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There is history as a field of scholarship, and then there is what probably attracted most of us to history in the first place....the stories. Adventure, suffering, sacrifice, triumph, struggles, it's the same thing which fuels our reading of novels and watching of movies...we're looking to be entertained.
This thread is about History as entertainment and solicits contributions of interesting, amusing, pathetic, glorious..whatever...moments which do not enjoy national fame. Just a good, short little saga.
I shall begin by offering the Civil War tale of Colonel Benjamin F. Davis of the 8th NY Cavalry.
Davis and his command were part of the Federal garrison at Harper's Ferry in September of 1862 when it came under siege by Jackson's forces as part of the campaign which ended with Antietam. The Confederates had seized and occupied the surrounding heights and began erecting batteries to shell the 12,500 Union defenders into submission. Their position was utterly hopeless and all recognized that they were going to have to surrender or be bombarded into pieces.
Davis did not see that this should apply to the cavalry. Arguing that cavalry was useless in a siege, he sought and received permission to attempt a breakout. That night, as soon as it was dark enough, Davis led his 1500 troopers quietly North in the direction of Sharpsburg and the Army of the Potomac. They were incredibly fortunate in eluding enemy infantry units while cutting a back and forth escape route for themselves
Then they came upon a large rebel marching column. Davis was about to order his command to reverse direction to escape this superior force when it was noticed that the enemy appeared to be composed mainly of wagons. Davis had stumbled upon General Longstreets quartermaster train making its way to Sharpsburg where Longstreet's Corps were posted.
Now as it happened, Davis was a Union loyalist who had been born in Alabama and still spoke with a distinct Southern drawl. In the dark it was not possible to identify the color of uniforms, so Davis decided on a ruse. He rode up boldy to the wagon train, demanded that they identify themselves, and when they responded that they were Longstreet's supply column on its way to Sharpsburg, Davis quite graciously offered his troopers as an escort to make sure that they got through safely. He then spent the night escorting them....into Yankee lines, something discovered by the wagoners when the sun rose the next morning and they found themselves not with Longstreet in Sharpsburg, but as prisoners in Greencastle, Pennsylvania.
Davis did not survive the war, he was killed in the cavalry battle at Brandy station nine months after his escape exploit.
One of the United States' great forgotten heroes was a Pole, General Kazimierz Pułaski. A capable cavalryman in the finest Polish tradition and a great Polish patriot, he finally had to flee his homeland to avoid a death sentence (for being a rebel; Poland tended to get partitioned a lot). He came to the Colonies to offer his service to the Continental Army in 1777, bringing a reputation as a skilled and valiant officer.
Pułaski was also an egotistical and contentious officer, and Washington soon allowed him to form his own legion of dragoons. The Continental Army didn't have many of those. He gave the Colonials the benefit of his professional skill in the field of horse soldiering, and fought throughout the south.
While charging the British at Savannah on 9 October 1779, he took a mortal dose of grapeshot. On 11 October 1779, the Polish hero become American hero became a fallen hero. Any modern American who cherishes dash and valor, the Revolutionary War, or both should revere the memory of a man who died for a country not his own--but which cheerfully adopts him to this day as one of its own sons.
Metro Detroit, with its huge Polish community, Hamtramck, even has a Gen. Pulaski Memorial Hwy. Curious, I did a google search and was amazed at all the Pulaksi Highways throughout the country. Man! That guy sure did get around!
Trotter...I'm glad that you wished to particpate, but your contribution is a cut and paste job from Wikipedia without your offering any credit or links to the site.
Trotter...I'm glad that you wished to particpate, but your contribution is a cut and paste job from Wikipedia without your offering any credit or links to the site.
Metro Detroit, with its huge Polish community, Hamtramck, even has a Gen. Pulaski Memorial Hwy. Curious, I did a google search and was amazed at all the Pulaksi Highways throughout the country. Man! That guy sure did get around!
Just thought I would add that there are at least five towns named Pulaski in: Iowa, New York, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Virginia, which also named a county for him. A deserving tribute to a great man.
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