Civil War

The Shell Game

.The Shell Game

The Shell Game

Picture someone firing a cannon. What do you picture coming out of the barrel? Probably a round ball, which would make sense because that is often how it’s portrayed. During the Civil War, the art of artillery, and of designing munitions entered a new age. The picture above is a collection of many of the different types of projectiles that were used during the war.

You had the solid round shot, which is what you were picturing. It was effective in knocking things down and were often heated in ovens until red-hot so that when the hit something, like a house, ship or fortification, it could set it on fire.

There was “canister” which turned your canon into a giant shotgun peppering the enemy with small round projectiles.

You had timed fuses for shells that could cause them to either burst in the air and rain shrapnel down on the enemy, or they could be set to detonate some time after hitting the ground effectively acting a type of land mine.

Then came the rifled projectiles (the ones that look like giant bullets). They could travel further and could be outfitted with fuses or set to explode on contact.

Every situation had a special shell that could be used.  If you would like more information on each individual type of ammunition produced I would recommend this website, Civil War Artillery Projectiles. They break down the many different types well.

So the next time someone asks what a cannon fires, ask for more detail because there are many, many different options…

 

American Revolution

Monmouth Flag

Monmouth Flag

Monmouth Flag

In April 1775 when the American Revolution became an armed conflict the people of America were torn. For the most part, the conflict was not against the King or the Empire, but against Parliment. They saw themselves mostly still as loyal subjects and Englishmen.

In August of that year that the King issued A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition. He formally declared the colonies in rebellion. The people in America who thought the king may be an ally, now realized he was NOT on their side. From there the true independence movement began to grow.

Many of the early flags of the rebellious colonies show the mixed emotions of the time. Feeling like they were still British, the Union Jack showed prominently in the corner of the flags. The solid colored field varied from colony to colony.

It was not until The Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution on June 14, 1777, that the now familiar United States flag began to make an appearance. Thirteen white stars on a blue field, red and white stripes alternating. The idea of still being British was cast off as the new nation struggled for independence. A new flag symbolized a new destiny.

The flag in the picture above is one of the earliest surviving flags. It has been dated back to 1775-76 and was passed down through the hands of a Pennsylvania family. Reportedly it was flown in combat at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. From that, it has taken the name of the “Monmouth Flag.”

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Bite The Bullet

“Borrowed” from Dreamstime. Amazing how many results for this image search were on the risque side! 

Bite The Bullet

The phrase “bite the bullet” is one that you most likely hear in regards to someone doing something they don’t want to do or to have courage in the face of adversity.

“I don’t want to go to this meeting, but I guess I better bite the bullet.”

It has long been thought that the military origin of this word comes from around the time of the American Civil War when patients on the operating table were given a bullet to bite down on the help them not think about the pain. This is a little suspect though as for the most part, though anesthetics were still in an early stage of use most patients were given a leather strap to bite down on or even a piece of wood.

Plus the phrase actually predates the Civil War by a number of years turning up in the 1796 A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. The phrase “chew a bullet” is part of the definition of Nightingale, a soldier that cries out when being punished. Tough soldiers were said to chew the bullet to avoid calling out.

It can be said the phrase entered the popular zeitgeist in Rudyard Kipling’s 1891 novel The Light That Failed where the phrase was used to indicate toughening up and doing something that must be done.

All said the phrase has a definite military origin, even if it can’t be nailed down completely.

Civil War

“The Stainless Banner”

"The Stainless Banner"

“The Stainless Banner”

 

On May 1, 1863, the flag you see above became the official national flag of the Confederate States of America. The version seen in the picture above has a slightly different design for use as a naval ensign. The flag above flew over one of the ships of the Confederate Navy.

The name “The Stainless Banner” came from the large white field that takes up most of the flag. White, seen as a symbol of purity, was chosen by the designer to symbolize the “supremacy of the white man” and he referred to it as “The White Man’s Flag”. (Even typing his words makes my skin crawl.) That man, William T. Thompson, was a newspaper editor in Savannah, GA who also doubled as a blockade runner.

His design for the new flag was submitted to Congress and his newspaper was sued to rally support for the new standard. Eventually, thanks to the Richmond papers carrying his editorials, approval for the design gained momentum. Some have implied that he was the creator of the more familiar “battle flag” of the Confederacy but that preexisted the second national flag and was only used by Thompson.

