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( ) HE HAD PRESSED TOO FAR INTO THE ENEMY AND IT HAD COST HIM HIS ARM. Major Felton Hervey was riding at the head of two squadrons of 14th Light Dragoons. Attempting to extract a dear price from the retreating French column of infantry at the Battle of Porto, Hervey and his cavalry . Numerous casualties were inflicted and 300 prisoners were captured. But the ...Continue reading

, PACKED WITH GRENADIERS, THE BOATS NEARED THE BEACH. Chomping at the bit, Britain’s elite troops hit the shore and towards the French entrenchments. Leading the Royal American Grenadiers was Captain Ochterlony....Continue reading

, THE ATTACK CAME AS A COMPLETE SURPRISE. British Envoy Sir Louis Cavagnari felt he and his diplomatic mission’s staff were safe. Any move against him, reasoned Cavagnari, would be foolish because the British military would seek . He was wrong. It was the morning of September 3rd, 1879 inside fortified Bala Hissar of Kabul. Conscript regiments from Western Afghanistan had arrived in Kabul the previous month, and had...Continue reading

’ ’ , THE BATTLE RAGED ON INTO THE NIGHT. The key to victory was clear. The hill where the British artillery had established themselves had to be captured. However, charging an artillery battery often meant to the attacker.... With a heavy heart American General Jacob Brown approached the commander of the 21st U.S. Infantry: Colonel Millerwill you please form up your regiment and ? Colonel James Miller raised his herculean form and fixed his eye, for an intently upon the battery: then turning his bit of tobacco, with great -, he replied with a significant nod, ’ , . With the British artillerymen distracted by the advancing 1st U.S. Infantry, Miller moved his regiment forward. Taking advantage of a fence, Miller had his men rest their on the rails and take careful aim at the enemy gunners. The well-directed volley that ensued : Not a man at the cannon was left to put fire to them. Miller’s well-trained unit at the point of the bayonet. Shocked by the turn of events, the British mounted an immediate counter attack. Exchanging disciplined volleys, . Three times the British attacked but Miller held firm. The British eventually disengaged to re-group. American forces consolidated on the hill, reinforcing Miller’s hard-fought position. The American Army would endure but three more attacks including crossing bayonets that moon-lit night but hold the hill at an . After Miller’s heroics in capturing the hill, a wounded General Brown would say to the Colonel: my dear fellow, my , but I knew it was the only thing that would save us. Good leadership and disciplined troops on that dark, blood-soaked Canadian hill, had shown the world the American Army had become a professional fighting force. Or as the enemy British General remarked: . In May 1815 the American Infantry was consolidated. The 21st U.S. Infantry was merged with other regiments to form the 5th US Infantry. ’ became the unit’s Motto. They also were awarded the ' Battle streamer for their regimental colors. (Miller would not have made a good Jedi. Yoda taught: " . .") #Warof1812 #usarmy #infantry #mottooftheday #army #ushistory https://www.militaryheritage.com//Battle-of-lundys-lane-18

& ' , DURING THE DISASTEROUS RETREAT FROM KABUL, Lieutenant Souter and a sergeant had removed the 44th Regiment's Colours (flags) from their staffs and put them around their bodies. The honour of the regiment was instilled in the colours and they needed to be protected. Souter had the yellow regimental colour (see painting). The enemy closed on Souter. An Afghan - at the shoulder. ...He could no longer wield it. Pointing his pistol at his assailant, he pulled the trigger. It misfired. In an act of frustration he threw the pistol to the ground, and readied himself for the end. While the Afghans stabbing, Souter was spared. Souter's sheepskin coat (posteen) had come open revealing the yellow regimental colour. "Thinking I was some great man form looking so flash, I was seized by two fellows..." He was plundered of most of his clothing, money and the regimental colour. His captors, Meer Jann and his son-in-law took Souter to their village where his wound was treated. His telescope was brought to him by his captors and he explained how it worked. Surprisingly Souter with the son-in-law. One day, to his delight, the son-in-law returned the Regimental Colour to Souter. It was void of its tassels and fringe but otherwise intact. Souter would survive his captivity and returned to his regiment with the Regimental Colour. Described as "a mere bundle of ribands" before the last stand, the remnants of the flag today hang in the Regimental Chapel at Warley, England. ------ In the painting, the officer to the right with the yellow and union jack peaking out from underneath his coat is Lieutenant Souter. (Painting by William Barnes Wollen, 1898)

Afghan foot soldiers (in winter dress) that sniped the British column that fled Kabul in 1842. They were also armed with captured British muskets. #Afghanistan #Kabul

