This Day in History

[besilarius]

1014  Battle of Belasitsa, Byzantine emperor Basil II defeats the Bulgars, blinds 15,000 prisoners
1030  Battle of Stiklestad: Norwegian Christians triumph over pagans, in a fight punctuated by a solar eclipse.
1108. Louis VILe Gros "the Fat" or "the Great" acceded to the throne of France (1108-1137) -- Like most medieval monarchs, Louis did not just wage war against his enemies, he quite literally led from the front, with sword or battle axe.
During one battle, one of the enemy grabbed hold of his horse’s bridle, and began shouting triumphantly, “The king is taken! The king is taken!”
Crying out “No, sir!,” Louis swung his battle axe high and cleaved man’s head in two, saying, “No sir, a king is never taken, not even in chess!”
By the end of Louis’ reign, he had established himself as the most powerful King of France since Charlemagne, and had also become quite fat. On his deathbed Louis told his son, the soon-to-be Louis VII (1137-1180), “ . . . always bear in mind that the royal authority is a charge imposed upon you, of which, after your death, you must render an exact accounting.”
Centuries later, reflecting on the vagaries of language, Louis XIV would note that his predecessor’s nickname “Le gros” could also mean “The Great
1967 onthe flight deck of USS Forrestal (CVA 59), a Zuni 5 rocket accidentally fires from a (F 4B) Phantom II aircraft into a parked and armed (A 4E) Skyhawk, setting off a series of explosions that kill 134 of her crew and injure 161 crewmembers.

[besilarius]

101   BC   the armies of G. Marius and Q. Lutatius Catulus annihilated the Cimbri at Campi Raudii, in the Po Valley.
1609         Samuel de Champlain used a musket to help the Huron defeat the Iroquois.  The greatest war known among the aboriginal inhabitants of North American prior to the arrival of the European was that between the Iroquois and the Huron. The feud was old, having endured centuries, for the Huron, originally settled in Ontario, were desirous of moving into New York. This constant pressure had been a factor in the formation of the Iroquois Confederacy by the legendary Hiawatha and Dekanawidah in the late sixteenth century, which united the Seneca, Onondaga, Mohawk, Cayuga, and Oneida into a league that would ultimately come to dominate a Huge portion of North America.  The Iroquois sought support from the Dutch, then just settling in the Hudson Valley, and later the English, who seized New York from the Dutch in 1664. Termed by one historian “the only people north of the Rio Grande who consistently practiced every principle of war at all times,” in 1648 the Iroquois, who could field some 16,000 warriors, began a devastating series of campaigns that in a generation saw them harry their foes relentlessly from New York across the Great Lakes and into Canada, until the Huron and anyone who offered them aid had been effectively exterminated. This established the Iroquois as the dominant military power in a broad swathe on both sides of the St. Lawrence River, a position which they would hold for over a century, despite the increasing encroachments of European settlers, and make a critical contribution to the expulsion of the French from North America by the British in the mid-eighteenth century.

1898. Otto Eduard Leopold, Furst von Bismarck, 83, the "Iron Chancellor," who unified Germany.
Among his many accomplishments was influencing cavalry uniforms.  The Chancellor liked high topped leather boots, which were adopted as Bismarck Boots.  and even a stout-and-champagne concoction that he favored more commonly known in the U.S. as a Black Velvet (among the many things Otto left to his heirs were thousands of empty booze bottles, which had never been thrown away) .

[besilarius]

1970. Black Tot day.  The daily rum ration, called grog, is abolished in the Royal Navy.
Grog was originally introduced into the Royal Navy by Admiral Lord Edward Vernon. Nicknamed "Old Grog" because he wore a ratty old grogham coat much of the time, Vernon believed that by regularizing the issue of drink, he could reduce drunkenness in the ranks. He was right, for he prescribed a daily ration of eight ounces of a mixture of 80-perent water and 20-percent rum per man, a concoction that shortly came to be called "grog."