Reception

When the Confederate Congress passed the official act naming that design as the national flag, it seemed well received by the public. Before long though it was thought to be, ironically, “too white”. Having the battle flag sitting on top of a white flag was sending a bit of a mixed message. A white flag generally indicated surrender. not a good thing to be flying over the battlefield.

In 1865, near the end of the war, the design was changed to include a red vertical stripe at the far edge. This “bloodline” symbolized those lost in the war.

The flag was last flown in an official capacity on the CSS Shenandoah that was based out of Liverpool, England. On November 7, 1865, it was lowered but lives on as a symbol. One thing is for sure, 150 years later the flag still has an impact.

 

 

 

American Revolution

The Power Of The Press

The Power Of The Press

The Power Of The Press

As part of the celebration of the Bicentennial (America’s 200th Birthday) President Gerald Ford was presented with a printing press that had been built in France in 1785. The gift was to point out how the printing press in our struggle for independence. The power of the press accomplished more than any battle ever could have.

Americans in the Eighteenth Century were among the most literate people in the world. Newspapers were numerous and political pamphlets and broadsides were as common as blogs are today. This enabled people in Georgia to read about the events in Boston in the words of people who witnessed events. This chain of paper bound the colonies together.

PR Outreach

Pamphlets formed the spine of the resistance. Some of the most important ones in the years prior to 1775 are:

  • John Dickinson, Letters of a Farmer in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1768)
  • James Warren, Oration to Commemorate the Bloody Tragedy of the Fifth of March, 1770 (Boston, 1772)
  • Thomas Jefferson, A Summary View of the Rights of British Americans (Williamsburg, 1774)

The opposition also generated a ton of paper to get their views out to as many people as possible. Some of their most notable are:

  • Samuel Seabury, The Congress Canvassed (New York, 1774)
  • Thomas B. Chandler, A Friendly Address to All Reasonable Americans(New York, 1774)
  • Daniel Leonard, Origin of the American Contest . . . by Massachusettensis (Boston, 1775)

As for newspapers, well there were many on both sides that spoke for the Patriots and the Loyalists, each a propaganda arm of the various movements. The best look at newspapers during the Revolution comes in the collection Reporting the Revolutionary War by Todd Andrlink. In that collection, he gathers many of the surviving newspaper articles. Worth a read. You can catch an interview with him about the book here.

The printing press was a very apt present for the country. It serves as a reminder that the power of the press is an awesome power that should be wielded responsibly, now more than ever.

 

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Wall Street

Wall Street
A depiction of the wall of New Amsterdam on a tile in the Wall Street subway station, serving the 4 5 trains By Gryffindor (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Wall Street

Way back in 1653,  when New York was New Amsterdam, the first line of defense for the colony was a simple earthwork redoubt that was designed to keep people out.  Over time the redoubt was replaced with a wooden stockade. The road that followed along the inside of the stockade became known as Wall Street.

Even in the early days merchants and traders would set up along Wall Street to sell stocks and bonds and trade securities. Eventually, this street became the financial center of the city and colony. In 1792 a group of these men got together and created the basis for what would become the New York Stock Exchange.

In a completely unrelated note (cough, cough), when the US Constitution was ratified New York became the capital of the new country for the first couple of years.  The old City Hall was refurbished into Federal Hall where the new Senate and House of Representatives would meet. This building sat smack in the middle of Wall Street. Setting no precedents what so ever…

Uncategorized

Last Post of 2018!

Last Post of 2018!

Last Post of 2018!

 

This will be the last post for 2018 and we will pick up again after the new year starts,

Thank you to everyone who follows and reads this blog. It is a work of love and it is good to know it is appreciated.

American Military History is not just the story of the wars that were fought. About who won or lost. It is about the men and women that sacrificed everything for a cause, for a country, for a hope for a better future. In life and death, those who take up that fight deserve to be honored and remembered.