, IT HAD ALL GONE WRONG. The streets of Kabul were flooded with insurgents. Shah Shuja Durrani (who viewed his own people as dogs) was dead by an ’ and his British-backed Afghan regime had collapsed. The British and Indian troops along with thousands of civilians, including women and children, fled the city for Jalalabad. Safe passage was granted by the insurgents in return for surrendering the city. Unfortunately for the Br...itish, it was a ruse. The retreat turned to . Without wood, scores died in the January cold with many of the Indian Sepoy troops . The column came under constant attack by Ghilzais. The line of march was a gauntlet of sporadic , accented with probing skirmishes. Three days into the retreat and already over three thousand frozen bodies lined their path from Kabul. On the fourth day, ill-equipped for winter, the Sepoys deserted the Army and attempted to return to Kabul. They were killed or enslaved. Out of desperation the wives of British and Indian Officers accepted the Afghan leader’s offer to surrender as hostages to be negotiated for later. However, their Indian servants and the sepoy wives were murdered. By the sixth day, over twelve thousand were died or missing. Still, the British troops, principally the 44th Regiment of Foot, fought on. of the snake, the Afghan leader invited the British commanders to negotiations. Instead of negotiating, they were made prisoners. The remaining group of British fragmented. These isolated pockets of troops were . Some mounted soldiers tried to make a dash through the mountain pass towards Jalalabad. The last stand for the British, came on a hill near Gandamak. Sixty-five officers and men stood there . Together they barely had 40 rounds of ammunition. The Afghans asked them to surrender and promised them fair treatment. After having been duped by the enemy before, one British sergeant supposedly responded: ! With the exception of a handful of men, the British holdouts were cut down. A few days later, outside Jalalabad a lone horseman appeared on the horizon. Army surgeon William Brydon had made it through the pass. When asked where the British force of 12,000 was, Brydon responded . Image: Remnants of an Army by Elizabeth Butler, 1879 #Afghanistan #Kabul #britisharmy

' , (Postscript to Mirepoix Incident) TWO YEARS AFTER THE DIPLOMATIC FAUX PAS WITH THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR, Daniel Davis, a Drum Major* in the Foot Guards, . Wanted notices were published with a reward for finding him AND his gold-laced Drum Major's coat. Pawn shops were warned to be on the lookout. Sure enough ....Continue reading

, THE GAME OF DIPLOMACY was fraught with social intrigue. Pomp and pageantry were displays of power and influence. Etiquette was weaponized to outmaneuver political adversaries. Enter the new French Ambassador to Great Britain in July 1749. The (image below) arrived in London and immediately threw an elegant Levée for all foreign Ambassadors. His residence was deemed too small and Mirepoix made arrangements to move to... the former accommodations of the Russian Ambassador. Then came his official audience with the King at Kensington Palace. The Duc of nobility, foreign ministers, and gentry to accompany him. With a hundred and fifty of his domestic servants dressed in red and silver livery, Mirepoix set off. He was welcomed by the Drums of the three regiments of Foot Guards who played various martial airs. After the performance, Mirepoix was accosted by the three Drum Majors present expecting payment for their services. A clear offered the ambassador an opportunity to embarrass the British royalty. if the Drum Major of the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps asked for a tip every time they performed for a visiting Head of State on the White House lawn ! Mirepoix presents his credentials to the king and afterwards is invited to dine with the Duke of Newcastle. This is followed a few days later with a dinner with the Prince of Wales. At one of these occasions about the impropriety of the Drum Majors. Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, being head of the army, is embarrassed. He immediately orders the Drum Majors reduced in rank to privates. One can only imagine the impact on the quality of music provided by Foot Guards by this order. It must of been significant for two weeks later Cumberland was forced to quietly reinstate the Drum Majors to former positions. . (Image: Left - Duc de Mirepoix Right- Foot Guards Drummer and Fifer c1751 by Morier) #7yearswar #SevenYearsWar #frenchandindianwar #london #fifeanddrum

