Crimea Painting

[gilmore]

The 93rd was also engaged at the Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815, and almost succeeded in breaching Jackson's line:



Regards,

Todd

"Almost" counts only in horse shoes, hand grenades and thermonuclear devices.

[macwilkin]

"Almost" counts only in horse shoes, hand grenades and thermonuclear devices.

That still doesn't take away from the bravery of the 93rd, sir, and the fact that the 93rd was the only British unit to reach Jackson's defensive line at Chalmette. They fought honourably and should be recognized for it.

T.

[davidlpope]

The 93rd was also engaged at the Battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815, and almost succeeded in breaching Jackson's line:



Regards,

Todd

Of course, it took the U.S. Marines to stop the Highlanders, as illustrated by the painting by Col Waterhouse, below.



Cordially,
David

[macwilkin]

Of course, it took the U.S. Marines to stop the Highlanders, as illustrated by the painting by Col Waterhouse, below.



Cordially,
David

Of course they were behind defensive works. :mrgreen:*

*I'm kidding of course. No disrespect to the Marines, even though the British defeated them at the "Bladensburg Races". There I go again btw, tradition says that the British refused to burn the Marine Barracks in Washington DC because the Leathernecks fought well at Bladensburg, which you can't say about the majority of American forces engaged there.

New Orleans was a battle that should have never been fought, since the Treaty of Ghent that ended the war was signed two weeks before the battle.

Again, no disrespect meant towards the Marines. I have a lot of respect for the USMC because they remember their history.

T.

[Nervous Jock]

I believe today is the anniversary of the Charge of the Light Brigade.

[Coemgen]

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

[davim19]

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd & thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

The best piece of fictional propaganda ever written.
The cannons to the left had been captured by the Chasseurs d'afrique, the cannons to the right were the captured Turkish guns and hardly fired at all.

The man who wrote this based it upon an article written by a correspondant who turned up just in time to see the last stragglers return from the charge which actually suceeded with relatively few casualties. The brigade took the guns that they charged spiking many of them and drove off the Russian cavalry behind said guns. The casualty figures were less than half what the infantry lost at any of the other battles.

Unfortunately everyones view is based upon a poem written 3 days after the event, based upon reports by two men (William Howard Russell and Lord Raglan) who both failed to see what happened.

[Graywolf]

And once again reality intrudes on "poetic license". Okay, we can all agree Braveheart - good movie not histirically accurate. The Patriot - Braveheart in America -not historically accurate. The Charge of the Light Brigade - excellent poem - not historically accurate.

I could continue forever. Point is this - to get men into battle, to be the "thin red line" - sometimes the thought and not the fact is more important. However, we all need to know the fact also.

Thanks for the update, correction, whatever you want to call it.

[Archangel]

More fun trivia: the captured cannons provide the metal for the Victoria Crosses. As more awards are given out, the cannon are taken back from their locations. Apparently, the two cannons in our Victoria Park (London, Ontario) are the next ones to be melted down.

[freddie]

It's just a thought, but there's all this talk of the kilt should cut the centre of the knee and some young guys like to wear their kilts longer, just below the knee these days. Take a look at the soldier on the left !