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Adventures in #Historyland . Books (Colonial History/Combat & Culture), Articles & Videos
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
I am so honoured and flattered by the acclaim my little book garnered.
“The first historian to really mix all the elements together and suggest the true military consequences of the siege on the War of American Independence." René Chartrand
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@DrKarimWafa
It used to be called the Holy land because all faiths lived there. Even the crusaders knew this!
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Biddiss (Scott’s military advisor on Napoleon) takes historians to task. Arguing that the historians don’t understand what he understands because they use inaccurate pictures on their books.
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If the Native Americans win a battle, it’s a massacre. If the white guys win it’s a battle. If a warrior kills a soldier, it’s a brutal slaying, & the soldier dies with honour, if a soldier killed a warrior, the soldier gains plaudits and the warrior just dies.
@brettachapman
June 25th, 1876 Lt. Colonel Custer and his 7th U.S. Cavalry move to attack an Indian encampment on the Little Bighorn River, only to be completely cut off, and surrounded by Indians. Custer and his men fight heroically until one by one they are brutally killed by the Indians.
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‘Napoleon’ as a script is very flat. For instance, totally missing from the Battle of Austerlitz is Bessieres eyeing the advance of the Russian Chevalier Guard, then drawing his sword & calling to the Grenadiers á Cheval ‘Now boys! Let us make the ladies of St Perersbourg weep!’
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This is the uniform Napoleon wore at the Battle of Marengo in 1800. It is my favourite Napoleon outfit.
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Grey-blue war filter, Battle Wellington, complete with cape. Copenhagen sold separately.
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It was bad in ways I did not expect. I’m not even talking about accuracy or history.
There’s a decent musical in there fighting to get out, probably called ‘The Bonapartes at Home’. I wanted to like
#Napoleon
, l really did!
Talking of fighting; the worst on screen depiction of Waterloo ever.
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Semi regular bit of advice for visual media producers...
There are 2 things that are going to save your life in a medieval battle.
1: Helmet (& layers of maille & cotton under it)
2: Coat of arms which you will plaster across yourself like your life depended on it (FYI it does)
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See people, this is what happens when we lean too hard on ‘it’s not meant to be a documentary,’ thing. No, it is quite obviously not a documentary if Wellington and Napoleon get within a cannon-shot of each other, let alone sit down in a ship’s cabin for a chat and a brew.
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Today Napoleon I swore an oath in Notre Dame, to maintain the territory of the Republic, to uphold the law, freedom of religion, & civil liberty, to raise no unlawful tax, to maintain the Legion of Honour & to govern ‘in the sole interest, happiness & glory of the French people.’
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When Napoleon gave his famous pyramids speech, the import of most of his classical references were lost on the ordinary troops. The officers, who could appreciate some of it, seemed to enjoy the words, but they & NCO’s had to queue the men to cheer.
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Biddiss was the curator of the battles in War and Peace and the Waterloo scene in Vanity Fair. He can teach extras to March and shoot, but his grasp of actual 18th century, & Napoleonic warfare is poorly displayed in all his work. Much like Napoleon it is style over substance
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His accusation that because Historians use the famous crossing of the alps painting they are swallowing his propaganda, and by inference agreeing that Historians don’t know what they are talking about whereas Scott does, is another warped logic maze from this troubled production
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I see a sleeping dog. What part of my brain sees that?
Apparently, if you can see two people hugging, you're left-brained, and if you can see a dinosaur, you're right-brained. What do you see in the mountain?
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@ODanaos
Yes, only the ‘English’ did this crazy stunt no one else! Not even Napoleon, a gunner by training ….
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Two commenters from across the US political spectrum brought up some bad Revolutionary War history recently. So this is your semi regularly scheduled reminder that Britain was not the most powerful empire in the world in the 18th century. That’s just propaganda steroids.
