John Blackshoe Sends: Serendipity History – “History is written by the winner” Part 3

Source

The victors’ celebrations which continue 150 years after Custer’s defeat

Remember, the Plains Indians were composed of many different tribes, with their own languages, almost none of it written, and dependent on mostly oral history traditions passed down from each generation. They do have some pictographic documentation of various events often on buffalo hide, paper or fabric, and are sometimes called “Ledger art” for the ledger books used for the drawings. When carefully studied they seem to be very accurate representations of the depicted events. Several pictographs exist of the Custer battle, done by participants. 

One Bull was the adopted son of Chief Sitting Bull, and a participant in the battle. He painted the pictograph discussed in the video in the source above (6:06 long). I urge you to view this one which ties together so much information about the Custer battle. There are many short videos below showing today’s Indians celebrating these events.

 

Today, a lot of documentation is taking place on social media instead of buffalo hides, so to see the full story, we need to look at several social media postings such as those below.  It is worth the time to view them and try to understand their culture, even today.

To appreciate the battle you need to understand the terrain.  It is a maze of jumbled hills, ridges, and depressions. The Little Big Horn River is pretty much the only water, and trees grew along it, but hardly anywhere else. The river at the battle site is only 25-50 feet wide, and ankle to knee deep. Here are two short videos.

VIDEO 1 (42 seconds) - Little Big Horn battlefield from a distance, showing last stand hill (green area on the hilltop with visitor center) and Indian village location in the trees along the river. VIDEO

VIDEO 2 (42 seconds) - Views from the battlefield, along the path of Custer’s retreat, taking casualties up to Last Stand Hill. VIDEO

The mission of the 7th Cavalry was to destroy the Indian camp which was unexpectedly large, estimated at maybe 1,500 to 4,000 warriors and total of 10,000 people from many tribes ready to start the annual buffalo hunt. Here are two short videos showing a much smaller camp at this year’s celebration which was held on privately owned land adjacent to the Custer battlefield. 

 

VIDEO 3 (42 seconds) – Indian camp on eve of victory celebration. (Beautiful!). VIDEO

Video 4 (42 seconds) – Indians gathering in camp (Northern Cheyenne and Crows) and celebrations. VIDEO

The plains Indians were dependent on horses to hunt game, and haul their teepee camps to new locations. Horses had been reintroduced to North America by Cortez expedition in 1519, but spread rapidly in the wild. Obtaining (capturing or stealing) horses was a necessity for their way of life. Great horses make great warriors. Here is a two minute video of some Lakota Sioux in their camp showing off some of their horses.

VIDEO 5 (2:00 minutes) –Lakota Sioux camp with their horses prior to the reenactment of the battle. VIDEO

The highlight of the Victory Day celebration is the reenactment of the Indian repulse of the cavalry and their pursuit and destruction away from the camp to “last stand hill.” The following short videos are a good representation of the battle, although with far smaller numbers than in 1876. But, for the 268 men of Custer’s command, this is a good approximation of the battle. The first is a 1:57 minute view of the Indian charge from camp up the hill surrounding the site of Custer’s troops. Then a 22 second video taken in the midst of the attacking Indians. Finally, two videos (under a minute each) where the warriors charge from the hilltop to the spectator line – pretty much what Custer saw coming at them.

VIDEO 6 (1:57 minutes) “Victory Day” Warrior charge up the hill. VIDEO

VIDEO 7 (22 Seconds) – Indian View from inside the warrior attack. VIDEO

VIDEO 8 (45 seconds) - Final charge towards the spectators. VIDEO

VIDEO 9 (59 seconds) Another video captions this part of the celebration: 

150th Little Big Horn Victory- The Final Charge. 

From the top of the hill to the base of our seats, riders arrived in less than ten seconds, a sight from the front row that sends chills down your spine.

