Perhaps no place is better to begin an adventure in the footsteps of Samuel “Champ” Ferguson—the most notorious of Confederate guerrilla leaders—than a small brewery near Sparta‚ Tenn.‚ roughly 100 miles east of Nashville. One’s mind can become a little numbed when pondering Ferguson‚ who a 19th-century writer called a “thief‚ robber‚ counterfeiter‚ and murderer.”   Minutes after consuming the first of two Scorned Hooker IPAs at the eclectic Calfkiller Brewery‚ I meet my Ferguson guide‚ Craig Capps. He’s a 39-year-old Sparta resident‚ Tennessee law enforcement officer‚ U.S. Army veteran‚ part-time farmer‚ and ancestry.com aficionado.   Capps is a distant relative of Ferguson‚ who the U.S. military hanged in Nashville for war crimes on October 20‚ 1865. He can also trace his ancestry to “Tinker Dave” Beaty—a Union guerrilla leader and Ferguson’s archenemy—as well as to Daniel Boone‚ Davy Crockett‚ and “Devil Anse” Hatfield of Hatfields and McCoys notoriety.   Funny how the world works.   Craig Capps is a distant relative of Ferguson and other Confederate soldiers. He has tramped the unmarked haunts related to the guerrilla for years. Born and reared in Tennessee‚ Capps is knowledgeable about the obscure Battle of Dug Hill‚ in which the villainous Ferguson played a central role. The “battle” was a skirmish‚ really‚ fought in the winter of 1864 by Ferguson and his guerrillas and a few Confederate regulars near the Calfkiller River‚ roughly 10 miles northeast of Sparta.   Alexander Fontaine Capps‚ Craig’s great-great-great-uncle—a guerrilla himself—fought under the man one of his 21st-century biographers called a “dim bulb.” John Alvern Capps—Alexander’s brother and Craig Capps’ great-great-great-grandfather—served in the 4th Tennessee Cavalry (CSA) and also fought at Dug Hill.   We plan to examine the unmarked battlefield out here in the rugged and sparsely populated area near Sparta. But first there’s a trip to Ferguson’s homestead site deep in the woods‚ less than a mile from the battlefield. Capps has secured permission for us to visit the private property.   Soon after departing the brewery‚ my guide parks his pickup on a muddy side road off two-lane Monterey Highway. For about 30 yards we walk along a red-clay trail—“good Tennessee dirt‚” Capps says—and there it is.    No‚ not Ferguson’s homesite. Instead‚ we find an abandoned‚ circa-1920s mansion once owned by a wealthy doctor. Ivy creeps over its sandstone exterior. Wooden boards in the windows and front entrance prevent the curious like me from peering inside. Stephen King would smile.   “It’s haunted‚” Capps says.   Nearby‚ Capps points out a large wild hog trap‚ a contraption I never deployed while growing up in suburban Pittsburgh. After a circuitous walk through the woods‚ we arrive at Ferguson’s homestead site‚ an unremarkable‚ flat piece of ground among cedars and beech near the Calfkiller River. No visible trace remains of the place where Ferguson lived with his wife and children.   It was here‚ shortly after the war‚ that the U.S. Army came for the notorious guerrilla leader‚ who had expected to be paroled. Instead‚ U.S. authorities put Ferguson under arrest in Nashville.   GET HISTORY’S GREATEST TALES—RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX Subscribe to our HistoryNet Now! newsletter for the best of the past‚ delivered every Monday and Thursday. Close Thank you for subscribing! Email Submit Dark-skinned with curly black hair and black eyes‚ the Kentucky-born Ferguson weighed roughly 180 pounds‚ “without any surplus flesh.” A gambler‚ hard drinker‚ and a bully‚ he had a “tremendous voice” that could be “heard a long distance when in a rage”—which apparently was often. Ferguson had a rabid hatred for U.S. soldiers and enjoyed terrorizing Union sympathizers. Some say the hostility was fueled by the rape of his wife and daughter and death of his young son at the hands of Union soldiers‚ which Ferguson himself would deny occurred.   In all‚ Ferguson may have killed as many as 120 men—all self-defense or acts of war‚ he claimed. But in actuality‚ he murdered dozens. In cold blood‚ Ferguson shot and killed a man bedridden with measles—a former friend of Champ’s whom he suspected of visiting a Union recruiting center—while his five-month-old child lay in a crib nearby. In the aftermath of the First Battle of Saltville‚ Va.‚ in early October 1864‚ Ferguson took out his wrath on captured White and Black soldiers alike‚ shooting some of them dead.   “We can’t judge those of the 19th century from the mindset of today‚” Capps says. “But there’s no doubt Ferguson was a murderer.”   John Alvern Capps—Craig’s great-great-great-grandfather—and his brother‚ Alexander‚ testified at Ferguson’s trial in Nashville. Both witnessed killings by the dastardly guerrilla.   “They told the truth as they saw it‚” Capps says of his ancestors.   