Winston Churchill Born

Winston S. Churchill
(1874-1965)

Sir Winston Spencer Churchill was born on November 30, 1874 at Blenheim Palace, the home built for his famous ancestor the 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, who led an allied victory against the French at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. As the future Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill would lead his nation to win even greater battles, first in the Battle of Britain and later in the ultimate defeat of Germany and Japan in World War II.

Winston Churchill was a soldier, journalist, writer, politician, historian and even an artist. A brilliant orator and a man of genius, he made many grave mistakes in his career but he was instrumental in keeping Great Britain and its Empire in the fight against Hitler's Germany in the early years of the Second World War when a Nazi victory seemed certain. When the United States finally declared war against the Axis powers (Germany, Japan, Italy) in December of 1941 Churchill knew that although the fighting was far from over, the war was all but won.

Throughout his life Churchill was a fervent supporter of the British Empire. As a soldier and a journalist he fought on the North-West frontier of India and took part in the Sudan expedition that culminated in the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. He was taken prisoner in the Boer War and escaped to write about his exploits. During the First World War he fought again as an officer on the Western Front.

Following in his fathers footsteps, Lord Randolph Churchill, he became a member of Parliament. He was First Lord of the Admiralty in both World Wars before becoming Prime Minister in 1940. He served as Prime Minister from 1940-1945 and again in 1951-1955.

Upon his death in 1965, Sir Winston S. Churchill was given an official state funeral, an honor generally reserved for royalty in Great Britain.

Veterans Day

An American Cemetery in France

Today, Thursday November 11, 2010, is Veteran's Day, a national holiday to commemorate all past and present war Veterans and the sacrifices they made for this country. The actual date marks the end of hostilities in the First World War (1914-1918) which was at the time called "the war to end all wars". Of course this common desire to bring an end to all wars has not yet borne fruit.

A lot of great poetry was inspired by that brutal conflict and many of the authors of that poetry did not survive the war. Alan Seeger was an American living in Paris when World War One began. He joined the French Foreign Legion and was subsequently killed in battle. A monument in Paris is dedicated to those Americans who volunteered to fight for France in the years before the U.S. entered the war. Some of Seeger's words are inscribed on the monument:

They did not pursue worldly rewards; they wanted nothing more than to live without regret, brothers pledged to the honor implicit in living one's own life and dying one's own death. Hail, brothers! Goodbye to you, the exalted dead! To you, we owe two debts of gratitude forever: the glory of having died for France, and the homage due to you in our memories.


This poignant poem, published posthumously, is his most famous work:

Rendezvous With Death

Alan Seeger (June 22, 1888 - July 4, 1916)

I HAVE a rendezvous with Death
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air—
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.

It may be he shall take my hand
and lead me into his dark land
And close my eyes and quench my breath—
It may be I shall pass him still.
I have a rendezvous with Death
On some scarred slope of battered hill,
When Spring comes round again this year
And the first meadow-flowers appear.

God knows 'twere better to be deep
Pillowed in silk and scented down,
Where love throbs out in blissful sleep,
Pulse nigh to pulse, and breath to breath,
Where hushed awakenings are dear...
But I've a rendezvous with Death
At midnight in some flaming town,
When Spring trips north again this year,
And I to my pledged word am true,
I shall not fail that rendezvous.

Happy Birthday Marines!

Today, November 10, 2010, is the 235th anniversary of the birth of the United States Marine Corps. The Corps was created in 1775 to serve as naval infantry during the American War for Independence. The Marines are America's shock troops. They have served in all of our nations wars, both declared and undeclared and in many "police actions" all over the globe.

There is a old saying in the U.S. Marine Corps that basically says that there is no such thing as a former Marine: "once a Marine, always a Marine." Those words, along with the Marine Corp motto, "Semper Fidelis- Always Faithful" are truly words to live by.

The Battle of the Red Horse Tavern

"The Red Horse Tavern"

This Saturday, October 30, 2010, the last major Revolutionary War reenactment in New England will take place in Sudbury, Mass. Billed as "The Battle of the Red Horse Tavern", reenactors from all over the region portraying American, British and French soldiers from America's War for Independence will engage in two different battle scenarios for the public on the ample grounds of Longfellow's Wayside Inn.

The first action is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m., followed by an intermission for lunch, with the final battle to take place at 1:15 p.m. The reenactment should be concluded by 2:30 p.m. As always after large events like these, there will be a meet-and-greet with the general public on the part of the reenactors to answer questions and perhaps pose for photos.

This event is sponsored by the 4th King's Own, the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute and our generous hosts at the Wayside Inn.

Old Ironsides Celebrates A Birthday

"Old Ironsides" is celebrating it's birthday today. The Boston Globe has a story here.

On October 21, 1797 the U.S.S. Constitution was officially launched from Edmund Hartt's shipyard in Boston. The U.S. frigate took part in actions against the Barbary Pirates in the Mediterranean, but the ship is most famous for the role it played in the War of 1812.

Old Ironsides defeated five British warships in a bitter war where the U.S. Navy was vastly outgunned by a superior British Navy. The U.S.S. Constitution was never defeated in war and has never been forgotten by the American people in peacetime.

The U.S. S. Constitution is the oldest commissioned Naval vessel still afloat and is open to the public for tours. The tours are given by U.S. Navy personnel at the old Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown, now a National Park.