But this ground holds something deeper. Warriors from the Oceti Sakowin, Cheyenne, and Arapaho once stood on lands like these, defending everything they held sacred, their families, their freedom, and their right to live upon the ancestral lands of their people.

 

Let this be a reminder of the tenacity and courage that still runs through our blood. VIDEO

The final video of the reenactment is 40 seconds of a ceremonial dance by the spectators honoring their ancestors.

VIDEO 10 - (40 seconds) - “And we danced for our ancestors! Much respect for our ancestors.” VIDEO

There are other pictographic accounts of the battle, in addition to the oral histories known to the participants in the reenactment above. Follow the links below for more on the pictographs and what they tell us.

Chief Red Horse’s depiction of the battle (detail of one of several) done circa 1881.
Source

The artist, Chief Red Horse:

Source

For further reading on pictograph sources check out the following:

Part 1 of 2 part series on Red Horse’s work:

https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/the-amazing-little-bighorn-drawings-of-red-horse

Part 1 of 2 part series on Red Horse’s work:

https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/red-horse-at-the-battle-of-the-little-bighorn-an-eyewitness-account

Crow “White Swan” work circa 1890 in Denver Art Museum

https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/object/1968.336

Some say there were no survivors from the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

They are wrong, the survivors are called “Indians.”

John Blackshoe Sends: Serendipity History – “History is written by the winner” Part 2

The Custer Fight
Charles Marion Russell (PD)

Part 2 of 3 - Our horrendous defeat which spoiled the 1876 Centennial celebration- Shocking News from the Greasy Grass, July 5, 1876.

On July 5, 1876 the newspapers were filled with praises of the many patriotic events of the celebrations across the country on our 100th Fourth of July.  But things suddenly turned into chaos, embarrassment, anger and sorrow.    

On the evening of July 5, 1876 the New York Herald published an “Extra” with the first news received in the east about the June 25th Battle of the Little Big Horn” when “General” Custer and (reportedly) 314 other men of his 7th U.S. Cavalry were killed. The following morning all the newspapers across the country were printing stories about the massacre.¹

New York Times lede on July 6, 1876.
(No copy of the July 5th New York Herald found.)
Source

General Phil Sheridan, commanding the Army in the West from a post in Chicago (Now Fort Sheridan) was in Philadelphia for the ceremonies, and the official Army report of the defeat had been telegraphed to his desk in Chicago.  He did not believe the newspaper headlines when he saw them, but a copy of the official report finally reached him later in the day. Nor had General W.T. Sherman, Commanding General of the Army who was also in Philadelphia and had not yet received any report forwarded from Chicago.

This humiliating defeat by savages living on the desolate plains shook the nation’s confidence, especially since it had happened 10 days earlier.  The U.S. Army at the time was a mere 25,000 men, down from the peak in 1865 of over a million men, and now thinly spread to cover coastal fortifications and the dozens of small frontier garrisons across the west.  Additional troops were still tied down on Reconstruction duty in the southern states, stifling often crooked politicians vying for power.  The destruction of Custer’s command was devastating.

Why the news of the defeat was delayed

While much of the nation had great communications via telegraph, and the transcontinental railroad now crossed the west, vast regions more than a few miles from major rail lines with their parallel telegraphs, remained primitive frontier territory, often days from any news.   The telephone was patented earlier in 1876 but not yet in use anywhere.   Radios would not be invented until two decades later.   

The nearest telegraph to the shattered 7th Cavalry on the Little Big Horn was in Bismarck, about 450 miles as the present highways go, but in 1876 was about 700 miles by river. 

Steamer Far West which carried the news, and wounded from the Big Horn to Bismarck, Dakota Territory.
Source

The paddle wheel steamer “Far West” was providing logistics support to the Army for the campaign.  It was able to navigate many of the rivers being 190 feet long (about 3 ½ semi trailers) with a 33 foot beam and only drawing 30 inches of water when fully loaded, and 21 inches empty.  [Source.]