In American history, Vernon is perhaps better known, if at all, for his connection with George Washington. In the 1740s the future president's older half-brother Augustine earned an enormous pile in prize money serving as a captain of marines during Vernon's campaign in the Caribbean, so much, in fact, that he was able to buy the vast estate that he dubbed "Mount Vernon, in the admiral's honor, which later passed to George.
The Continental navy continued the issuance of grog.
In the U.S. Navy grog was issued in a mini-ceremony, during which the boatswain's mate marched the men to the ship's steward, who ladled it out, under the watchful eye of the ship's marines. There were two rations of four ounces each day, one before breakfast and one before supper. Each man had to down his ration on the spot, to prevent him from saving it up in order to tie one on.
In 1806 Congress substituted whiskey for the rum, on the theory that American farmers would benefit. Initially grog was issued to all hands, but it was later restricted to men over the age of l8. By the 1820s temperance societies were springing up in America, and they began campaigning to the daily issue of grog in the fleet and whiskey in the army. They succeeded in getting the army to abolish the daily whiskey ration in 1830, but made no headway against grog in the navy until the Civil War. The mass resignation of Southern members of Congress in 1860-1861, left the tee-totalers with a clear majority in both houses. As a result, in September 1861 grog was abolished, though in compensation the men were paid an addition $1.50 a month.
Enterprising sailors have never let regulations get in the way of their thirst.  It was noted that the ships store offered a wide variety of shaving lotions.  In the 1970s, Hai Karate Was clearly the most popular.

[Sir Slash]

   Great story.

[besilarius]

1291  The Everlasting League: the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, & Unterwalden unite to form Switzerland.
1503  Cardinal Juan de Borja Lanzol de Romaní, 67, poisoned by his kinsman Cesare Borgia for his fortune.

1798  Battle of the Nile. British under Sir Horatio Nelson defeat moored French fleet under Francois-Paul Brueys D’Aigalliers.  Although a smashing victory, the Nile was almost anti climactic.  Twice Nelson could have engaged the French at sea before the army disembarked.  During the pursuit from Malta, the English caught up to the French ships on a dark night.  Admiral Brueys heard the enemy signal guns and deftly changed course such that Nelson never knew how close he was.
Afterwards, Nelson arrived at Alexandria before the french.  The English consul was away, seeing the Mameluk sultan.  Thinking the French must have gone to Syria or Turkey, Nelson decided the consul could have no more knowledge than he Had gathered on the docks.  Impatient to find the enemy fleet he could not wait even one day and departed Alexandria on the evening land breeze.  Twelve hours later the French invasion fleet appeared on the horizon.
There is hardly any thought but that Nelson's crack squadron would have beaten the enemy.  The embarked troops would have been captured or dispersed, and Bonaparte career ended in disaster.

1936  Chancellor   Hitler opens the Berlin Olympics, the 11th modern games, initiating the now routine "Olympic Torch" ceremony.

[Sir Slash]

I recall reading that Nelson when hearing the French had landed in Egypt, was so anxious to engage them, he sailed his entire fleet through the Straits of Messina to save time getting there, something thought impossible at the time. Or very near impossible. Loving these things Besilarius, keep them coming! 

[besilarius]

1646  Born on this day,  Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral, colonial administrator, & slave trader, d. 1715.  During War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1714), British Admiral Sir John Benbow (1653-1702) was sent with a fleet to prevent the French from occupying certain Spanish-owned islands in the Caribbean.  At this time, discipline and tradition had not been established in the Royal Navy.  Many captains got ships because of influence.  As a result, when Benbow's fleet encountered the French in a series of running battles off Santa Marta in Colombia (19-24 August 1702), several of them refused to bring their ships into action.  Their pusillanimous conduct caused the British to suffer a reverse, and Benbow was so severely wounded that despite the amputation of his leg he died several months later.
Mindful of the fact that his victory was due in large measure to the disgraceful behavior of Benbow's captains, after the battle the French admiral, Jean du Casse (1646-1715), penned a message to his dying foeman.

