30th August: Rapunzel.
In 1862 in Northern Virginia, however, Major General John Pope was about to get his long awaited comeuppance. Lee was ready to take the offensive against the man he had come to despise, for his over confident bombast and disregard and disrespect of Virginia and the men he had come east to command.
Not heeding his subordinates’ requests for caution, Pope tried once again to break Jackson’s battered Corps(one Brigade did break, but others plugged the gap). On the union far left were only two brigades of Infantry and they were to be assailed by ten times their number. Three Southern Divisions, Hood’s, Kemper’s and Jones’ crashed onto the field, making short work of the outnumbered Northern troops.
Pope did well to recognise the danger when it appeared and sent four Brigades from three different Divisions to hold at Henry House Hill on his left. Remember this was ground fought over 13 months ago, by much the same men and officers, although most were now promoted.
This time around there would be no rout. Understandably, there was much jubilation on the side of the Southerners and a great loss of morale on the Northern side. This sense of martial superiority, begun last Summer at 1st Manassas, was to continue and come to a head on the field of Gettysburg another Summer from now.
February 27th 1776: Scotsmen meet Americans in battle
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On February 27th 1776 an army of claymore(sword) wielding Scots loyalists attacked an American Patriot army over a bridge in SE North Carolina, near Wilmington.
The battle was over quickly with very few casualties, possibly a handful. The remaining 850 Scotsmen were for the most part rounded up days later. It was a great victory for America coming soon after the victories of Lexington and Concord. The English were to recrui very few more Loyalists after this one sided battle.
Ironically, theHighland Scotsmen who charged the bridge had only 30 years before stood against England at Culloden(16th April 1746) and as clansmen had never supported the English Crown. It was the hard lesson learnt after their defeat at Culloden that had pushed these men who had never loved King George to swear an oath of loyalty and refuse rebellion this one time. The life and world from which they had recently fled, in the hope of a better one, was not to be, as all their new possessions and property were confiscated again. -
Thanks Wittman - very interesting
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Wittmann never disappoints.
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