By June 29th and 30th Far West was located at the mouth of the Little Big Horn River, some 15 miles from the battle site.  There, 52 wounded were taken and placed aboard, and the river boat headed downstream to Bismarck and Fort Abraham Lincoln, with dispatches reporting the disaster.   

The Captain was also given notebooks retrieved from the body or George Kellogg, a newspaper reporter “embedded” with the 7th Cavalry, to be delivered to Kellogg’s employer, the publisher of the Bismarck Herald.

The Far West reached Bismarck on July 5th and Kellogg’s notebooks and news of the battle reached Clement Lounsberry the publisher.  Kellogg and Lounsberry were part of the Associated Press and the New York Herald could preempt a telegraph line for their use. Recognizing a major story, Lounsberry had the local telegraph office give him control of the line as soon as the Army’s report was sent.  He then began dictating stories about the Custer defeat nearly continuously for 22 hours, interspersed with Bible verses for brief periods while composing additional material. Thus the New York Herald was able to “scoop” all the other eastern papers and break the news with an “extra” late on July 5th, although Lounsberry sent so much material that it was spread out over several following days.

Source:  Much of the above comes from this source. 

What appears in newspapers is not necessarily “history” but proof that “first reports are usually wrong.”   The actual count for U.S. casualties at Little Big Horn was NOT 315 dead and 31 wounded, but a total of 268 including 16 officers, 242 enlisted men (including 5 wounded who later died of the wounds), 3 attached civilians, and 7 Indian scouts.   Custer’s fighting lasted at most only a little over an hour before they were wiped out.  Reno’s and Benteen’s elements of the 7th Cavalry which had attacked from other directions were located and pinned down for more than a day and finally relieved late on the 26th.

Historians have used all sorts of archival records as well as archaeological evidence to analyze the battle. One especially well done study was done by Dr. Douglas Scott, summarized in his excellent 44 minute presentation here:  

Bullets and Bones: Archaeological View of the Battle of the Little Bighorn

 

He describes one item which especially evokes the personal tragedy of such events: “…the single most poignant artifact I have ever seen come out of the ground.  That is an inexpensive brass, silver plated wedding ring, still around the finger of one of the soldiers.”

Wedding ring of a 7th Cavalryman.

Source: Screen cap at 31:00 of presentation above.

The full 194 page book is available free for download at this source:

Douglas D. Scott, UNCOVERING HISTORY: THE LEGACY OF ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT THE LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT, MONTANA, National Park Service, 2010.

Historians have confirmed that much of the reporting of the deaths at the battle and post-mortem abuse of the dead soldiers was true.   However, in the context of the cultures involved at the time it was not uncommon, or practiced exclusively by the “savages.”  But, the losers in this battle made sure it was emphasized.   Little was said about the Army’s tactics of attacking villages inhabited by warriors, women, children and the elderly, or killing off the buffalo herds which were their source of food.  Those were different times, and atrocities were committed white on white, or red on red or any combination.  

Source

Medals of Honor, even in defeat

 

Posthumous awards of the MOH were not authorized at that time so none of the 268 dead 7th Cavalrymen were considered for awards, and there were no lesser awards (Silver Star, Bronze Star, etc.) at that time.  Twenty four MOH were awarded for the Little Big Horn, mainly to men from Benteen’s or Renos’ commands who braved Indian fire to bring water from the river.

One MOH recipient was killed at Little Big Horn, Captain Thomas W. Custer (brother of General George A. Custer).   He had received TWO Medals of Honor for separate acts during the Civil War, one of only 14 men [or 19 if you count the five guys who got both an Army and Navy MOH for the same action] to ever receive the MOH twice.  (Marines Smedley Butler and Dan Daly are two others).

Three other Custer family members were also killed on June 25th.  Boston Custer, the youngest brother, working as a forage master; 1st Lieutenant James Calhoun, a brother in law married to the only Custer sister; and Autie Reed, a nephew accompanying the expedition as a civilian.  

