It was a fear Milton Smith Littlefield Jr. simply couldn’t shake whenever speaking before an audience. Though well-respected‚ the Presbyterian minister and editor of hymn books agonized about being recognized as the son of Civil War General Milton Smith Littlefield. The younger Littlefield did what he could to squash this controversial legacy‚ even tearing out‚ upon his father’s death‚ the pages of the general’s scrapbook to conceal his crimes from curious readers. Was General Littlefield really worthy of such shame‚ however? He had been a rising star in the U.S. Army—a friend of Abraham Lincoln and‚ during the war‚ a distinguished commander of African American troops. The elder Littlefield befriended Lincoln while working as a lawyer and newspaper reporter‚ and enthusiastically lent his support during the 1860 presidential election. His brother‚ John H. Littlefield‚ worked as a clerk in Lincoln’s Springfield‚ Ill.‚ law office and was later appointed a U.S. Treasury Department clerk. Elected a captain in the 14th Illinois Infantry‚ Milton Littlefield Sr. led a company at Shiloh‚ drawing praise from one of his sergeants for standing “erect in front of his men‚ during the whole engagement” and escaping “injury‚ except having about three inches torn from the left shoulder of his coat‚ by an [enemy] ball.” 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 In November 1862‚ Littlefield was aboard the steamer Eugene when it struck a sunken ship and sank in the Mississippi River‚ about 12 miles above Fort Pillow. While trying to keep passengers calm‚ the future general was knocked overboard and drifted downriver until rescued by Union soldiers at the fort. Four months later‚ Littlefield was sent to South Carolina to organize and lead African American troops. As colonel of the 21st U.S. Colored Infantry‚ he was attached to Brig. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore’s staff and‚ during the famed assault on Fort Wagner in July‚ was among those noted for “doing all in their power to sustain the courage of the troops and urge on reinforcements” while under “constant” fire. Littlefield assumed command of the 54th Massachusetts‚ replacing slain Colonel Robert Gould Shaw‚ and in November 1864 was brevetted a brigadier general. Erasmus W. Jones‚ 21st USCI chaplain‚ would write that Littlefield’s “unflinching perseverance‚ united with that perfect moral integrity that have so far elevated him‚ will soon raise him to higher dignities and honors.” The general’s postwar endeavors erased any chance of that‚ however. In 1867‚ he and George W. Swepson‚ president of the Western North Carolina Railroad‚ were involved in a multi-million-dollar embezzlement scheme. Having fled to Florida‚ he evaded prosecution despite multiple attempts to extradite him. What changed in General Littlefield’s moral code after the Civil War might never be known. Nevertheless‚ his war achievements were commendable. After relocating to New York in his later years‚ he was arrested for other offenses‚ including grand larceny and misappropriation of a mortgage bond. He died in Vadhalla‚ N.Y.‚ on March 6‚ 1899—his burial service lightly attended‚ no surprise. Perhaps Milton Littlefield Jr. had his father in mind with this entry in his Hymns of the Christian Life: “Those who never knew Thee‚ Those who’ve wandered far‚ Guide them by the brightness Of Thy guiding star….To that heavenly home‚ Where no sin nor sorrow Evermore shall come.”  This article first appeared in America’s Civil War magazine See more stories SubscriBE NOW!  

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Jair Bolsonaro‚ Brazil’s former president known for his infamously anti-environmental stance‚ is reportedly being investigated by federal police after a man matching his description was seen “harassing” a humpback whale. The incident occurred in June 2023 off the coast of São Sebastião‚ a seaside municipality in the state of São Paulo. According to O Globo‚ a person resembling Bolsonaro was filmed on a jet ski‚ coming within 15 meters (around 50 feet) of a humpback whale that had surfaced. Photos and videos of the unlikely encounter were then posted on social media."Considering that the images were taken from another vessel‚ it is possible to identify that there is a single person on the watercraft‚ who is riding and recording a video on his cell phone at the same time. The identity of this person is attributed‚ supposedly‚ to the ex-President Jair Messias Bolsonaro"‚ said prosecutor Marília Soares Ferreira Iftim‚ according to the Brazilian newspaper. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) typically measure between 12 to 16 meters (39 to 52 feet) in length. Despite their colossal size‚ their mellow demeanor means they don't generally pose a threat to humans. However‚ there have been freak incidents in which humans have been accidentally engulfed by these gentle giants.Bolsonaro lost power in 2022 and has been followed by several scandals‚ including being accused of plotting a coup against his leftwing successor‚ Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has since been banned from running for office until 2030. One of the defining themes of his bumpy presidency was his persistent attempts to open up the Amazon rainforest to big business for mining‚ logging‚ and infrastructure development. As a result‚ his tenure as president was seen by environmentalists as a devastating blow to the Amazon rainforest and action against climate change.Bolsonaro’s time in office was additionally marked by hostility towards Brazil’s Indigenous people. Relaxing protections on Indigenous lands have seen the communities increasingly come into conflict with illegal loggers and miners. He has a long history of aiming racist insults toward Indigenous people‚ describing Indigenous reserves as “an obstacle to agri-business” and calling for the forced “integration” of uncontacted tribes. The former president even once bragged he would happily eat an Indigenous person's flesh.