Sir,

I had little hope on Monday last but to have [been taken prisoner and] supped in your cabin; but it pleased God to order it otherwise, and I am thankful for it.  As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up; for By God, they deserve it.           du Casse

Although Benbow was slowly dying, when his squadron returned to Jamaica, he ordered all of his principal subordinates court martialed, perhaps as a result of du Casse's suggestion.  Although he succumbed to his wounds on November 4th, the cowardly captains were all convicted by the courts martial.  Naturally, they appealed.  Perhaps someone in the Admiralty was apprised of du Casse's letter, for in 1703 the decisions of the courts martial were confirmed, with the result that two of the captains were shot, one was imprisoned, and the other two suspended from duty.  So Benbow's loss was avenged, perhaps at the urging of a gallant foe.  In the French navy, very few seamen were commoners, le bleus, most were of noble blood, le rouges.  In that service, such cowardly officers would probably not been punished.

1876  James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok, 39, shot by Jack McCall while holding black aces & eights & a jack of diamonds.

1943 PT109), commanded by Lt. j.g. John F. Kennedy, is rammed by the Japanese destroyer, Amagiri, which cuts through the vessel at Blackett Strait near Kolombangara Island. Abandoning ship, Kennedy leads his men to swim to an island some miles away. With the aid of a Coastwatcher and local residents, they return to Rendova PT base on Aug. 8.

[Martok]

Great story about du Casse and Benbow.  Also interesting to read about the differences between the two navies at that time. 

[besilarius]

387 BC the Gauls are repulsed from the citadel on the Capitoline hill in Rome.  Traditionally, it was the Sacred Geese who quacked to wake the exhausted guards.  For their failure, the Romans established the Sulplicia Canum, crucifying some street dogs for the perfidious failure to bark.
An agricultural society during the Republic, almost all holidays included animal sacrifice.  Horses were not good for farming  because horse collars were not invented.  Just putting a rope around their neck, cut off their breathing.  Horses were used for war, for messaging, and were a status symbol for the wealthy.  They were considered "profane" and not appropriate for sacrifice and not edible.
The October Horse was a sacrifice to Mars at the end of the campaign season.
And the Sacred Geese?  They were decked out in purples and gold while carried in a litter, filled with succulent grains.

[Sir Slash]

I had a goose once. Probably 2-3 would have been enough to whip the whole Gaul army by themselves. 

[besilarius]

1693. Dom Per ingnon invents champagne.
1885. Presenting the 1886 budgetary proposals to the House of Commons, the Admiralty's Parliamentary Secretary stated that the two battleships being ordered, HMS’s Nile and Trafalgar, would probably be "the last ironclads of this type that will ever be built by this or any other country."

1999. Victor Mature dies at 84.  After serving in the Coast Guard in World War II, he then went back to work in movies, becoming a perennial star in numerous “sword and sandal” epics well into the 1950s. One of these was Demetrius and the Gladiators
Though set in Rome in the mid-First Century, the film was made in California. One day, Mature practicing his gladiatorial routine for long hours in the arena, under a hot sun. Finally, the director called it a day.
Mature immediately did what any right-thinking gladiator would himself have done under similar circumstances. Without bothering to doff his gladiatorial togs, he jumped into his car and drove over to the nearest bar in search of a cold one. Needless to say, walking into the establishment while still wearing his cape, cuirass, and greaves, to plop down onto a barstool caused a bit of stir. After several minutes of being gawked at by the stunned bartender, Mature finally piped up, "Whasamatter? Don't you serve servicemen here?"

 

[bob48]

Great stuff, as always 

[bayonetbrant]

1693. Dom Per ingnon invents champagne.

Ah, but was it from the Champagne region of France yet?!?  Or was it just "sparkling accidental booze"? 

1885. Presenting the 1886 budgetary proposals to the House of Commons, the Admiralty's Parliamentary Secretary stated that the two battleships being ordered, HMS’s Nile and Trafalgar, would probably be "the last ironclads of this type that will ever be built by this or any other country."

Ah yes, governmental predictions 

[Sir Slash]

Wait! There were MORE Ironclads after Nile & Trafalgar?     Why is the first time I'm hearing about it? 

[bob48]

There were no ironclads at all as early as the Nile (1798) or Trafalgar (1805). The first one was around 1859.