To be continued ...

¹ George A. Custer was actually a Lieutenant Colonel in 1876, but had been a Brevet Major General of Volunteers at the end of the Civil War, so the honorific title of General was used thereafter.  It was not uncommon for a post Civil War regiment to have several officers who had been Brevet Colonels or Generals, now serving as a Captain, Major, Lt. Col. or Colonel.

SuperDupersonic +

Source

 

 Well, you know me.  If it's got airplanes in the story, I'm interested.  Especially if they're jets and I mean FAAASSSSTTTTT jets.  Apparently, this aircraft, designated the X-59  is a Mach 5 capable aircraft which more than measures up to my interest level. I

 For those of you that are into numbers, Mach 5 is 3,705.4850 Miles per Hour on a standard day (Mach ground speed changes with air temperature and pressure variations). But, regardless of that, it's a fast (very fast) jet.

Addendum: It's 2884 miles by air from JFK to LAX, meaning the airborne time is ~45 minutes in this jet.  Heck, the steward's can't even get the scotch distributed in that time! 

The design will minimize the jet noise significantly. They're advertising that the sonic boom won't be louder than a dull thump!

Pretty cool huh?

It gets a bit cooler.  Its official name is Lockheed Martin X-59 Quesst which is an acronym for Quiet Supersonic Technology. (I wonder why it's Quesst and not Quisst, but what do I know? I'm trying to think of a suggestion for the name, Quiet Dagger maybe?)

I hadn't heard (no pun intended) about this project until I discovered it on the web.  But, evidently it is for real and is actually in a test phase.  I mean the object in the picture above is obviously flying and therefore, real, right?

Source

 

I also found it interesting that one of the ways they are reducing the sonic boom is by increasing the length of the plane while minimizing the wingspan.  Punches a smaller hole through the atmosphere, I guess.

 

No Beans, that's not me sitting in the simulator despite the physical similarities. More's the pity. 

Source

 

 Another thing I thought interesting, although a bit disturbing potentially.  There is no forward canopy, meaning you can't see what's out front.  Yes, Beans, that would be the point you're flying to.  That's handled with a TV camera.  You can see out the sides of the canopy though, so I guess if the TV quit, you could rejoin with another airplane and fly a formation approach and get dropped of at the runway by the other pilot.  

I've done that a few times, although I'll confess, I did sneak a couple of peeks at the runway lineup before we touched down.  Never had a problem though, always headed right down the runway. 

At the time of the article, there have been 19 flights since its first take off Oct 28, 2025.  The report is that it handled better than the two test pilots expected.  High praise!

As to the sonic booms, I thought this was a bit humorous.  The test flights require a chase aircraft or two.  These were F-15s (whoop!) and FA-18s.  Since the X-59 had to go supersonic in order to test supersonic flight and the folks on the ground were testing for noise level, they encountered a bit of a problem.  

The chase aircraft had to stay with the test aircraft in case something went wrong. Duh!  But if the test aircraft is supersonic, that means the chase aircraft had to be supersonic.

Guess which sonic boom was the loudest.

Yep! The Eagles and the Hornets.

So...I guess they are making progress.

They plan to test this aircraft out, by flying it over different parts of the the country, I don't understand why it would be different in different places, but, I'm not an expert.  However, there is one consideration that is required. 

The aircraft requires at least 10,000' of runway to takeoff and land. Most airports used by airlines meet that requirement, but are busy.  Airbases generally come close, but...not all meet the 10K' requirement.  So, they'll have to work that out.

 

Source

 And....a short video of the plane in the air.

M’’

 Hope y'all enjoyed this.  

+ Oh, It's 1700 Texas time, Sunday Evening.  I JUST  found out that my prohibition of driving due to my accident has been dismissed.  Tx Department of Public Safety posted it on their website.  I just found that out.  That's definitely worth a plus!