(Battle of Ogdensburg, New York 1813) by him as Captain John Jenkins neared his target. ...Drifting snow impeded his every step. Opening the front of his long woolen greatcoat had helped his movement but still it was a struggle. Jenkin’s men of the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles had kept pace with him, along with the detachment of Canadian militia under his command. The plan that morning of February 22, 1813 had his force crossing the frozen St. Lawrence River to cut off any attempt of escape by American forces at Ogdensburg, New York. However from the increasing muzzle flashes ahead, it was clear his column and not his commander’s would face the brunt of enemy opposition. With his sleigh-mounted 6-pdr artillery piece stuck in a snow drift, hopes of laying down significant suppression fire to ease his advance had been dashed. Undaunted, the dashing New Brunswicker called for his men to fix bayonets and prepare to storm the enemy position. American riflemen kept up a continual fire, sniping from behind their barracks buildings and palisade. The New York Militia artillerymen had allowed the wheels of their artillery pieces to become frozen to the ground. They had worked frantically to correct their mistake, and now were moving their guns to answer the threat Jenkins’ force posed. With a wave of his sword, 27-year-old Jenkins cheered his men forward as he led the attack towards the enemy. Now in position to create a crossfire, the American artillery fired. Grape shot spewed out of the artillery pieces and into the advancing column. One of the small iron balls struck Jenkins, shattering his left arm. Rising back to his feet, Jenkins' adrenaline still powered him forward. Continuing to wave his sword and cheering his men on, the gallant young officer slowly closed the distance with the American artillery. Loaded with case shot, a cannon muzzle exploded with a flash launching a wall of musket balls. Jenkins right arm was hit by the onslaught and his sword tumbled into the snow. Others fell wounded. One Glengarry Light Infantryman from the Kingston area remembered: Here were my fellows falling on my right and on my left, some dead and some wounded. Just before we reached the shore on the enemy’s side of the river, I received a shot a little below my ankle joint, which brought me down on the ice. Still Jenkins moved forward calling for his men to follow, but blood loss and the fatigue of trudging through the snow was too much. Helped from the battlefield, Jenkins was ferried back across to Prescott for medical attention. As the wounded poured in, Assistant Surgeon David Griffiths went to work. Assessing Jenkins state, the surgeon determined his right arm could be saved but his left had to be removed. Griffiths’ knife quickly sliced the skin were the saw blade would pass. Handed his amputation saw by a hospital attendant, Griffiths quickly cut Jenkins left arm off near the shoulder. How Jenkins handled himself during the taxing operation is unknown. After his stump and wounded right arm were treated and bandaged, Jenkins was carried to a hospital berth to rest. Though the soldier’s wives-turned-nurses were attentive, the room’s temperature fluctuated from overpowering heat to freezing cold. According to Griffiths, the amputees suffered the most from poor conditions in the hospital. Near Jenkins’ bed, lay Lieutenant Philip Empey of the Stormont Militia from Cornwall, Upper Canada. Empey had also fallen victim to American artillery fire and had his right leg amputated by Griffiths’ busy saw. How he would tend his farm and provide for his family would have to be address later. While victorious, the British and Canadians had suffered 7 killed and upwards to 45 wounded in the Battle of Ogdensburg. The only British unit in the engagement, the 8th Regiment of Foot, had one killed and 15 wounded. The rest were Canadian. This isn’t surprising since 77% of the total attacking force was made up of Canadian units. The victory itself removed a key threat to the exposed supply line to Upper Canada for the rest of the war. After a period of recovery, Jenkins returned to his native New Brunswick, taking up the post of Fredericton’s Town Major. Marrying Penelope Winslow upon his arrival, one could presume a happy end to Jenkins’s story. His wife noted otherwise: the poor fellow has returned from the wars covered with laurels but he has the loss of an arm to lament and the other severely wounded which remains very troublesome yet. His damaged arm continued to torment him. In 1817 Penelope noted her husband’s arm is better, at least it has healed but I think he suffers more pain from it than he did while it was open. The following year Lieutenant James MacAulay, the officer who took over in the battle when Jenkins was wounded, wrote to inquire about his friend’s health, recognizing Jenkins has suffered too much from his unfortunate wounds to find pleasure in writing. He goes on to state his former Captain is one of the best fellows ever I knew and I should be sorry to forget him. John Jenkins passed away on February 9, 1819, almost six years to the day the young officer charged across the frozen St. Lawrence River. #Warof1812 #battle #ogdensburg #prescott #newbrunswick #sdghighlanders

Like soldiers painting names on weapons in WW2, the sailors of the USS Chesapeake named their guns (cannons) in the War of 1812. Names included: WILFUL MURDER... DEATH OR LIBERTY SEAMEN'S RIGHTS DREADNOUGHT REVENGE NANCY DAWSON (a popular song) BULL DOG JUMPING BULLY Since a gun crew served two artillery pieces, depending on which side of the ship was firing, both guns were given the same name. Unfortunately for the crew of WILFUL MURDER, they were all killed by broadsides from HMS Shannon. USS Chesapeake (whose Captain's dying words were "Don't Give Up the Ship") was captured by HMS Shannon and towed into Halifax harbour. Maybe this practice of naming the artillery pieces was also the case on the USS Constitution.

- . . OUT OF NOWHERE ICE SUDDENLY SURROUNDED THEIR WOODEN FISHING VESSEL. They were two miles from shore, yet the turbulent . ... Captain Ottamkoff and his fourteen crew members were not even supposed to be here. Eight days before they had set sail on fair winds from the sleepy northern Russian port of Mezen, bound for whaling fishery seasonal settlements of West Spitzbergen. But the winds had turned on them and had driven towards less hospitable Edge Island (Edgeøya or East Spitzbergen). . ... #survival #18thCentury #arctic #SurvivalSkills #history #prepping #prepper #survivor #castaway

Three Cheers for Our Faithful Customers!!! We have had our best yearly Sales in over 26 years of being in Business. Our staff here cannot THANK YOU enough for your continued support. Keep Spreading the Word that History is Cool and that Culture matters!... (Image: The Farewell to the Scots Fusilier Guards, published 1854 by G.H. Thomas in the Royal Collection. Crimean War)