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Fort Southerland is a redoubt built during the American Civil War to protect Camden, Arkansas. Confederate forces built it along with four other redoubts in early 1864 after a Union victory in the Little Rock campaign the previous year. Fort Southerland is about the size of a city block and is roughly oval. It could hold three cannons. When Union forces captured Camden in April 1864 during the Camden Expedition, they improved the defenses of the five redoubts, which were not sufficient for proper defense of the city. After the Confederates retook Camden later that month, they continued to improve the city's defenses. The fort lies within Fort Southerland Park, a municipal park dedicated in 1974. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, and is part of the Camden Expedition Sites National Historic Landmark. Along with Fort Lookout, it is one of only two of the redoubts around Camden still in existence. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

First Baptist Church–West

... that the church (pictured) of Charlotte's oldest black Baptist congregation was designed by its first black mayor?
... that NBA commissioner Adam Silver appeared in a video for the Chicago Bulls as a parody of the character Professor Oak?
... that the Geneva Peace Congress sought to establish a United States of Europe in 1867?
... that minister Charles A. Hill was targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee for his anti-war activism?
... that visitors to the Chinatown Storytelling Centre can listen to the personal stories of locals inside a pagoda phone booth?
... that JoJo Siwa inspired Olivia Ponton to come out?
... that Liechtenstein has won all of its Olympic medals at the Winter Olympics?
... that one of the judges in the trial of Susana Freydoz voted to convict her of magnicide instead of aggravated murder?
... that the Pokémon species Smeargle had been banned from multiple competitive tournaments due to being able to learn almost any move in the series?

In the news

Rob Jetten

A military conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalates as the countries exchange cross-border strikes.
Rob Jetten (pictured) is sworn in as the prime minister of the Netherlands, leading a minority government.
One Battle After Another wins Best Film at the British Academy Film Awards.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is killed by the Mexican Army.

On this day

February 27: Feast day of Saint Gregory of Narek (Catholicism)

Memorial to the victims of the Sumgait pogrom

1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Patriot victory at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge resulted in the arrests of 850 Loyalists over the following days.
1814 – Peninsular War: In the south of France, Spanish, British and Portuguese soldiers under the command of the Marquess of Wellington defeated French soldiers in the Battle of Orthez, causing the French to retreat east.
1988 – The Armenian community of Sumgait in Azerbaijan was the target of a violent pogrom (memorial pictured).
1996 – The multimedia franchise Pokémon was launched with the release of the video games Pocket Monsters Red and Green.

Robert of Melun (d. 1167)
Alice Hamilton (b. 1869)
Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar (d. 1956)
Leah Poulton (b. 1984)

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Hurricane Ismael

The 1995 Pacific hurricane season consisted of the events that occurred in the annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation over the Pacific Ocean north of the equator and east of the International Date Line. Activity during the season was below average; only eleven tropical depressions developed, of which ten strengthened into named tropical storms. Seven became hurricanes, of which three further intensified into major hurricanes. The first system, Tropical Depression One-E, formed on May 21; the final, Hurricane Juliette, dissipated on September 26. The vast majority of damage and casualties during the season resulted from Hurricane Ismael (pictured) in mid-September. High seas damaged or destroyed fifty-two fishing boats, killing fifty-seven fishermen. On land, strong winds and severe flooding caused heavy damage and killed fifty-nine people in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. (Full list...)

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Thekla's lark (Galerida theklae) is a species of bird in the lark family, Alaudidae. It was named by German zoologist Alfred Brehm in 1857 for his recently deceased sister, Thekla Brehm. It is non-migratory and breeds on the Iberian Peninsula and in northern and sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal to Somalia. Its preferred habitat is dry open country, often at some altitude. Thekla's lark is similar to the crested lark, featuring a long, spiky, erectile crest. It is a relatively small member of its family and is predominantly brownish-grey or brown in colour, with a breast streaked with black and grey underwings. It eats weeds, seeds and insects, the last being especially popular in the breeding season, and it nests on the ground, laying two to six eggs. This Thekla's lark was photographed near Douz, in the south of Tunisia.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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