Tag: WarpathWednesday
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The Heart of Robert the Bruce
The ruins of the Melrose Abbey in the Scottish Borders are as eerie as they are beautiful. Built in the 12th-century, it was used as a monastery and later a church well into the 1800s. While Scotland has plenty of church ruins, these are notable as they purportedly house the heart of Robert the Bruce.…
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The Nazi Massacre at Distomo, Greece
Resting on a hill above the town of Distomo, Greece, is a massive memorial and ossuary. It contains the names and skulls of victims from a 1944 German massacre in this town where 218 men, women, and children were slaughtered. ((Stephanie Bird, et. al., eds., Reverberations of Nazi Violence in Germany and Beyond: Disturbing Pasts (London:…
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Verdun and the Village that Was
There were 9 villages around Verdun before World War I. Now there are none. A 303-day battle will do that to a region, especially during that war. At Verdun alone, the Germans and the French collectively exchanged 60 million artillery shells, 300,000 deaths, and an additional 450,000 wounded or captured. ((Paul Jankowski, Verdun: The Longest…
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In Memory of the 700 Thespians at Thermopylae
Off to the side of the larger statue of Leonidas at Thermopylae, there is a monument to the 700 Thespians who died alongside the Spartans. Unveiled in 1997, it depicts Eros, the oldest of the gods. The Romans knew him as Cupid. The Thespians held Eros above all other gods, likely because he had no parents. Nearly 600 years…
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The Real Location of Stirling Bridge
Unlike the depiction in Braveheart (1995), the Battle of Stirling Bridge was fought near a wooden bridge, and not in an open field. Before the English could finish crossing, the Scots attacked. In the frenzy to retreat back over the bridge, the whole thing collapse in the River Forth. Many of the English drowned while those trapped…
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The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting the Low Countries. Among my list of must-do’s was the Somme and of course, the Thiepval Memorial. I plugged the address in and headed off in my rental car. [huge_it_maps id=”8″] The memorial is 150 ft tall, so I assumed I’d see it as…
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The Urquhart Trebuchet
On an elevated position off the shore of Loch Ness is Urquhart, a medieval castle that has been the site of plenty of history. Ness is a skinny lake placed diagonally on a map running roughly 23 miles from northeast to southwest in the Scottish Highlands. [huge_it_maps id=”5″] Urquhart rests in the middle on…
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Leuctra Victory Monument
I remember the exact moment when I decided to go to Greece. I was flipping through my copy of the Landmark Xenophon when I came across a blurry black and white photo of the Leuctra Victory Monument, celebrating the Theban and Boeotian victory over the Spartans in 371 BC. This battle was important for many reasons,…
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Go tell the Spartans
Although Herodotus tells us of several monuments that resided on the Thermopylae battlefield, not a single one of them has survived to today. However, there are numerous modern recreations. One in particular pays tribute to the last stand of the Spartans and their Thespian allies on Kolonos Hill, the probable spot where they fell. ((The topography…
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My Favorite Spot at Gettysburg
Welcome to the first edition of Warpath Wednesday, the day in which I recount something historical from the warpath. Today’s focus is my absolute favorite spot at Gettysburg: Sedgwick Avenue. First, I am an unlicensed tour guide of Gettysburg, which means I provide tours to friends, family, and coworkers for free. Want a professional? Then…