My father was a Vietnam War veteran. Some of the photos he took while over there are featured on this blog. He left us years ago before his entire story could be told. There is so much about the time he was over there that ill never be known because he was never quite ready to talk about it. Part of the reason that I wanted to end the year with the picture above is to honor him. The Three Soldiers stand right near the Vietnam Memorial, watching over those names that adorn it.  I was very lucky that my father’s name is not on that wall, but to this day I believe that a small piece of him is there with his friends that didn’t make it home.

Hello 2019

2018 was a good year for Historia Militaris. We broke 1,000 follows on Facebook and told over 100 stories this year. Next year we are going to bring some exciting new content to the blog, maybe even some additional contributors. We want to grow this and tell as many stories as possible. And we will, thanks to everyone that reads it.

If you like what we bring, share the posts, like them as they go on Facebook and invite others to partake in our journey.

See you all in 2019!

 

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

Wear Your Heart On Your Sleeve

 

Wearing your heart on your sleeve has become eponymous of someone who does not hide their emotions. That person the cries at the end of sad movies or who may over hug when saying goodbye. Even those that get angry quickly. For the origin of this phrase we find our selves back in the middle ages and the tournaments.

As the knights were preparing to joust, the ladies of the court (noble women) would select their favorite knight to act as their champion. Sometimes it would come from a romantic link, sometimes not. (Medieval considerations of love an romance were sometimes complicated.)

The lady would present her knight with a scarf.  He dutifully tied this around his arm to secure his lovers brooch or other tokens. This was worn out in plain view for all to see. It came to be said the lady “pinned her hopes” on the knight while he “wore his heart on his sleeve.”

American Revolution, Frontier

Keep Your Powder Dry

Keep Your Gunpowder Dry

Keep Your Gunpowder Dry

 

Gunpowder changed the way that lives were lived and wars were fought, no one can deny that. From guns to bombs, to fireworks, to any number of uses.  It gives a great amount of bang for the buck (pun intended). The only problem is that once it gets wet, it quits banging. So for ages people have been coming up with ways to keep their powder dry. The most popular was the good old-fashioned cow horn. It was waterproof and easily obtainable, just eat a cow and usually you get two!

During the French & Indian War, American and British forces took the old-fashioned powder horn to new heights by engraving them with military themes. The smooth surfaces were perfect for engraving and anyone that has been to war knows the old adage, “hurry up and wait.” So the men had plenty of time to be creative.

The powder horn above was a custom job that was carved for a veteran of the 1758 siege of Louisbourg (Nova Scotia, yeah, we invaded Nova Scotia once). The horn contains a map of the city showing where each artillery battery was located, shows ships in the harbor firing on the city, a hunter with his dog, and a light infantryman firing his weapon at Native Americans. (It was a different time!)

In the center of the horn is a distinctively carved tree. This style of the tree was like a signature for the artist. Unfortunately, he remains unidentified, but his work has been seen several times.

 

American Revolution, Museum

Purple Heart

 

Purple Heart

Purple Heart

 

On August 7th, 1782 from his headquarters in New York General George Washington established the Badge of Military Merit, the precursor to the Purple Heart you see above. In his official order creating the award he wrote that “the road to glory in a patriot army and a free country is…open to all.” For what is believed to be the first time a military service award could be given to an enlisted man instead of just officers which was the European tradition.

Three soldiers of the Revolution were awarded the Badge of Military Merit and hold the distinction of being presented with the award by General Washington personally.

  • William Brown, Sergeant of the 5th Connecticut Regiment of the Connecticut Line
  • Elijah Churchill, Sergeant of the 2nd Regiment Light Dragoons
  • Daniel Bissell. Sergeant of the 2nd Connecticut Regiment of the Connecticut Line

After the war, the award was almost forgotten and fell into disuse, but never officially decommissioned. After WWI an attempt was made by the Army to revive it, but the attempt faltered until 1931. That year General Douglas MacArthur, the Army Chief of Staff, moved ahead with the process and a total redesign.

Unveiled on the bicentennial of Washington’s birth. The new design features a heart-shaped medallion that features the bust of General Washington, hanging on the purple ribbon.

Originally the award was given for those wounded in combat as well as those who performed meritorious achievement. Eventually, with the commissioning of the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart was reserved exclusively for the wounded. The first recipient of the Purple Heart? General Douglas MacArthur himself!

For more information on the award, please visit http://www.thepurpleheart.com/history/

People, Places and Things from US Military History

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