August 16, 1869: The Battle of Acosta Ñu

August 16, 1869: The Battle of Acosta Ñu is fought in Eusebio Ayala, Paraguay. It is a disaster for the host nation.

The Treaty of the Triple Alliance was signed on May 1, 1865, by Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, against Paraguay. Brazil and Paraguay had gone to war over territory the year before, and Brazil, then an Empire under Emperor Pedro II, was able to build alliances, while Paraguay was not.

By the Summer of 1869, the Paraguayan capital of Asunción was occupied, and the Paraguayan Army was in full retreat. President Francisco Solano López refused to surrender, and retreated to the hills. A battle was set up at Acosta Ñu (meaning "Acosta's Field"), but, as has happened so often when an army is near defeat, the country was desperate, taking whatever it could get, including children. The 3,500 poorly armed Paraguayans, mostly boys between nine and 15 years old, old men and wounded combatants, confronted 20,000 Brazilian and Argentine veteran soldiers.

It was a wipeout. Children were said to cling to the legs of Brazilian soldiers amidst the raging battle, pleading for mercy, only to be decapitated without hesitation. Once all flanks collapsed, the wounded children tried to flee the battlefield alongside their relatives. Yet the Brazilian commander ordered his cavalry to cut the retreat and set the battlefield ablaze, including the field hospital. Large numbers of children died because of these actions.

The war lost, Paraguay was left to try a drawn-out guerrilla resistance. Much of the civilian population died due to battle, hunger, and disease. Left to lead troops personally, Solano López was killed in the Battle of Cerro Corá on March 1, 1870. Argentine and Brazilian troops occupied Paraguay until 1876.

After the defeat of Paraguay in 1870, Brazil and Argentina, who were traditional enemies, hovered on the brink of mutual warfare for six years because of disputes and misunderstandings about the treaty.

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August 16, 1869 was a Monday. This was the 1st year of open professional sports in America, as the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the 1st baseball club to publicly admit that its players were being paid. On this day, they beat the Eckford club of Brooklyn, 38-0 at the Union Grounds in Brooklyn.

May 25, 1871: New York's 1st Major League Baseball Game

"Death to Flying Things"

May 25, 1871: New York's 1st major league baseball game is played – sort of. It is played in the National Association, which some baseball observers count as "major league," while others don't.

Opening their season, The Mutual Base Ball Club, which had been playing since 1857, played their 1st NA game on May 18, beating the Troy Haymakers, 14-3 at the Haymakers' Grounds, in Troy, across the Hudson River from Albany, the capital of the State of New York.

One week later, on May 25, they played their 1st game in what would now be considered the City of New York, and lost to the Haymakers, 25-10 before a crowd of 3,000 at the Union Grounds in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

One week later, on June 1, the Mutuals got their 1st win, beating the Forest City club of Rockford, Illinois 7-3 before 2,000 at the Union Grounds.

The Union Grounds

The Mutuals were owned by William Cammeyer, who in 1862 built the Union Grounds as the 1st enclosed ballpark – and, thus, the 1st one where admission could be charged. Their manager was Brooklyn native Bob Ferguson, an infielder so good, his nickname was "Death to Flying Things." The team also included Joe Start, the sport's 1st great 1st baseman; and Dickey Pearce, who succeeded the Cincinnati Red Stockings' George Wright as the game's best shortstop.

In spite of all this talent, the Mutuals finished just 16-17, 7½ games behind the Pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics. That team went out of business in 1876, and had no connection to the team of the same name founded in the American League in 1901, playing in Oakland since 1968. The Mutuals also folded in 1876.

The Union Grounds last hosted baseball in 1883. The site is now mostly taken up by New York State's 47th Regiment Armory.

May 25, 1871 was a Thursday. This was the only game played. So there were no other scores on this historic day.