Category: General Warfare
-
Historical Precedence for Osama bin Laden’s Burial at Sea
Last week, the U.S. commemorated the death of Osama bin Laden. Few have seen the body of bin Laden, as the U.S. opted to give him a watery grave in the Arabian Sea. Tossing the remains of a fallen enemy into water is not without historical precedence and the groups of people who have practiced…
-
Scott and Two Indians Walk Into Valley Forge . . .
Stop me if you have heard this one. A few years ago, some coworkers from India–Rohit and Anand–visited for several months for training. It was their first time to the States and they were anxious to see some of the local attractions. Someone graciously loaned them a guidebook on Philadelphia, but other than that, they…
-
Need to Plan a Battle? Why not RISK Pieces?
A few months ago, I was toying with different methods to depict battles for people. I arranged RISK pieces on a map of Harpers Ferry to depict Stonewall’s capture of the city (1862). It was a laborious task and I determined that while it looked neat, the effort was not worth it. Yet, I am…
-
General Henry Knox’s Artillery Park at Valley Forge
Valley Forge, the ground where the Continental Army became professional, offers a lot to the visitor. Although Washington did not fight any battles here, he chose the location for its natural defenses, which he enhanced during his time there. The Schuylkill River forms the northern border of Valley Forge. To the east is Mount Misery,…
-
Politician on the Warpath: Brian Schoeneman
Last Friday, I spent a day on the warpath with Brian Schoeneman, a candidate for Virginia House of Delegates in Fairfax, Virginia. We followed the steps of Robert E. Lee’s Maryland Campaign (1862) and the crucial battles at South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, and Antietam. Although Brian has spent the past decade in politics, he is…
-
“Whoever wishes to master the art of war must study it continuously”
Whenever someone touts their x years of experience as an excuse to avoid learning, I am quickly reminded of the words of King Frederick the Great of Prussia (r. 1740-1786) and the military experience of mules. Frederick spent portions of his reign expanding and defending his small state against much larger French, Austrian, and Russian…
-
Battlefield Tip: Customize Your Maps
Those I drag to battlefields will recall my continuous map checks, which start off with me yelling “Map Check!” each time we get out of the car. I unfold my Trailhead Graphics map and throw it on the hood. From there, I talk about where we were, where we are, and what happened on the…
-
Battlefield Tip: Bring Photos
Last summer, I needed an extra set of visuals for friends, as I dragged them to Gettysburg, mentioned 20 different names they never heard before, and then spent the rest of the trip reminding them why each name was important. Civil War enthusiasts tend to know many of the generals down to the corps level,…
-
Stonewall’s Siege of Harpers Ferry as Told by RISK
I am always searching for different way to communicate battle actions to friends and family when I take them on tours. Naturally, using RISK pieces to indicate the troop positions during the Siege of Harpers Ferry (September 12-15, 1862) seemed like a good idea. I used the TrailHead Graphics’ Across the Potomac map and based…
-
The Gettysburg Casino: How Profits May Come at the Cost of the Sacred
On Labor Day, I made another visit to Gettysburg, my sixth of the year. I have found that the two-plus hour drive from Philadelphia has gotten easier, as leaving at 6:30 AM helps me avoid the traffic. For this trip, I brought a coworker and his fiancé. She was Canadian and knew very little about…
-
What is the Value of Studying Military History?
Military history is a valuable field of study to both professional soldiers and civilians. As historian John Keegan said, “[t]he written history of the world is largely a history of warfare.” ((John Keegan, A History of Warfare (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), 386.)) Yet one may argue if someone is not preparing for war, what…
-
Nazi Body Count in USSR: 12,250,000 Non-Battle Deaths
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a larger project detailing the death toll inflicted by Nazi Germany outside the realm of combat. To see the full body count by country click here. Body Count: 12,250,000 ((This number is determined by taking all available estimates from various sources, averaging them, and selecting the mid-value of…