A fat and meddling pope died today of his excesses in 1285

Major General Charles George  Gordon, or Chinese Gordon as he was known, died in Khartoum today in 1885. He made his reputation 20 years before in the Taiping Rebellion. He was sent to the Sudan to safeguard the country and Egypt from the Mahdi, a Muslim fanatic with an enormous following. The Prime Minister, Gladstone, was in the process of arranging a relief force and Gordon was told he could leave the city. He refused.
What happened next is etched on my memory(and perhaps other schoolboys’ minds) as the garrison fell and Gordon, unarmed, was struck down by countless spears. 
The relief force arrived on the 28th, Gordon’s 52nd birthday.
Gordon was born in London in 1833, the son of a Major General and was commissioned a Lieutenant in 1852. He saw service in the Crimea as well as in China.  He never married and was a Christian Evangelist, who spend much time helping  orphans. He welcomed death.
His effigy can be found in St Paul’s Cathedral, London; his body was never found.

Thanks you two.
I have a good one for today; might have to do late on.
Am watching football at the moment.

It’s criminal negligence if you leave drugs or car keys out and somebody gets hurt.  If you leave a firearm out its a different matter.  Why?  Hint Hint……The NRA will not go to bat for your misplaced keys or drugs…

Go Grant! Southerners should have got an Anglican minister to command I guess :D

On the 27th October 312 AD the battle of Milvian Bridge was fought near Rome. The two men contending for control of Rome and the Empire were Constantine, who controlled Gaul, England and parts of Germany and Maxentius, who controlled Italy, Spain and Africa.
It happens the two were brothers in law.
The day before the monumental and pivotal battle, Constantine saw a flaming cross in the sky, taking I as an omen, he had his men put a cross on their shields and banners.
Full of strength at what their commander had seen, Constantine’s men won the battle. Maxentius drowned crossing a bridge over the Tiber.
Rome would soon be unified under one ruler (only Licentius remained in Constantine’s way.)
Constantine would spend the ret of his reign Christianising his subjects.
He converted on his deathbed, becoming the first Christian Emperor, in 337 AD.

@Cromwell_Dude:

@DarthShizNit:

Yes I laugh at a lot of the decisions the rebs made, almost as much as I cry at some the north made�  :roll:. But even if given command in 64, not sure Forrest would have prevented the eventual fall of the deep south to Sherman’s armies, as I consider Sherman the superior general, who above all had the resources to throw at the south. But if had been Forrest opposing Sherman in Sherman’s March, I think it would wind up being one of the most nail bitting and interesting military campaigns to read about ever�  :-D.

Sherman the superior general? I must disagree.

Feel free. Though I must say, that a man holding the Confederate battle flag in front of the Lincoln Memorial would disagree with me about something Civil War related is truly shocking  :wink:

This is like being in a biker bar listening to what happened on “days of our lives”.

You are right Marc. He certainly was a “baddy”, but not as vile a portrayal as could have been(was the 60s though). Joaquin definitely did him more justice.
I must say, I first watched that because Sofia Loren was in it.