ER
-
The Angel Glow of the Battle of Shiloh
In April of 1862, the Battle of Shiloh was fought in Hardin County, Tennessee. The Confederate General Albert Johnson attempted to ambush the Federal forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant. The initial assault and the Federal counter attack was one of the bloodiest battles in America to date. There were 23,000 casualties littered over the Tennessee countryside. Medical techniques at the time were rudimentary at best. Many soldiers died of infection and gangrene instead of their original wounds. If they survived the infection, the men faced possible battlefield amputations without anesthesia and no guaranteed success rate. The conditions of the battle made it nearly impossible to get the wounded…
-
How do you solve a problem like Jane Gray?
God was smiling on Mary Tudor. After the Duke of Northumberland’s attempt to put his daughter in law, the former Lady Jane Grey, on the throne, everyone thought she was done for. Even Charles V of Spain, her most ardent partisan, sent greetings on the ascension of Queen Jane and his envoys advised Mary not to press her claim. Obstinate is ever, Mary did not listen, and sent Jehan Scheyfve and Simon Renard, the Imperial ambassadors from Charles V, a copy of her proclamation speech. They were all horrified and urged Mary to accept she was beaten and accept Jane as queen and hope the Privy Council would be lenient…
-
Lady Jane Grey and the Crown
Death of Edward VI sent all of England into mourning. He had been a sickly boy, but had been the leader of the new Protestant Revolution. Some of the counselors under his command had grown rich on the dissolution of the monasteries while others had gotten drunk on religious fervor. They had hailed him as “young King Solomon” come to end “heathen rites and detestable idolatory”, but now their King Solomon was failing too young. Henry VIII’s will stipulated the next in line for the throne was Mary, as ardent a Catholic as Edward was a Protestant. The counselors muttered amongst themselves. This would undo all their gains. Something must…
-
Hatshepsut- His Majesty, Herself
Long before the time of Cleopatra, there was another woman who ruled with absolute power along the Nile. Unfortunately, because of reasons unknown, her legacy was hidden until the 19th century. Hatshepsut was born at the beginning of the New Kingdom around 1504 BCE. Although women were granted a higher status in Egypt than in other ancient civilizations, the idea of a female Pharaoh was unheard of so Hatshepsut was not trained to rule. Her father, Ahmose I, was a great military leader and brought home a Nubian chieftain on the prow of his ship as a warning to his enemies. Since the throne of Egypt could not pass to…
-
Lady Katherine Gordon- Wife of a Pretender
Highborn, beautiful and rich, Lady Katherine Gordon was an ideal wife for any young man. The daughter of George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly. There is some dispute if her mother was Princess Annabella, daughter of King James and Joan Beaufort, or the Earl’s third wife Elizabeth Hay. Either way, she was related to the Scottish royal family. The king called her his “tender cousin”. She was a catch. Whose hand did this luscious plum fall into? The answer is surprising. The end of the 1400s were not an easy time in Great Britain. Henry Tudor defeated Richard III to become Henry VII. Depending on who you asked, his crown…
