hour the guns raged in the heaviest cannonade of the Civil War. At 3 p.m., Pickett led his force into no-man’s-land and found that Lee’s bombardment had failed. As Pickett’s force attempted to cross the mile distance to Cemetery Ridge, Union artillery blew great holes in their lines. Meanwhile, Yankee infantry flanked the main body of “Pickett’s charge” and began cutting down the Confederates. Only a few hundred Virginians reached the Union line, and within minutes they all were dead, dying, or captured. In less than an hour, more than 7,000 Confederate troops had been killed or wounded.
Both armies, exhausted, held their positions until the night of July 4, when Lee withdrew.
Google’s posted a doodle today for Franz Kafka’s birthday:
Puzzability‘s current series, running this week, is called Key Words:
Key Words
We’ve got a parade of patriotic trivia this Independence Day week. The answer to each day’s question is a name or title that contains one of the main words in the well-known first verse of our national anthem.
Example:
What super-sweet cereal is Calvin’s favorite in “Calvin and Hobbes”?
Answer:
Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs
Here’s the puzzle for Wednesday:
What competition TV show’s champions have included Kristi Yamaguchi, Emmitt Smith, and Jennifer Grey?
Here’s a link to the lyrics for the first verse of the Star-Spangled Banner.