While a brief drizzle offers a respite from the heat‚ Capps talks about the guerrilla war in White County and beyond. He has a condition I call the “1‚000-yard Civil War stare”—a single-minded focus on everything associated with 1861-65. It’s endearing and not uncommon among us kindred souls.   “The war out here was truly brother versus brother‚ neighbor versus neighbor‚” Capps says in a distinctive Upper Cumberland Appalachian twang.   Many families who lived in isolated towns in the Cumberland Plateau intermarried. Few here—several worlds away from the state capital in Nashville—owned slaves. Many simply wanted to be left alone but took up sides anyway. The war divided Ferguson’s family‚ too. His brother‚ James‚ served in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry (U.S.). In 1861‚ a Confederate sympathizer killed him.   Before visiting the Dug Hill battlefield site‚ Capps and I make our way to France Cemetery‚ where Ferguson’s remains lay beneath a comb grave. In 1909‚ an Oklahoma man claimed the guerrilla leader was alive‚ and‚ like similar stories about Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth‚ had somehow escaped justice. But my guide and I agree that’s poppycock.   Visitors have left coins on Ferguson’s grave in France Cemetery. There is a bit of irony to see U.S. currency left in tribute to a man who rode rampant against the American government. What would he say? Although some believe the site is farther down the Monterey Highway‚ Capps believes the battlefield—our next stop—is less than a quarter-mile from the cemetery. Capps bases his conclusion on years of studying the fighting and hundreds of visits to the site. Decades ago‚ a local found battle relics here in the woods near our stop.   “Look how steep that is‚” Capps says after our arrival. He points to a thickly wooded hillside of mostly beech and cedar. Behind and well below us flows the Calfkiller River.    At Dug Hill on February 22‚ 1864‚ from behind trees ideal for concealment‚ dozens of Ferguson’s guerrillas awaited two companies of 5th Tennessee Cavalry (U.S.). Fearing a surprise attack on his headquarters in Sparta‚ their colonel had sent 80–110 soldiers to rid the nearby woods of guerrillas.   Serving as the tip of the cavalry’s spear‚ John W. Clark—a private in the 1st Tennessee Mounted Infantry riding with the 5th Tennessee Cavalry—advanced up a narrow mountain road with two comrades. Then‚ about 100 yards away‚ Clark spotted two guerrillas astride their horses—bait to lure the cavalrymen into a trap.   “I sounded the double-quick charge signal‚ and lit out after them‚ and about the time the company caught up we spied two lines of battle formed‚” Clark recalled years later. “One line was up to our right on high ground about 300 feet above us. We were in the Dug Hill road‚ which ranged around the mountain about 600 yards from where we entered it. At the loose end of a thin hill was another line of battle. By this time another line had formed behind us‚ and the johnnies were cross-firing on us three ways.”   Dozens of U.S. soldiers tumbled from their saddles.   “The smoke was so dense‚” Clark remembered‚ “that you could not tell one man from the other.”   “One of the most ridiculous battles ever fought‚” a Rebel fighter recalled.   On February 22‚ 1864‚ Ferguson ambushed Union cavalrymen at the Battle of Dug Hill. A number of Federal troopers are believed to have tumbled down this steep hill near the Calfkiller River during the fight. Some U.S. soldiers scrambled down the hillside to the Calfkiller River. One hid in a log until the battle had ended before making his way back to Sparta. Others surrendered to a Confederate officer‚ who passed them to the rear to Ferguson‚ “who shot them in cold blood‚” according to a U.S. soldier. Some of the cavalrymen had their throats slit.   Later‚ in a vacant storehouse‚ a local claimed to have examined the bodies of 41 U.S. Army dead—38 with bullet wounds in the head‚ three with crushed skulls. But the exact death toll is unknown. The guerrillas suffered far fewer casualties‚ if any. Months afterward‚ skeletons are said to have turned up by the road and in the woods.   Although unmarked and largely forgotten‚ the battle site holds a power over those of us who relish walking in the footsteps of long-ago soldiers. For Capps‚ a U.S. Army veteran‚ the place is surreal.   “When I learned my great-great-great-grandfather had fought here‚” he tells me‚ “it was like a child going to Normandy with a D-Day veteran. If he had been killed here‚ I wouldn’t be here.”   At Nashville State Prison in the fall of 1865‚ Ferguson posed for a photo with 11 of his guards. It reminds me of an image taken of Lee Harvey Oswald—another notorious figure in American history—while Dallas police held him in custody in 1963.   