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Where was NAQA when Sherman's troops marched through Georgia on their "Great Picnic?" Sherman's bummers took everything edible and transported their loot on the backs of stolen horses and mules. BTW, the quartering of troops hearkens back to the 1700s when the British (and other powers) would march through a village and assign men to certain houses. You were told that you had to quarter X # of soldiers whether you liked it or not. As a subject of the Crown, it was your duty to play host to the King's soldiers. Thomas Carlisle was not very pleased with his guest, General Edward Braddock. Carlisle, a native of Scotland, emmigrated to America to make his fortune and his was the finest house in Alexandria (Virginia). This made it attractive to Braddock who moved in. Carlisle was so incensed with Braddock's hautiness and condescending nature that he moved out. I doubt if Carlisle shed any tears when Braddock was wiped out by the French, Canadians and Indians at the Battle of Mongahela. George W. was present at that battle as an aide to Braddock. Exposed atop his horse, George was shot at numerous times but happily for us survived unscathed. He later led our army to victory during the Revolution. |
If the second only applies to the National Guard, it stands to reason that the 3d does not. What a brilliant idea for a benefit! Join the Guard and move in with a rich liberal! There are some really nice homes in the San Francisco Bay area, that could quarter plenty of them. |
I just found some crazy website that said that the French and Indian War was started when George Washington murdered a French Diplomat, I think they even used the word assassinated. That CANT BE TRUE, the Father of our Country was a murderer? |
I can't tell whether or not you are being sarcastic. Is there a history here between you two? |
Nah, no history, just taking a different track to get my favorite bit of unknown history out to a wider audience. |
I would happily quarter a US soldier in a war on our soil. A foreign soldier would be met with the business end of a Sig |
Why the fight? Well, the English built a fort near modern day Pittsburg but were ejected by the French who claimed it was their playpen. Washington went in the dead of winter with a note from the Virginia Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, asking that they vacate the land and let the Virginians (English) play there instead. The French told Washington that he was not welcomed and sent him home. Washington returned in 1755 with the 1st Virginia Regiment (local boys in uniform) to assert Virginia's claim. The significance of the site was that it was the confluence of two rivers and he who controlled it would have access to the fertile Ohio Basin. Remember that Virginia in the Colonial Days claimed everything from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast (so Sacramento, San Francisco and Berkeley are all part of Virginia). The French didn't recognize it and controlled Canada down to New Orleans. To allow the English to seize that spot would allow them to sever New France in half. So, Washington returns with his army and builds a fort in the Great Meadows. Naming it Fort Necessity, he learns of the approach of a French party and went out to intercept it. He did and the site of Washington's "assassination" of a French envoy was at Jumonville Glen. It is operated by the National Park Service today and is free. Nearby is Fort Necessity, where Washington retreated after his short victory at Jumonville Glen. He was urged by Half-King to ambush the French & their allies while they were marching from Fort Duquense (pronounced Doo-kain, it is modern day Pittsburg) to attack him. He refused and was confident he could win a European style battle. He got whipped instead and returned with (a figurative big brother in) Braddock who led two regiments of regulars (44th & 48th) to capture Fort Duquense. Although warned by Ben Franklin (a playboy if there ever was one) that the wily Indians would seek to ambush his column, Braddock contempuously dismissed Franklin with a haughty: "Upon your raw colonial militia the Indians may make an impression, but I assure you that they will not upon the King's Regulars." Along the Braddock Road which ran from Wheeling (in Virginia) to Carlisle to Fort Bedford & Fort Ligonier towards Fort Pitt, they were attacked and using European linear tactics against the wily Red Man (who fought from cover and hid from sight while reloading), they were wiped out. You can see part of the Braddock Road if you go west from Fort Necessity towards Pittsburg. In a very short time (on the National Highway) you'll reach the Compass Inn and across the street from it, Braddock's Grave. From Braddock's Grave you'll see part of Braddock's Road. After Braddock was shot, he was carried to the rear and when he died, he was buried on the road. The men marched over his grave so as to obliterate it and prevent the Indians from descretating him. Many years later Pennsylvania Highway Workers rediscovered his grave and Pennsylvania reinterred him to a site where it is visible from the National Highway. There's a State Park on the confluence of the Allegheny & Monongahela that has a small museum dedicated to the French & Indian War. The creast of the hill that overlooks the park (it's a short distance away) is the site where a later officer, Maj. Grant, got whipped by the Red Man. While you're in the area, you should also visit Bushy Run battlefield. |
Those dam Red Men  And their savage French allies  Its all about the eating and making love with our faces, and a good tin cup full of coffee  |