Thank you, Lord! 

Peace out, y'all! 

 

 

 Sources

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/nasas-x-59-frankenjet-tests-supersonic-flight-without-the-sonic-boom/ 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOTfR1NQ-X8&source_ve_path=OTY3MTQ&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Farstechnica.com%2F 

 

 

‘ 

 

 

 

 

John Blackshoe Sends: Serendipity History – “History is written by the winner”* Part 1

The Nation Makers
Howard Pyle
Author’s photo, Brandywine Museum of Art, Chadds Ford, PA. 2025.

Our 1876 Centennial Celebration; our horrendous defeat which spoiled that celebration; and the victors’ celebrations which continue 150 years later.

*Attributed variously to Napoleon or Winston Churchill, but a recurring thought over many centuries, so they may have said it, but likely were not the first to do so. Churchill noted he would be well regarded by history, for he intended to write it… and did so.

Part 1 of 3 - Our 1876 Centennial Celebration

Celebrating our Victory!

Our Revolution’s first shots were fired April 19, 1775. The war ended with the Peace of Paris signed September 3, 1783 confirming our victorious liberation from British colonial status after a long and arduous struggle. That was nearly a year after the surrender of the British army at Yorktown, VA on October 19, 1782 where Lord Cornwallis claimed to be indisposed and skipped the surrender ceremony. The United States of America had truly won over the most powerful country in the world at that time, and proudly recorded that in our historical records

Since we had declared our Independence on July 4, 1776, we chose that date to celebrate as our official “Independence Day."

0ne hundred years later, now 150 years ago, our great nation prepared to celebrate the Centennial of our Independence Day. Just like today, with parades, fireworks, and public festivities. The Philadelphia “Centennial Exhibition” had opened on May 10th hosting nearly a million visitors by the end of June.

1876 Centennial Exhibition- opening day, attended by 160,000 people!
Source

One of the most impressive parts of the Exhibition was the 14 acre “Machinery Hall” highlighting our industrial accomplishments. A 1,400 horsepower two cylinder Corliss steam engine with a 56 ton flywheel provided line shaft and steam power to 800 exhibits in the building. Agriculture, historical items, domestic goods and all sorts of other interests were featured in the 60,000 exhibits under a total of 75 acres of enclosed space. We were truly a leading world power. “The late unpleasantness” which had ended April 9, 1865 had faded, and the nation was reunified, and the Centennial was celebrated North and South.

Portion of the Machinery Hall, with the Corliss engine in the back, and new locomotives right foreground, steam launches front left.
Source

Military technology was also on display, and the Army Ordnance Department had an exhibit where workers made dummy .45-70 cartridges with a special headstamp, passed out as souvenirs.

A “draw set” showing detailed steps in making a cartridge in 1876.
Source

A “draw set” showing detailed steps in making a cartridge in 1876. For nerdy details on the centennial cartridge sets, and a view of the production line set up to make them, chase that Source above.

These were made with soft copper cases which later experienced extraction problems, possibly aggravated by verdigris build up from carrying in leather belts. The soft copper cases were later partially blamed for extraction problems in a famous battle.

To be continued ...

Napoléon's "Wife"¹

Maréchal Louis-Alexandre Berthier
Source

He was torn, the Emperor had returned. Though he had reconciled himself to the Bourbons, deep inside he couldn't shake his feelings for Napoléon. As much as the Emperor had abused him during their many campaigns together, both understood that together they made a powerful team.

He had decided to pull up stakes and move into Germany, Bamberg to be specific. He had many friends there, not a few enemies as well. But he wanted to put distance between himself and the uproar in Paris. Then he would decide whether or not to keep himself aloof from Napoléon's return, or rejoin the Corsican.

Another factor was his age, after all, he was 61 years of age and was worn out from the campaigns. Particularly Russia, like many in the Army, though he had survived, he had left many friends there, their bodies left to rot under foreign soil. To be honest, he felt as if he'd left a piece of himself there as well.

