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James G. Blunt, the Union commander

The Battle of Van Buren was fought at Van Buren, Arkansas, on December 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. After winning the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, Union brigadier generals James G. Blunt (pictured) and Francis J. Herron prepared for a raid against the Confederate positions at Van Buren and Fort Smith. The Union troops struck an outlying Confederate cavalry unit north of Van Buren the morning of December 28. The Confederate cavalry fled to Van Buren, which was then overrun by Union troops. The Union pursued and captured three steamboats, Confederate troops, and many supplies; two more steamboats and more supplies were destroyed by the Confederates. An artillery duel occurred at Van Buren and there was minor skirmishing further downriver after nightfall. After the battle, Confederate major general Thomas C. Hindman withdrew his men to Little Rock and the Union force returned from the raid. The battles of Prairie Grove and Van Buren broke Confederate strength in the region. (Full article...)

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On this day

December 28

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2009 – Tibetan dissident filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen was imprisoned for subversion by Chinese authorities after a secret trial.
2014 – The passenger ferry Norman Atlantic (pictured) caught fire in the Adriatic Sea.

Maurice Ravel (d. 1937)
Ratan Tata (b. 1937)
Sharon Dyall (b. 1962)

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Today's featured picture

$10: Abraham Lincoln, eagle, Art
$20: Liberty
$50: Alexander Hamilton

$100: spread eagle
$500: Albert Gallatin
$1000: Robert Morris

Greenbacks were emergency paper currency issued by the United States during the American Civil War that were printed in green on the reverse side. They were in two forms: Demand Notes, issued from 1861 to 1862, and United States Notes, issued from 1862 to 1865. A form of fiat money, the banknotes were legal tender for most purposes and carried varying promises of eventual payment in coin, but were not backed by existing gold or silver reserves. These nine banknotes, part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, form a complete set of the 1862–63 issue of greenbacks. Each bears the signatures of L. E. Chittenden (Register of the Treasury) and F. E. Spinner (Treasurer of the United States), and features an engraving of a prominent individual or other artwork, identified above.

Banknote design credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; scanned by Andrew Shiva

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