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Have a look at the shot riddled stern flag of the 80 Gun San Ildefonso, taken at Trafalgar. It could cover the front of a terraced house!
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So first impression of the
#Napoleon
movie… it …well, how shall I put this… suuuuuuuucks.
Before and after.
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Girl in the Pompeii excavations. Filippo Palizzi (1818-1899).
What house is she contemplating,
@pompei79
?
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QRT the character vs how you drew the character.
Ethiopian nobleman or king from an 18th century fresco based on a medieval illumination.
QRT the character vs how you drew the character
The "character" in question is Emperor Axayacatl, wearing a xipe totec styled war suit. Setting is different though, my illustration shows him on campaign.
The codex shows him killing king Moquihuix during the Mexica civil war.
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I learn that in 1760 the Foot Guards Brigade was commanded by a Major General of Italian descent who’s family had anglicised their name from Caesarini. Thus a British Guards Brigade was led into the field by Major General Julius Caesar.
@PaoloNurra
@Svagaia
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This is the mud splattered campaign uniform worn by King Charles XII of Sweden at the siege of Trondheim in 1718. Held at the
@Livrustkammaren
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It happened. I wrote a book and it got published. The rest is up to you.
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So the only French actor in the
#Napoleon
Movie played the Emperor of Russia. That is irony.
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Today in 1805, off Cape Trafalgar, a true battle of the underdog, took place ...
where an inexperienced, underfunded, poorly supplied but bravely led fleet ...
Was crushed by the most effective battle fleet in the Western Hemisphere.
Sometimes the underdogs just lose.
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Name the 3 best known Napoleonic Battles that immediately come to your mind. It’s got nothing to do with your favourites, just the first three that come into your head. Go!
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General Sun Li-Jen’s march to support the British 1st Burma Division & the Battle of Yenangyaung in 1942 should be big time war-movie material. Forbidden to aid Gen Slim with his entire division, he went with one regiment, rescued the British & fought his way back to Burma.
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King Kamehameha I of Hawai’i. A Ruler, Conqueror and Lawgiver. One of the most successful public and military figures of the long 18th century. Arguably more successful in the three criteria above than Napoleon.
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The 90’s was just a golden age for nerdy & in some cases just overdone American military history movies wasn’t it?
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Hear me out guys … The House of Bonaparte, a series.
You’d think that by Napoleon IV the movie franchise will be tired. Not at all: The Prince Imperial watching the debacle of the Franco-Prussian War, scenes in exile in Chislehurst and the drama of the great-nephew of Napoleon dying fighting for the British in the Anglo-Zulu War.
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Grenadier mitre belonging to one of the the Pavlovsky Regiment (Павловский Полк) named Павелъ(?) Заицовъ(?) the marks made by French musket fire that struck the brass frontispiece during the Battle of Friedland 14 June 1807. [From Старый Цейхгауз on FB]
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It’s not accurate, but it is epic. Which is the review I thought I would give to Napoleon.
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Today in 1879 was fought the Battle of iSandlwana.
A story that should never be told without honouring the leadership of a single Zulu officer who turned the tide of the battle.
He was a grand old man of the Biyela clan named Mkhosana kaMvundlana.
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In 1707 at Almansa, Spain, a Frenchman with a British title (Duke of Berwick) commanding a Franco-Spanish army defeated a French Huguenot with an Irish title (Earl of Galway) in command of an Anglo-Portuguese army.
#WSS
#StuartsSaturday
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The best Three Musketeers ... no you can’t change my mind.
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Don Miguel de Castro, Emissary of Congo, and his two servants Diego Bemba (with box) and Pedro Sunda (with tusk) by Becx (c1640-1643). Castro was the emissary of the Kingdom of Congo, a kingdom with a Christian monarchy that existed independent from 1390-1857.
(I had no clue!)
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Impossible to quantify or substantiate. Also, to all the folks trying to argue for the Spartans at Thermopylae; same, & they had over 5K men at that battle, and they absolutely did not ‘stop’ the Persians there, they got outflanked and the Royal Guard (& the King!) got wiped out.
