History, politics, and culture articles and forum discussions.
A night of waiting and expectation for history to unfold In just a few hours, the polls open for the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The feelings I have are surely shared by other people, including those on the opposite political side as myself. These feelings reflect the mounting tension that has been building up for […]
Over the holiday break I had the opportunity to visit a major museum in Pittsburgh that I had never before visited. I was with a small group of people so the amount of time I could spend in any one wing was limited, but I was still able to whet my intellectual appetite for the […]
At the beginning of the Great War, plans were put afoot for the Army to move, by road, all the sheep from the farms of the southern counties of Sussex, Kent and Surrey to Salisbury Plain in order to keep them safe should the Germans invade England. One junior officer, given this task, queried the […]
Marriage customs in Ancient Babylon Ancient Babylonia was a society, which, although it did not know coinage, was extremely wealthy due to their outstanding skill in barter and trade. The fertile lands along the Euphrates were ideal for the growing of more than sufficient crops for the population, and soon a profitable trade system sprung […]
What is the single military battle with the most far-reaching effects and consequences? What battle, if it had come out differently, would have had the most profound change on the march of history? No brainer for me: Teutoburg Forest. This ended Roman excursions into Germania. From then on, Europe was divided into to camps: Romantic […]
The name of Christopher Wren came up in some readings and so then I read a bit more specifically about his life from the Wikipedia entry. According to the article, he was a cross-disciplinary expert in areas such as astronomy and architecture during the latter half of seventeenth-century England. His most memorable work may have […]
There was no quarter given to the defeated Jacobites. Except for a few officers reserved for public punishment, the wounded were mercilessly slaughtered on the field of Culloden. As Major James Wolfe, the future conqueror of Quebec, rode with the Duke of Cumberland across that blood stained field, they came across the wounded Fraser of […]
The Battle of Little Bighorn took place on this date in 1876. In the Wikipedia article that describes the battle, possible reasons for Custer’s defeat are given (condensed from the original, earlier edition of entry): Unfortunately (for Custer and his troops), this aggressive action was deeply flawed as a military tactic. First, Custer did not […]
No one denies that Lee was courageous, resourceful, and daring, both as a junior officer in Mexico and commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. And no one denies that his string of victories is impressive with the Seven Days, Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. But one must also look at his opponents. Seven Days […]
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