In the above CDV‚ Champ poses with his Union guards after his 1865 capture at his home. His trial made national news when it was written up in Harper’s Weekly. Before his execution by hanging‚ Ferguson said he wanted his body sent to his family for burial in White County. “Don’t give me to the doctors‚” the 43-year-old mass murderer said excitedly. “I don’t want to be cut up.”   As he is today‚ Ferguson was a polarizing figure in 1865. A reporter at the guerrilla’s execution questioned citizens about him.   “One man thought him a martyr‚ hunted down by his enemies and about to become a victim of a judicial murder‚” the correspondent wrote. “Another was assured that a direr villain never went to the gallows‚ and declared that he ought to be hung when he was a little boy.”   Before our adventure concludes‚ Capps shows me the trace through the woods that he believes is the wartime road used by U.S. cavalrymen at Dug Hill. But I steer our conversation to Ferguson‚ who‚ along with Andersonville commander Henry Wirz‚ was one of two men hanged by the United States for war crimes committed during the Civil War.   “Do you think he got what he deserved?” I ask.   “Idda hanged him‚ too‚” his distant relative says with a smirk. this article first appeared in civil war times magazine See more stories SubscriBE NOW!   John Banks is author of three Civil War books. His latest‚ A Civil War Road Trip of a Lifetime (Gettysburg Publishing)‚ includes stories about the Battle of Dug Hill. E-mail him at jbankstx@comcast.net with your own story ideas. 

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Are you a paranoid Penny or a nervous Neville when you go into a hotel room? Have you ever looked at a mirror with suspicion and recalled all those movies with two-way mirrors‚ and wondered how to check what you are looking at? Well‚ there are a few tricks for that!What is a two-way mirror?The first two-way mirror was patented in the US back in 1903. These are panels that look like mirrors on one side‚ but are pretty much tinted windows on the other. Think back to all those crime shows‚ specifically the interrogation room scenarios.Often these panels can be referred to as either two-way or one-way mirrors‚ half-silvered mirrors‚ or one-way glass. While there are many names for it‚ the better terminology is probably transparent mirror. These are laminated glass products that have been encased in a thin layer of metal‚ which results in a mirrored surface that reflects some of the light.Fingernail trickThere is one very simple test that you can do‚ and that involves placing your fingernail against the reflective surface. If there is a gap between your fingernail and the image of the nail‚ then congratulations! You have a bona fide genuine mirror.More upsetting is the other scenario. If your fingernail directly touches the image of your nail‚ this means that it is probably a two-way mirror.This test works due to where the reflective part of the mirror is. In a transparent mirror the reflective part is often laid right at the surface; with an actual mirror‚ there is often a layer of clear glass to protect the reflective part.There are times that the reflective surface is laid first‚ but these are normally expensive mirrors‚ and you are not likely to encounter these in hotels.This trick does have some drawbacks‚ as the unpracticed observer could mistake an ordinary mirror for a transparent one. Judging whether an object is placed up against a mirror can be affected by the angle or size of the mirror‚ the type of object used‚ and the lighting present.  Mirror placementOften transparent mirrors are not hung on the wall‚ but actually set into it. If there is a wall behind the mirror‚ then chances are that it is an actual mirror.The lighting placement is also important. The lighting where the hidden observers are needs to be darker than on the person in front of the mirror. If you press your face up against the mirror and cup your hands around your eyes (blocking out the light from the room you are in)‚ you can sometimes see through the transparent mirror.Audio testGently tapping your fingers against the mirror can also give a clue. Mirrors typically have backing and are placed in front of walls. This means a gentle finger tapping will produce a dull thud‚ whereas transparent mirrors would make a hollower sound.  Mirrors be crazyMirrors are crazy objects that are determined to break our brains at their convenience. People commonly scratch their heads over how a mirror can see an object that is hidden by a piece of paper. Luckily‚ we have made a video answering that question.                  People are also confused to learn that mirrors don’t really flip things left to right… You guessed it‚ we have a video answering that question as well.                  Mirrors are strange objects‚ but hopefully with these tricks you can be a bit less paranoid in hotels… maybe.