Man for man, the greatest fighting force the world has ever known.
The soldiers of the Confederate States of America.
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Today in 1746 was born Bernardo de Gálvez, perhaps the most able field commander in the 18th century Spanish army. He led a brilliant campaign between 1779-1781 which swept the British out of the Mississippi & West Florida. Gálvez showed what Spanish troops could do when well led
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@RafaelmenaI
It looks like the developers watched Apocalypto and thought they were watching “Aztecs”
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They were stronger on paper than the United States in 1775, & they had a very impressive overseas portfolio, but they just weren’t the top dog in the empire game. But I understand it’s part of the whole founding myth thing, but it’s bad history, and it’s obviously not helping.
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Marching, camping & fighting are what armies do, note that of those, fighting takes up the least space. Anyone who tells you that Napoleon was merely lucky, should take note of the organisations he put in place to allow his army to, march, camp & fight as effectively as possible.
#OTD
in 1807, Napoléon creates the “Armée du Train”, the army branch that organizes and coordinates the military logistics, transport and support for the movement of the French Army. It is still in service, its motto is : “Et par l'Empereur, Vive le train !”
#history
#logistics
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Around the internet, this striking picture of a raffish young man of Samurai rank is described as Nobuyoshi Oda. I have no idea if it's true but he typifies my idea of a Bakumatsu Rônin.
#Meiji150
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A great irony for a Bonaparte to die in a British uniform
#OTD
1879 Louis-Napoléon, only legitimate son of ex-French Emperor Napoléon III, was killed in a skirmish with Zulu warriors. He'd requested service with the British army to gain military experience. His death at 22 was a major blow to fading hopes for a Bonapartist restoration.
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No, it wasn’t.
But it did get commercially coerced for about 14 years, then it’s nobility staged a revolution and restored the emperor. Then they did deals with the European powers for about 20 years, then tried to colonise most of Eastern asia for the next 30 years.
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The scarred front door from Ensign John Sheldon's Deerfield home built in 1699. It withstood the tomahawk & musket blows of the French & Indian raiders in Feb 1704. In the end the raiders got in the back door by which time Sheldon had gone for help, his family were not so lucky.
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For a Hussar pomp equals ferocity. The Earl of Uxbridge wore these very items at the Battle of Waterloo. The French ruined his trousers.
@NTPlasNewydd
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Whenever I'm feeling thoughtful, I like to think of the Last Shōgun, Tokugowa Yoshinobu looking thoughtful.
#Meiji150
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Every year a dedicated band of riders undertake a Wokiksuye to remember the
#Dakota38
this iconic image says it all.
http://t.co/Bw577IpfYA
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In 2000 Vladimir Putin showed this portrait of the Duke of Wellington (in the Hermitage Museum St Petersburg) by George Dawe to Tony Blair saying, ‘You see, when we are together, all is well in Europe.’
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I would love to be as brave an artist as Victor Ambrus was. His illustrations were pure fire to the imagination. I’m lucky to own one of the books that got me obsessed with military history. A legend now gone the join the pantheon of great history artists.
#victorambrus
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On 23 September 1803, Major General Sir Arthur Wellesley engaged and defeated the Army of Daulatrao “Scindia” at Assaye, between the banks of the Juah and Kistna Rivers, west of Jafrabad.
A battle that was fought on a knife’s edge & had a profound effect on all who fought in it.
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Shimazu Nariakira, Daimyo of Satsuma, obtained a daguerreotype camera in 1848, his likeness is thought to be the earliest photographic portrait surviving in Japan, dating from about 1857
#Civilisations
#Meiji150
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Major John Norton, a Scottish/Cherokee sometime soldier who was adopted into the Mohawk nation with Joseph Brant (Thayendanega) becoming an adoptive Uncle. He subsequently served as a war chief, against the United States. The Iroquois called him Teyoninhokarawen.