For a moment he thought of his mistress, his Giuseppa, the love of his life. The Emperor frowned upon that relationship, had even forced him to marry a German princess. Oddly enough, his mistress and his wife became fast friends. Berthier still wondered if his wife knew the whole story behind his Italian lover. Surely she must know.

Berthier sighed, then opened the letter which had been handed to him by the young man waiting patiently behind him some minutes ago. He had recognized the seal instantly, one which he had issued orders under for many a year, the personal seal of the Emperor himself.

Breaking the wax, he opened the letter, wondering if the Emperor had written it himself or if he had dictated it to an aide. He recognized the handwriting, the letter was in the Emperor's own hand.

"Better than any code," he chuckled as he said that.

"Sir?"

"The Emperor's handwriting, I'm one of the few who can actually read it. And interpret its meaning."

The young messenger remained silent at that.

Berthier read the missive, nodding once, then again, as he if agreed with what the Emperor seemed to be saying. Well, one thing was clear, war was coming and Napoléon wanted him back, at headquarters and in the field. Berthier sighed.

"Will you be returning directly to the Emperor?" he inquired of the messenger.

"Only if you continue on into Germany, Sir. Otherwise I am to accompany you back to Paris. There is a squadron of Chasseurs waiting nearby to provide your escort. To protect you."

"Do I need protection?" Berthier turned in his seat, suddenly annoyed.

"Not from the Emperor, but there has been rumor of a plot to murder you."

"Rumor?"

The messenger looked towards the door, then reached into his jacket, producing another message. This one too had a seal, but the seal was broken.

"Someone else's mail?" Berthier scoffed as he took the paper. He saw that the seal was that of the Ministry of Police, the seal of Fouché himself.

He read the letter, then handed it back to the young man. "Has this been verified?"

"Non, monsieur, but every indication we have tends to make us believe it."

"So Fouché thinks to take charge of the government himself ..."

"So the Emperor believes."

"Let us be on our way then."

"To?"

"Why Paris, of course."

¹ The relationship between the Emperor and Berthier, his long time Chief of Staff, was very close. Though Napoléon abused the man at times, he knew that Berthier was the perfect interpreter of the Imperial will. The Emperor's orders were often short, unclear, but Berthier apparently lived in side Napoléon's brain and could issue concise and clear orders. The Emperor's will was often indiscernible, until it went through Berthier. The Army often referred to Berthier as the Emperor's wife.

Initial Moves - A Waterloo What If

Portrait de Napoléon Ier
Robert Lefèvre (PD)

The Emperor ran his hand over the desk, it was covered in dust, it appeared to have been left in the state in which he had last seen it. As if the Bourbons had stayed away from this particular palace, the last home of his Joséphine.

He felt a deep sadness at the thought of her. She had failed to provide him with an heir, so he had divorced her and married an Austrian princess. The Army, particularly the Guard, had been fond of the Empress, many never forgave him for divorcing her. Now, after Elba, it seemed that he might need an heir after all. But the Austrians held his wife and son captive, in Vienna. So ...

He shook his head and looked up as his Mameluke, Ali¹, finished preparing the Emperor's bed.

"Ali!"

His servant jumped at the Emperor's bark, though the man could be abrupt, it was rare for the Emperor to bark at him so. He saved that for his marshals.

"Sire?"

"You have something to tell me?" Napoléon's voice was softer, he hadn't meant to startle the man, but he was exhausted, there was much to do and little time to do it in.

"I have heard from a man close to both of us, Roustam² wishes to rejoin your service."

The Emperor winced as a sudden pain flared in his tired brain. When he opened his eyes he looked at Ali and in a quiet voice said ...

"Out of the question, the man betrayed me."

Ali stood up straight, "As did Maréchal Ney, and others I could name, yet you welcome them back into your service as if they had not."

