An interesting historical story.
Button Gwinnett was born on March 3, 1735 in England. He became a merchant, but in 1762 he and his family moved to America. He ended up purchasing a plantation (with its slaves) in Georgia. He went into politics and was elected to the Second Continental Congress. He signed Read more…
In 207 B.C., Hannibal had been in Italy for 11 years. It had been 9 years since his stunning victory at Cannae. In that battle, he destroyed a Roman army of 80,000 men, but he was not able to get Rome to concede that the war was lost. Since Read more…
In 207 B.C., Hannibal had been in Italy for 11 years. It had been 9 years since his stunning victory at Cannae. In that battle, he destroyed a Roman army of 80,000 men, but he was not able to get Rome to concede that the war was lost. Since Read more…
They were giants. – the short summers and harsh winters did not provide the food necessary to grow big – their skeletons indicate the men were about 5’6” – not much taller than the average European male in the Middle Ages Viking kings were cremated on their ships with a Read more…
The Rhone River valley which Hannibal was crossing was the land of the Volcae. This powerful tribe was not going to let Hannibal cross the river. They withdrew most of their people living on the west bank to the opposite bank. When Hannibal arrived, he faced a hostile host on Read more…
Publius Cornelius Scipio (Scipio Africanus’ father) crossed the Po River to try to make contact with Hannibal’s army which had recently completed its crossing of the Alps. Scouts reported that the Carthaginian army was at the Trebia River. He had a pontoon bridge constructed. He crossed and established a camp. Read more…
The Roman legion was organized into maniples. These were like loose phalanxes. The hastati and principes maniples had 120 men each and the triarii had 60. It is unclear how the men were placed in the hastati and principes maniples. It could have been 10 men across and 12 Read more…
The Romans were advanced in medicine and they knew that diet affected the health of the legionaries. We have information about the diet of the Roman Empire soldier. We will assume a legionary fighting in the Second Punic War would have eaten similarly. In forts, the cooks could make bread. Read more…
The Roman army provided excellent medical care. In fact, Roman medical care was not equaled until the 18th Century. As with other fields, the Romans built from a Greek foundation. In conquering southern Italy, the Romans came in contact with Greek doctors who were far ahead of Roman doctors. Read more…
In 1898, Morgan Robertson published a novel entitled Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan which was about the sinking of an ocean liner on a cold night in April, 900 miles from New York. His ship had a triple screw like the Titanic. It was 882 feet Read more…