Turns out there’s more purpose to the design of an airplane window than allowing for aesthetically pleasing birds-eye-view photos or staring out of them pretending you’re in a music video. There’s a reason why they have that little hole and why we have to keep their shades up during takeoff. But what about their most characteristic feature: Why are airplane windows rounded?If you ask a small child to draw an airplane‚ they’ll more than likely draw the passenger windows as little ovals‚ but planes haven’t always looked that way. The de Havilland Comet‚ an early commercial jet design‚ had square windows. But within just five years of their introduction‚ three Comets had a series of tragic crashes.After the third crash in 1954‚ investigations determined that all three crashes had been caused by cracked window frames‚ as a result of their square design. It was revealed that square windows deal very badly with the stress caused by the increasing cabin pressure that comes with high-altitude flying.However‚ high altitude is a necessary element of commercial flight – up high in the sky‚ there’s less drag‚ which in turn means less fuel used. That’s ideal for airlines because it saves them money and reduces the impact of flight on the environment (although scientists are looking into alternatives to traditional fuel). There’s also less turbulence at higher altitudes‚ which makes for a more comfortable flight.So what was the solution? Swap those squares out for ovals. This helps to evenly distribute the pressure exerted on the window and thus reduce the likelihood of cracking.“The narrowest part of the oval will be designed to ensure the curve does not generate unsafe stresses in the surrounding material‚” explained Dai Whittingham‚ chief executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee‚ speaking to MailOnline Travel. “Recently we have started to see some designers opting for more rectangular shapes‚ but these will always have curved corners.”Besides the element of increased safety‚ there are still some more superficial benefits. “Designers prefer oval windows because they can get a larger viewing area which suits the biggest range of passenger sitting heights‚” said Whittingham.  Check out this video by the YouTube channel Real Engineering‚ which explains the physics behind this engineering quirk that has puzzled air travelers ever since.An earlier version of this article was published in January 2016.

Some animals have big brains – humans‚ for one. Some have large heads. Some‚ we recently learned‚ are almost entirely heads. But what if we told you that one animal is able to learn without either a head or a brain? Meet the brittle star‚ a five-armed bundle of nerves that has shown itself to be a surprisingly quick study.Classical conditioning is a type of learning whereby an animal forms associations between different stimuli. The discoverer of this phenomenon was a Russian-Soviet scientist called Ivan Pavlov‚ who conducted numerous experiments on dogs. By ringing a bell immediately prior to feeding the dogs‚ Pavlov caused them to start associating the sound of the bell with the imminent arrival of food. After a few repeats of this‚ the dogs would start salivating as soon as they heard the bell‚ whether or not food was later provided.If you think humans would be above such things‚ think again. Some ethically questionable experiments in the early 20th century showed that humans can absolutely be classically conditioned. The buzz or ping of someone’s smartphone can be enough to have you unconsciously reaching for your own phone‚ because you’ve learned to associate that sound with a new message.So that’s dogs and humans ticked off‚ but what about other organisms? The team behind this latest research were interested to find out whether echinoderms‚ the group including starfish‚ sea urchins‚ and sea cucumbers‚ could learn via this process. A few studies did exist in starfish‚ but for the rest of this animal family‚ these were uncharted waters.Sixteen black brittle stars (Ophiocoma echinata) were placed in individual tanks with cameras to record their behavior over 10 months. Half of them went through a training phase‚ during which the lights would be dimmed for 30 minutes each time they were fed their favorite treat: shrimp. The other half got the same amount of shrimp and also had their lights switched off for the same length of time‚ but crucially‚ these two events were not happening simultaneously.Brittle stars do not love the limelight at the best of times. These guys mostly spent their days hiding behind the filters in their tanks‚ but soon a difference began to emerge between the trained and untrained groups. The trained brittle stars began to creep out from their hiding places as soon as the lights were dimmed‚ anticipating the prompt arrival of some tasty shrimp.In other words‚ they had learned to associate darkness with food.  Most excitingly for the researchers‚ the animals retained their newly learned behavior even after a 13-day break from training‚ when the lights were dimmed repeatedly without food being provided.