Napoléon's eyes opened wide, then he took a deep breath. "I know, Ali, I know. But I need men who can lead my armies, you do Roustam's job as well as he ever did. So no, let him know that I no longer bear him a great deal of animosity. But he cannot return to my service."

"Very well, Sire. My apologies."

"Accepted, you rogue, now leave me. I must think."

Upon awakening, the Emperor sent for the commander of the day's duty squadron, which that day was the 2nd Squadron of the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Imperial Guard. The man commanding this day had been with him since Marengo.

"You understand what is needed, yes?"

"Yes Sire. Messieurs Fouché and Talleyrand are to be secured, taken to the forests outside of Versailles, and disposed of." The officer didn't even blink, in his own opinion the police minister and the foreign minister should have been disposed of years ago. Things must be desperate for le Tondu³ to take this step.

"Very well, now please ask Maréchal Davout⁴ to come in."

The cavalryman simply banged his heels together and with an abrupt nod, spun on his heel and departed. The jingling of his spurs echoing on the tiled floor.

The Emperor looked away from the door for a moment, when his gaze returned there, the Iron Marshal stood in the doorway. His bald head made him look like a schoolmaster, but the posture, and the glint in the eye said "soldier."

"Sire?"

"I have changed my mind about your posting as Minister of War ..."

Napoléon's hand went up as Davout began to speak, "I need you in the field my Prince. I have spoken with Ney⁵, I cannot trust him, his mind, what he has of it, is quite addled by his service in Russia. The people of France, most of them anyway, want me, need me on the throne. The rest of Europe would rather see me at the end of a rope I think."

"Ney is popular with the troops, Sire."

"You should have seen him at Grenoble, Davout. He had sworn to that fat king that he would return me to Paris in an iron cage. His men submitted to me, to me, I merely had to offer my chest as a target. They flocked to my eagles. Ney is a spent force."

"Who will you leave in Paris when the Army marches? Fouché and Talleyrand are already hedging their bets ..."

"They will not be a factor much longer." The tone of the Emperor's voice made even the Iron Marshal shudder. Now he understood why the Emperor would speak to a squadron commander before one of his marshals. The cavalryman had carried out other missions for the state. Davout would not want to be in Fouché's and Talleyrand's shoes, he suspected that they didn't have long to live.

Napoléon looked at Davout and said, "What think you of Maréchal Soult⁶ as Minister of War?"

"A capable man in the field, but in Paris? I have my doubts. Why not St-Cyr⁷? A good man, perhaps too old for active service, but he is cold, calculating, he'd make a fine man to watch your back while you are in the field."

"The Owl?" The Emperor chuckled at the nickname given the man by his troops, then he grew thoughtful.

"The man will follow orders, Sire. He always has."

"I shall think on it, you will accompany me with the Army."

"When do we march?"

"Soon, my dear Maréchal, soon. There is an opportunity in Belgium, we deal with the shopkeepers and the Prussians, then the rest as they approach the frontiers."

After Davout's departure, the Emperor was up late, studying his maps, reading correspondence from his agents in foreign capitals. He had a chance, barely a chance, but if they moved quickly, he might keep the throne.

Knock the English paymaster from the war, then who would pay to overthrow him then?

He rubbed his eyes, the headache was returning.

¹ Louis-Étienne Saint-Denis was a member of the Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard, leading him to be known in his lifetime as "Mamelouk Ali".

² Roustam Raza, Napoléon's first Mameluke servant, presented to him by the Sheikh of Cairo in 1798. Roustam had served the Emperor for 15 years before abandoning him in 1814.

³ Literally "the shorn one." The Imperial Guard kept their hair in the old style, long and tied back in a queue. As the Emperor kept his hair short. The Guard had a number of nicknames for their Emperor.

⁴ Louis-Nicolas Davout, Prince of Eckmühl, Duke of Auerstadt, Marshal of the Empire.