SpaceX’s Starship rocket successfully blasted off on its second test flight on Saturday morning – and then came to an abrupt end just 8 minutes later. But whilst the explosion of both the first-stage booster and ship has dashed the hopes of putting astronauts back on the Moon in 2025‚ many are still considering the test flight a success. What happened?Cheers and screams of excitement could be heard from SpaceX’s mission control center during a livestream of Saturday’s launch‚ as Starship lifted off from Starbase in Texas just after 7 am local time (1 pm GMT). The noise swelled again a few minutes later when the first-stage booster‚ Super Heavy‚ successfully separated from the ship – only to explode less than a minute later.      IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites."As you could see‚ the Super Heavy Booster has just experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly; however‚ our ship is still underway‚" said commentator Kate Tice. That didn’t last for long though‚ as around 9 minutes in‚ contact with the ship was lost. It was later revealed that the mission was terminated by onboard computers – for reasons yet to be uncovered – which triggered the ship to explode.Another partial successThis was a vast improvement compared to the first test launch back in April‚ when SpaceX was forced to blow the rocket up just 4 minutes after launch‚ after Super Heavy experienced engine failures and didn’t separate. As a result‚ the company introduced a multitude of modifications to both Starship and its launchpad‚ which was damaged during the first test.One of the key differences was the use of “hot staging” – instead of firing its engines after the booster separates‚ the ship’s engines fire whilst still attached‚ giving it some extra power. Elon Musk‚ CEO and founder of SpaceX‚ had previously called this “the riskiest part of the flight.”       IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Given that this approach to booster separation worked‚ in spite of the risks‚ many are viewing this launch as another partial success. This includes SpaceX‚ posting to X (formerly known as Twitter) calling the launch “an exciting second integrated flight test of Starship”.“With a test like this‚ success comes from what we learn‚ and today’s test will help us improve Starship’s reliability as SpaceX seeks to make life multiplanetary.”Will we make it to the Moon in 2025?Still‚ the result of Saturday’s test will come as a disappointment for those hoping for a Moon landing in 2025. NASA announced earlier this year its plans for the Artemis III mission to have humans back on the Moon in 2025‚ and current contracts mean that it’s relying on the success of Starship for this.The more delays in Starship’s development‚ the more likely it is that the mission will also be delayed. Not to mention‚ both stages of the rocket are meant to be reusable – a massive money-saver for space travel – so getting a handle on any other “rapid unscheduled disassembly” will likely be an important focus in the next stages of modifications and improvements.