“Knowing that brittle stars can learn means they’re not just robotic scavengers like little Roombas cleaning up the ocean floor‚” said lead author Julia Notar in a statement. “They're potentially able to expect and avoid predators or anticipate food because they’re learning about their environment.”But with no head or brain‚ it begs the question of how they’re able to achieve such a feat. “People ask me all the time‚ ‘how do they do it?’” Notar said. “We don't know yet. But I hope to have more answers in a few years.”What we do know is that‚ without a central processing hub‚ the brittle star’s nervous system works very differently to our own. Nerve cords run along each of its arms‚ joining together in a ring near its mouth‚ but there’s no one focal point calling the shots.“Each of the nerve cords can act independently‚” Notar explained. “It’s like instead of a boss‚ there's a committee.”The study is published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

A new species of mosasaur has been discovered in Mexico‚ dating back to the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous‚ which makes it around 90 million years old. Retrieved from the state of Nuevo Leon‚ the near-complete mosasaur skull is the first of its genus to be found in Mexico‚ and has a shiny new species name to honor the fossil site’s location.It belongs to the extinct plioplatecarpine genus of Yaguarasaurus mosasaurs‚ a group of extinct marine reptiles that were hunting in the waters of the Late Cretaceous while dinosaurs were stomping around on land. It’s been suggested that they had forked tongues owing to the anatomy of their palates and teeth‚ and also because of the tongues we see in the extant animals thought to be most closely related to them‚ such as snakes and monitor lizards.The new species has been named Yaguarasaurus regiomontanus‚ with the latter half referring to the people of Monterrey (los regiomontanos)‚ which is the nearest city to the fossil site. While only known from its skull‚ it’s estimated to have been 5.2 meters (17 feet) in length‚ making it one of the earliest known large mosasaurs. The fossil skull of Yaguarasaurus regiomontanus.Image credit: Photograph © Lucía M. Alfaro 2023Things would go on to get much bigger‚ however‚ as it’s thought the species Mosasaurus hoffmanni topped a whopping 17 meters (56 feet) in length. Still not bigger than a blue whale‚ mind‚ but one of the longest marine predators ever to swoosh through the oceans (although Predator X may have had it beat when it came to deadly bite strength).With a mouthful of shark conical teeth‚ it's thought mosasaurs were experts at snatching prey and swallowing it whole. They would’ve had a taste for fish‚ sharks‚ cephalopods‚ other mosasaurs‚ and possibly even some birds that were unlucky enough to wind up within biting distance.Y. regiomontanus might suddenly seem a little modest in size compared to M. hoffmanni‚ but its discovery in Mexico has not only landed us with a new species of mosasaur‚ but also fresh insights into the way these animals were spreading and diversifying during the Turonian stage.A reconstruction of Yaguarasaurus regiomontanus's skull.Image credit: Reconstruction © Jorge Ortiz 2023“This is the first report of Yaguarasaurus from Mexico and the most complete of the Americas‚” write the authors. “It is one of the earliest large mosasaurids. Along with Yaguarasaurus columbianus‚ Russellosaurus coheni‚ and an unnamed plioplatecarpine from Texas‚ it documents the rapid diversification and expansion of plioplatecarpines in the marine realm in the Turonian.”The study is published in the Journal of South American Earth Sciences.[H/T: Cosmos Magazine]

If you were in Bogota‚ Colombia‚ on Friday night‚ you might have seen something unusual in the sky: several glowing UFOs that seemed to hover and move in unison. The strange sight was captured by many witnesses who shared their videos and photos on social media‚ sparking a lot of speculation and curiosity‚ reports coasttocoastam.com. The UFOs appeared around 8 pm local time and lasted for about 15 minutes‚ according to some reports. They were seen in different parts of the city‚ such as Chapinero‚ Suba‚ and Usaquen. The objects looked like bright orbs. They also seemed to move in a coordinated manner‚ forming different shapes and patterns. Some witnesses were amazed and excited by the phenomenon‚ while others were scared and confused. Some even thought it was a sign of the end of the world or a divine intervention. Many people wondered if they were witnessing an extraterrestrial visitation or a contact event. However‚ not everyone was convinced that the UFOs were of alien origin. Some skeptics proposed alternative explanations‚ such as drones‚ balloons‚ flares‚ or lasers. Some also pointed out that the UFOs could have been part of a hoax or a prank‚ possibly inspired by the Project Blue Beam conspiracy theory. This theory claims that the government or other powerful groups are planning to create a fake alien invasion or a religious event using advanced holographic technology. So far‚ no official statement has been issued by the authorities or any other organization regarding the UFOs. The origin and nature of the objects remain unknown and unconfirmed. The post Bogota residents witness mysterious glowing UFOs in the sky appeared first on Anomalien.com.