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Good grief. How deep would you have to bury your head in the sand for you to read about the Revolution & Napoleon and not know about this.
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This is Lord George Murray, the difficult but ablest Jacobite commander of the Highland army during the 45'
http://t.co/42a74Gtwck
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Women (probably from northern Italy) making pasta in the late 14th century from the Tacuinum Sanitatis. Although much food was seasonal, pasta appears to have been a staple even then.
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One of the more subtle errors committed by the Napoleon movie is to suggest that the French had no naval presence, or than Napoleon was ignorant of it. Here, I join
@ZwhiteHistory
to talk about the Admirals of France
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This is the Duke of Wellington’s campaign toilette case. He was extremely particular about his appearance, and mixed this with a great simplicity of character that detested fuss. Therefore he travelled light, but in great style.
#WellingtonWednesday
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Today I learn that the most decorated US Army unit in history was the Nisei, (Japanese American) 442 Infantry Regiment, comprising the 442 Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry. Their motto was ‘Go for Broke.’ 22 of its members, alone, were awarded the Medal of Valour.
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Apparently Napoleon made it illegal to name dogs after him.
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Another blatant exclusion from the movie. And another excellent quote missed.
Joachim Murat was one of Napoleon's most controversial subordinates: considered a vainglorious buffoon by some, a brave and capable cavalry commander by others. Napoleon himself couldn't make up his mind, saying: "Murat is a hero, and an ass!"
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Conquista pinturas de Dionisio Álvarez Cueto: Moctezuma y Cortés, Guerreros Aztecas, Juan de Salamanca Y La Noche Triste
@Cuauhtemoc_1521
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Scott Handy (the other Herald from a Knights Tale) makes an appearance as Marshal Berthier. Not that you’d know who it’s supposed to be because only half the people are introduced with subtitles. I only figured out who the Flashman guy was in the ‘Waterloo’ scene!
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Join me in wishing Andrew every success. I could not have asked for a better and more thoughtful series editor. It is Helion’s loss, and anyone in publishing who does not immediately rush to hire him is mad!
Bit of a personal/professional bombshell to impart. I was notified yesterday that my job at
@Helionbooks
will cease to exist at the end of the year, and that I am therefore being made redundant. The From Reason to Revolution series will continue, but not under my leadership.
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1 Jan 1804 Jean Jaques Dessalines declares the former colony of St Domingue independent and renames it "Haiti"
http://t.co/hjoNvBW2tZ
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At some point my association with RTS games will count as necessary research … right?
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One of the other people I’m glad to know on Twitter. A fellow admirer (read super-fan) of the Duke of Wellington and a devoted dog dad,
@mcribbHistory
’s indefatigable energy got me editing videos in 2020 and pushed me to continue. Please follow him for History and Puppies.
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One year to the day I officially became an author.
Dare to dream people, if I can do it, literally anyone can.
It’s tag-lines like this which make me rubbish at self promotion. Let’s move ahead.
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Dissatisfied mercenaries, fed up with fighting unpopular wars have been a source of political instability for a rather long time. In 241 BC most of the mercenaries in the Carthaginian army mutinied over lack of pay. The effort to subdue them badly effected the state.
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You’d be able to watch Hornblower, Master and Commander & The Terror, & get a basic visual idea of some of Navy Careers between 1800 & 1850. Where officers began fighting Napoleonic France & ended up on in the age of steam as explorers. All that’s missing is the gunboat diplomacy
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Apparently in 1799 a loyalist named William Augustus Bowles declared a himself Director General and Commander-In-Chief of a sovereign State of Muskogee, it had a flag and everything and lasted in a sort of partisan way until 1803.
Stuff like this is why I love history.
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A new watercolour painting I did last night. Björneborg regiment officer 1808, maybe at the Battle of Jutas, during the Finnish War.
