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Buena Vista, battle of

(Encyclopedia)Buena Vista, battle of, military engagement in the Mexican War, fought Feb. 22–23, 1847. The battle site was just S of Saltillo, Coahuila, in Mexico. Gen. Zachary Taylor, disobeying orders from the ...

Somme, Battles of the

(Encyclopedia)Somme, Battles of the, two engagements fought during World War I near the Somme River, N France. The first battle (July–Nov., 1916) was an Allied offensive. The British, commanded by Field Marshal S...

Tilly, Johannes Tserklaes, count of

(Encyclopedia)Tilly, Johannes Tserklaes, count of yōhänˈəs tsĕrkläsˈ tĭlˈē [key], 1559–1632, general in Bavarian and later imperial service during the Thirty Years War. A younger son of a noble family o...

Manuel I, 1469–1521, king of Portugal

(Encyclopedia)Manuel I, 1469–1521, king of Portugal (1495–1521), successor of John II. Manuel's reign was most notable for the successful continuation of Portugal's overseas enterprises. John had planned the ex...

Bracton, Henry de

(Encyclopedia)Bracton, Henry de, d. 1268, English writer on law. He was the author of De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae [on the laws and customs of England], a broad, philosophic treatise that is often called t...

Kloster-Zeven, Convention of

(Encyclopedia)Kloster-Zeven, Convention of klôsˈtər-tsāˈfən [key], 1757. Early in the Seven Years War the English army, under the command of the duke of Cumberland, son of George II, was defeated by the Frenc...

era of good feelings

(Encyclopedia)era of good feelings, period in U.S. history (1817–23) when, the Federalist party having declined, there was little open party feeling. After the War of 1812 all sections were anxious to return to a...

Charles II, king of Naples

(Encyclopedia)Charles II (Charles the Lame), 1248–1309, king of Naples (1285–1309), count of Anjou and Provence, son and successor of Charles I. In the war of the Sicilian Vespers between Charles I and Peter II...

Youth, Isle of

(Encyclopedia)Youth, Isle of, Span. Isla de la Juventud, island and special municipality (1989 est. pop. 71,500), 1,180 sq mi (3,056 sq km), off SW Cuba, from which it is separated by the Batabanó Gulf. Until 1978...

Knights of the Golden Circle

(Encyclopedia)Knights of the Golden Circle, secret order of Southern sympathizers in the North during the Civil War. Its members were known as Copperheads. Dr. George W. L. Bickley, a Virginian who had moved to Ohi...