⁵ Michel Ney, Prince de la Moskowa, Duke of Elchingen, Marshal of the Empire.

⁶ Jean-de-Dieu Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, Marshal of the Empire.

⁷ Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Marquis of Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, Marshal of the Empire.

The Cost

Bivouac après le combat du Bourget, 21 décembre 1870
Alphonse de Neuville (PD)

Alright, first things first - I'm not quite ready to climb back into the saddle (as in posting every day) just yet. Sloth is a bad habit to break, while I've not been completely idle, as far as writing goes, I have been completely idle. So it's going to take some time to break the not writing habit.

Another factor is that I am at a loss as to what to write about. War is my "thing" and I've told many a war-related story since the inception of this here blog. But I grow tired of it. War is a horrid thing, nothing to be celebrated and only to be engaged in as necessary.

People die, stuff gets destroyed, lives are changed forever and to what end? So some group of powerful assholes gets their say over something. Or they get to claim something which isn't theirs.

Sometimes war will start as one thing, then become something else. For instance, when, in 1789, the French dumped their king, and later executed him AND his queen, most European monarchies saw that as a very bad thing. Not because the Bourbons were necessarily wonderful rulers but hey, we don't want our own peasants and bourgeoisie getting the wrong ideas. As in, "Hey, we don't like how things are being done, so we're throwing you out and putting someone else in charge."

So they invaded France to put Louis back on the throne, and once he was dead, to put a different, though related, Louis, back on the throne. What all those European crowned heads didn't count on was the French people fighting back, en masse. Not with some uniformed properly trained professional army, but with common folks, semi-trained and armed, in large numbers.

In essence, in order to set back the clock, those royal armies seeking to do so would have to kill a lot of Frenchmen, and armies are expensive dontcha know. Keeping them fed and in the field for long periods of time drains treasuries. And a drained treasury is what the French Revolution was caused by (in part).

What was worse is that a very talented guy, Napoléon Bonaparte, took over the French armies in Italy, drove the Austrians out, then went back to France and essentially drove the French Revolutionary government out.

Now Napoléon was a big believer in a good offense is the best defense. Go to the enemy's home country and kick his ass there, rather than wait for him to come to your country. But one thing led to another and before you know it, the French were bleeding troops and cash in Spain and then Napoléon went into Russia and got his ass kicked by the Russian people and the Russian weather.

So it took a number of years to restore the Bourbons to the French throne. The French rather resented all that. Some years later, Napoléon's nephew made himself Emperor and went to war again. The cycle continued ...

Now as I read about the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, I read of destroyed villages, people uprooted from their homes and killed, if not as a direct effect of battle in their towns, then as a result of the disruption of everyday life.

I looked out my window one day after reading an account of a particularly nasty battle and imagined what my neighborhood would look like if a battle had been fought there. Well, for the most part it would be pretty much gone.

Buildings knocked down or in flames (or both), dead bodies everywhere. Not a pretty sight by any measure, and imagine the stench. Yes, dear readers, battlefields stink. Blood, voided bowels, the stench of expended explosives, the soil itself ripped and torn. Only an idiot would wish to see such a sight.

And there are people out there, people who have no clue as to what reality is, who clamor for just such a thing. Of course, they don't see themselves as actually having to participate. Someone else, the peasantry, the plebians, you know, the riffraff, will do the actual killing and dying. Not them, oh heavens no.

Those who desire war to seize property or to shove an ideology down someone's throat should be avoided. It would be nice to hand them a weapon and say, "You first." Though I don't see that happening anytime soon.

You can vote yourself into a socialist hell, but you can't really vote your way out. (Looking at you NYC.)

Think before you choose, remember, someone else might show up on your doorstep and shove a gun in your face to make you do something.

Anyhoo, war sucks and I tire of writing about it.

So yeah, I'm running out of stuff to write about.

We'll see how this goes ...

Ciao!