Who are these Guys?

William R. de Vane King
U.S. Vice-President

The U.S. has had 46 Vice-Presidents since the U.S. Constitution went into effect. During that same time we have had 42 U.S. Presidents. The office of Vice-President has become vacate several times, either due to the death or resignation of the Vice-President or the President. Eight U.S Presidents have died while in office, one has resigned (Richard Nixon), leading to then current Vice-President being sworn into office as the new President.

Only fourteen Vice-Presidents have gone on to become President. With nine of those Vice-Presidents assuming the office through constitutional succession, those are not great odds. Two of those Vice-Presidents, Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon, were openly vilified and faced disgrace. I'm not an presidential historian, but looking over the list I would say that a majority of the remaining twelve had successful Presidential administrations.

The 46 U.S. Vice-Presidents who have served this country are, for the most part, unknown names and quantities to anyone other than professional historians. Most Americans can name at least some of our recent Vice-Presidents. Of the fourteen Vice-Presidents who became President, many of them are quite well-known. I'm familiar with the names Aaron Burr, George Clinton of New York, J.C. Calhoun and some others who achieved their own fame. But I'm afraid many of the others are just names on a page to me. (For instance, I never heard of William R. de Vane of Alabama, who died of tuberculosis after only 45 days in office. But maybe that's only me).

In the modern era, a candidate for President looks for a running-mate who can "balance" the ticket and increase the chances for winning in November. John F. Kennedy's choice of Lyndon B. Johnson was important in winning the 1960 election. Quite often the choice has made little or no difference. It remains to be seen how important the two Presidential candidates choice for Vice-President will be in the election of 2008.

Lafayette born

Marquis de La Fayette

On this date in 1757 Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de La Fayette (Lafayette), was born. Two years later, during the Seven Years War, his father was killed fighting the British at the Battle of Minden. With the death of his mother and an uncle a few years later he came into his family inheritance. As a young man Lafayette became a Mason and was introduced to the concepts of the "rights of man". Becoming enamored of the American colonists fight for independence he sought out a way to join the American cause.

Hiring and outfitting his own ship Lafayette sailed to America. The Continental Congress on 31 July of 1777 commissioned Lafayette as a Major General in the American Army. After meeting with Gen. George Washington, he was taken into Washington's "family" and made an aide-de-camp. The two men became extremely close, becoming almost like a father and son.

Lafayette went on to give proof of his own merit and fought in several actions and battles during America's War for Independence. He was wounded at the Battle of Brandywine and played a vital role in the final military victory at Yorktown.

After the war Lafayette returned to France. He played an important role in pre-revolutionary France helping to maintain order. When the radical Jacobites came to power Lafayette was commanding a French Army on the Austrian border. Knowing he was a likely candidate for the guillotine he attempted to flee the country, but was captured by the Austrians. He spent several years in military prisons. In later years Lafayette would again serve his native country in many important positions.

In 1824 Lafayette was invited back to come to America. Lafayette was feted as a returning hero and was everywhere treated as an honored guest as he traveled through all 24 states. President James Monroe issued a proclamation giving Lafayette honorary U.S. citizenship. All over the country the name Lafayette was memorialized as city's, towns, streets and parks were named in his honor.

Lafayette died on 20 May 1757. On 6 August 2002, by an official act of the U.S. Congress, Lafayette was posthumously granted honorary U.S. Citizenship.

On 4 July 1917 American soldiers of the 1st Army Division, coming to the aid of France in the First World War, paid a ceremonial visit to Lafayette's tomb in Paris. During the ceremonies Col. Charles E. Stanton gave a speech whose haunting final words will long be remembered: "Lafayette, we are here."

Big River

The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut is opening a new production this month of the musical Big River, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. During the 1980's Big River had a successful run on Broadway in New York and won several Tony awards including Best Musical. The story line is drawn from Mark Twain's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and tells the tale of Huck and the runaway slave Jim as they attempt to gain their freedom by rafting down the mighty Mississippi River.

The Goodspeed Opera House is run by a non-profit group that specializes in producing musicals and is responsible for the first production of such well-known musicals as Man of La Mancha and Annie. The Opera House is situated on the banks of the Connecticut River and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Big River the musical runs from September 26 to November 30.

The Dogs of War

Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare

Mark Antony's famous line, "Cry Havoc and let loose the Dogs of War," in Shakespeare's play Julius Casar, was his promise to take revenge upon the conspirators who assassinated Caesar. He knew very well that this would lead to a bloody civil war of Roman against Roman. His term Dogs of War, which formerly simply meant soldier, has changed somewhat over the years. Today it is a term often used for mercenaries.