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Wellington was such a good general that everything he did seemed a foregone conclusion. His successes were so generally consistent that they almost seem mundane. He did things with such matter-of fact brilliance that few see that he was a military genius.
#WellingtonWednesday
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If you ever see the 1966 War and Peace you will realise that Bondarchuck knew how to film a 19th century battle scene, and a ball like no other. And that allot of Waterloo (1970) is Natasha’s dance and Borodino rolled into one.
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Today in 1812, the turning point of Napoleon’s Russian campaign occurred on the bank of the Luzha river 37 miles from Kaluga at Maloyaroslavets. A ‘they shall not pass’ moment, tactically Eugene’s Italians held their ground but strategically it was Nec Plus Ultra for Napoleon.
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Two Corinthian helmets associated with the Battle of Marathon (490 BC). The helmet of Miltiades, and the Nugent helmet, found on the field with a skull inside it.
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This portrait of Marshal de Saxe is a favourite of mine, if only because the benign, self-confidence his expression is so meme worthy.
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This is the proposed cover of my new (technically 2nd book.) It is a participant driven look at all the main campaigns of the 2nd Maratha War & the aftermath where Lord Lake’s operations against Yashwantrao Holkar brought him against the fortress of Bharatpur.
@Helionbooks
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‘Helvetiorum Fidei ac Virtuti.’
Mark Twain was not wrong when he wrote that the dying lion monument to the Gardes Suisses who died at the Tuileries and afterwards in 1792 was: kthe most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world.’
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Ivory snow goggles, carved and worn by an Inuit person living in the Arctic portion of eastern Canada between. Cleverly protecting the eyes from glare and snow blindness, they could predate the Norman Conquest of England.
@CanMusHistory
@InuitArtPortal
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The actual gory opening that should have been in ‘that movie’.
🎨 Napoléon aux Tuileries le 10 août 1792. Par Maurice Réalier-Dumas.
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Angus McBride was one of the reasons
@OspreyBooks
got where it is today. His artwork sent my imagination into warp drive. Belated happy birthday to you guys. I celebrate with McBride's Sennacherib at Lachish.
#Osprey50
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The audience realising that the high volume of US born actors playing leading Frenchmen in 1970’s Waterloo creates the interesting absurdity of phonetic pronunciations of things like Quatre Bras and Soult from Ney and Napoleon, Meanwhile all of the British use better French.
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I have the honour to report to the esteemed representative
@aranda_olivier
& to
@FalornGrimm
that on Total War, I with 12 sail of the line, engaged a British fleet under
@ZwhiteHistory
of about 9-10 sail, of which four were of no less than 120 guns, & achieved a complete victory.
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Perhaps the most deadly individual gun ever. The Browning 1910 that killed Franz Ferdinand.
#BritainsArmedHistory
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How can it be we have no gif of the legendary Virginia McKenna as the Duchess of Richmond saying she is a little bit of a Bonapartist for all of us Whigs?
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Nobody staged a battle or a ball for the screen like Bondars.
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Napoleon didn’t bemoan the lack of Murat at Waterloo but he did say he’d have won if he’d had Bessieres.
#OTD
1.5.1813 Marshal Jean Baptiste Bessieres is mortally wounded at Weissenfels. His true forte was as a cavalry commander at which he excelled. Often compared to Murat, imo he was equally courageous, yet more thoughtful and tactical in his thinking and performances. He was 44.
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Old maps can tell you allot about the world they represented. For instance, I’d say that in 1778 the majority of the names of places along the roads and trails that led from St Augustine to Pensacola in Florida were still of Indigenous origin, many still exist today.
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A stunning battle-scene from the artist 松石郎 (Sōngshí láng according to translate.) Entitled ambush at Dinjun Mountain, it shows an engagement from the Three Kingdoms Period. I love how the artist successfully references traditional battle-scenes in a realistic manner.
@JSC1812
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