The Capture of Wakefield occurred on 21 May 1643 during the First English Civil War when around 1,500 Parliamentarians under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax (depicted) attacked the Royalist garrison of Wakefield, Yorkshire. They were outnumbered by around 3,000 Royalists led by George Goring, but successfully stormed the town. Around 800 Parliamentarians had been taken prisoner after Fairfax was defeated at Seacroft Moor, and he planned the attack to take prisoners of his own to exchange for his men. He marched his force from Leeds and divided it to attack from two different directions. After around two hours of fighting early in the morning, they broke into the town. Goring, who had been in bed suffering from either illness or a hangover, led a counterattack in his nightshirt, but to no avail. Fairfax took roughly 1,400 prisoners while, according to his own account, losing no more than seven men.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Wakefield> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1703: English writer Daniel Defoe was imprisoned for seditious libel after publishing a pamphlet that was perceived to satirise the Tory publications about Dissenters. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shortest_Way_with_the_Dissenters> 1864: American Civil War: The inconclusive Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia ended with combined Union and Confederate casualties totaling around 31,000. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spotsylvania_Court_House> 1991: Former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajiv_Gandhi> 1998: Indonesian president Suharto resigned after a collapse of support for his presidency amid economic and political crises, ending 32 years in power. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suharto> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: caravanserai: 1. (chiefly historical) A roadside inn, usually having a central courtyard where caravans (see sense 3) can rest, providing accommodation for travellers along trade routes in Asia and North Africa. 2. (by extension) A place resembling a caravanserai (sense 1) as being a place for resting temporarily, or a meeting place (especially one that is busy, or where people of different cultures encounter each other). 3. (by extension) Synonym of caravan (“a convoy of travellers, their cargo and vehicles, and pack animals”) 4. (by extension, archaic) A hostelry, an inn; also (humorous), an (upscale) hotel. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/caravanserai> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: We fatuously hoped that we might pluck from the human tragedy itself a consciousness of a common destiny which should bring its own healing, that we might extract from life’s very misfortunes a power of cooperation which should be effective against them. --Jane Addams <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jane_Addams> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