The hiring of mercenaries has been a part of statecraft for thousands of years. While it was usually preferable to use native soldiers, rulers in the past were often forced to hire foreign born troops to augment their armies. The ancient Greeks hired themselves out to the Persians, the men of Genoa were known for their ability with crossbows and the Swiss fought in many of Europe's wars under other flags.

Upon the outbreak of hostilities in his American colonies King George III was faced with the immediate prospect of needing more troops. Rebuffed in his efforts to hire Russian soldiers from Catherine the Great, King George turned to the divided German states for his needs. The German Princes were more than willing to rent out their native sons for currency. Most of the soldiers came from Hesse-Kassal, which led to the German troops being referred to as Hessian's, but soldiers from Brunswick and other states were also hired.

Also during the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette and Baron von Steuben, along with many others, took up the cause of freedom and fought the British. Ireland's Wild Geese, Irish soldiers fighting under foreign flags, made a name for themselves throughout the world. During the Spanish Civil War many idealists fought against Franco's regime, while Nazi Germany sent troops, including the Condor Legion, to support Franco. Frances Foreign Legion, whose enlisted ranks are made up solely of foreign born soldiers, has been making history since 1831. Finally Jews from all over the world have fought for Israel since its creation in 1948.

Under the Geneva Convention and according to the laws of many nations, a mercenary is someone who hires themselves out as a soldier and is paid more than the common soldiers whose army he has joined. This is to differentiate a mercenary from someone who has joined a foreign army to fight for a cause he believes in, or quite often, because soldiering is the only trade he knows.

In the past being a mercenary, or as he is sometimes referred to, a soldier of fortune, was considered an honorable profession. Myles Standish in his hiring by the Pilgrims, the Ronin of feudal Japan, the hired soldiers fighting for Biafra's independence, were all mercenaries. They all fulfilled a need to provide military expertise, or perhaps just a sword, in a dangerous world. Today's world is not really all that different. It is perhaps a much more dangerous world in that today many choose to believe that the world no longer needs mercenaries, or for that matter, soldiers.

Battle of Omdurman - Sudan

The River War
by Winston S. Churchill

On September 2, 1898, 11o years ago today, the Battle of Omdurman took place in the Sudan. A joint Anglo-Egyptian expeditionary force, with a complement of Sudanese troops, met and defeated a 50,000 man army of Dervishes on the outskirts of the city of Omdurman.

This was the culmination of months of intense effort by British General Sir Horatio Kitchener to mass an army deep in the Sudan to bring to an end the Dervish empire. The defeat of the Mahdi army would bring peace to the Egyptian - Sudan border, but this was also retribution for the death of British General Charles "Chinese" Gordon who died on January 26, 1885 during the siege of Khartoum. A British relief force had arrived too late to rescue Gordon - Khartoum fell to the Mahdi's revolutionary forces and Gordon was killed. The Sudan was now completely independent and no longer under Anglo/Egyptian control.

After the death of Gordon the British government concentrated its efforts in Egypt and put the Sudan on a back burner. Muhammad Ahmed, the self-proclaimed Mahdi, died not long afterwards. His successor, the Khalifa, continued a state of war with his neighbors.

With a change of government in London it was finally decided to bring this unsatisfactory state of affairs to an end. Gathering troops from all over the Empire, an army was collected on the banks of the Nile. Specially designed gunboats, armed with Maxim guns, were built for the expedition - they had to be capable of being broken down and transported overland to avoid the cataracts of the Nile. Infantry regiments from as far away as India were brought in to build up the army and garrison forts.

The army was to advance up the Nile with both a desert column and river force. The 21st Lancers, a regular cavalry unit, was attached to the expedition and used as a scouting force. Lt. Winston Churchill of the 4th Hussars was attached to the Lancers and later wrote a short history of the war in his book The River War. (A very readable account, but somewhat detached considering it was written by someone who was there).

The army advanced deep into the Sudan finally encountering the main Dervish army on the approach to Omdurman. The Anglo-Egyptian army was greatly outnumbered, but the combination of modern arms, discipline and fortitude, along with some luck, led to a decisive victory. The Mahdi army was efectively destroyed and except for some mopping-up operations, the subjugation of the Sudan was complete.

An interesting side note of the battle was the action of the 21st Lancers. Engaging what they believed to be a small force of Dervishes they rode over a small rise and found themselves instead charging a sizable contingent of the fierce fighters. The Lancers were forced to ride and fight their way through to freedom. Five officers, 65 enlisted and 120 horses were killed in the bitter fighting. Three Victoria Crosses were awarded to members of the unit. Lt. Churchill was not injured in the action. This may well have been the last time in its long history British cavalry ever conducted a charge in battle.