Scientists at the Schmidt Ocean Institute have discovered a new hydrothermal vent field off the Western Galápagos Islands – one that has been speculated about for around 20 years‚ but never actually located until now. To finally pin the evasive vents down‚ the team had some help from a group of obliging squat lobsters‚ whose trail led them exactly where they needed to be.Setting out to characterize hydrothermal vents west of the Galápagos in the Pacific Ocean‚ the researchers stumbled upon the new field‚ which is larger than a soccer pitch and made up of five geyser-like chimneys and three hot springs. Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water can escape. As such‚ things get pretty toasty around them – the highest temperature recorded at the freshly discovered field was 288°C (550°F).But it was only after spotting a Galatheid crab‚ also known as a squat lobster‚ that these observations became possible. As the team followed the crustaceans like breadcrumbs‚ their number grew‚ until finally they arrived at the long-awaited vent field. “Scientists have known since the early 2000s that this vent field was likely there. But it was particularly hard to locate because the fluids are clear and do not emit large clouds into the water like black smokers do‚” Dr Roxanne Beinart‚ one of the lead researchers‚ said in a statement. “It took our team of chemists‚ geologists‚ biologists‚ and a few crabs to find it.”Alongside the geysers and hot springs‚ the team found giant tube worms thriving in the balmy waters of the field‚ which has been named “Sendero del Cangrejo” or “Trail of the Crabs” in homage to its crustacean colonizers.  The discovery of the 9‚178 square meter (98‚791 square foot) field was the result of a 30-day expedition‚ beginning on August 13‚ which involved Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park Directorate‚ Charles Darwin Foundation‚ and the Ecuadorian Navy’s Oceanographic and Antarctic Institute. Falkor (too) has had quite a year‚ being involved in numerous discoveries that have helped further our understanding of hydrothermal vents and their effects on the entire planet.“This is the fourth hydrothermal vent field discovery made by scientists on our new research vessel Falkor (too) since March‚ in addition to the discovery in August of a new animal ecosystem living under hydrothermal vents‚” said Schmidt Ocean Institute Executive Director Dr Jyotika Virmani.“With 75 percent of the seafloor still to map‚ finding this new vent field shows how much we still have to learn about our planet and those who live on it. I am continually amazed by the otherworldly beauty of our seafloor and look forward to uncovering more.”A large cluster of giant tube worms proved the researchers were in a new hydrothermal vent field.Image credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute (CC BY-NC-SA)This expedition‚ and others like it‚ help create a more complete picture of the deep sea as a whole‚ as well as of the area west of the Galápagos more specifically. They also shed some light on hydrothermal vent systems and how they are interconnected.“Understanding and adding a better description of the distribution and unique nature of such deep-water hydrothermal communities is hugely important for the integral management of our oceans‚” said Stuart Banks‚ Senior Marine Scientist at the Charles Darwin Foundation. “Such a discovery for the Galapagos and Eastern Tropical Pacific takes us important steps closer to ensuring hidden deep-water biodiversity is recognized‚ appreciated‚ and built into ongoing conservation efforts.”

Hypnosis doesn’t work on everyone‚ with some people being particularly responsive to suggestion while others are more difficult to mesmerize. To try and understand why certain individuals are so easily entranced‚ researchers have recorded the brain activity of a group of volunteers while attempting to hypnotize them‚ revealing key differences between the brains of the most and least susceptible subjects.The study – which has yet to be peer-reviewed – involved a total of 75 participants‚ all of whom were asked to complete an assessment designed to reveal their susceptibility to hypnosis. This pre-screening stage allowed the authors to identify 40 individuals who scored either extremely high or unusually low‚ meaning they were classified as very likely or unlikely to respond to being hypnotized.The researchers then used electroencephalography (EEG) to record the neural activity of these 40 volunteers before and after “hypnotic induction”‚ which was achieved by one of the researchers reading a suggestive script. “By recording [EEG] before and after hypnotic induction and analyzing diverse neurophysiological features‚ we identify several features that differentiate between high and low hypnotic susceptible individuals for both pre- and post-induction periods‚ which underscores the multifaceted nature of hypnotic phenomena‚” write the researchers.“Instead of pinpointing a singular neural pattern‚ our results corroborate the understanding that hypnotic experiences possess a layered neural foundation‚” they continue.However‚ while the factors separating strong and weak responders were numerous‚ one element of brain activity stood out as a clear predictor of susceptibility to hypnosis. Specifically‚ differences in the aperiodic exponent of neural activity prior to hypnotic induction were found to correlate with a person’s predisposition to being put under.EEG readings are made up of two parts‚ known as the periodic and aperiodic exponents. Periodic signals are oscillatory‚ meaning they repeat at regular time intervals. These neural oscillations emerge from a background of aperiodic signals‚ which don’t repeat.It’s likely that these differences in baseline aperiodic signals influence a person’s “mental absorption‚ feelings of relaxation‚ and preparation for hypnotic responding.” According to the researchers‚ these traits are typically higher in those who are more easily beguiled‚ and are therefore likely to influence a person’s suitability for hypnosis.Perhaps the most important finding here is that the patterns that determine susceptibility to hypnosis were found in the period before hypnotic induction‚ rather than afterwards. “Susceptibility to hypnotic suggestion therefore reflects a predisposition that is captured by neural features independent from the hypnotic procedure‚” write the study authors.“This finding resonates with the hypothesis that hypnotic susceptibility is an inherent psychological trait predisposing certain individuals to be more responsive to suggestions‚” they conclude.A preprint of the study‚ which is a preliminary version of a scientific paper that has not been validated by peer review‚ can be found on bioRxiv.