Napoleon
understood the power of imagery better than almost any ruler in history. Many
of his most famous portraits weren't simply paintings, they were political
messages designed to portray him as a hero, lawgiver, conqueror, and emperor.
One of the most iconic paintings of Napoleon
entitled Napoleon Crossing the Alpspainted by Jacque-Louis David was painted in 1801.
Napoleon is
shown rearing on a magnificent horse while crossing the Great St. Bernard Pass
into Italy. In reality, he crossed on a mule, but the painting transformed a
difficult military march into a heroic legend.
It is
perhaps the most recognizable image of Napoleon ever created and helped build
his public image as a fearless leader.
Jacques-Louis
David’s The Coronation of Napoleon painted in 180 is one of history's
greatest propaganda paintings. It records the moment Napoleon elevated himself
from revolutionary general to emperor.
It depicts the coronation ceremony held at Notre-Dame
Cathedral in Paris on December 2, 1804. The artist portrays the emperor crowning
Empress Joséphine, emphasizing his authority and ambition. Through its
grandeur, dramatic composition, and meticulous realism, the painting celebrates
Napoleon’s power while serving as a masterful work of political propaganda.
Adolphe Northen’s The Retreat from Moscow
vividly portrays the devastating withdrawal of Napoleon’s Grand Army from
Russia in 1812.
The painting captures exhausted soldiers struggling
through deep snow amid bitter cold, conveying the human cost of war. The
artist’s dramatic use of light and detail highlights the collapse of one of
history’s greatest military campaigns.
History
remembers General George Armstrong Custer.
But the true
story of grit may belong to the woman who rode beside him into some of the
harshest places in America.
Her name was
Elizabeth "Libbie" Bacon
Custer.
In her book Boots and Saddles she recounts the dual
dangers she faced on the frontier. “My danger in connection with the Indians
was two-fold.I was in peril from death
or capture, and liable to bekilled by
my own friends to prevent my capture.”
“ The
universal understanding was that anyone having me in chargein an emergency where there was imminent
danger of my capture should shoot me instantly.”
In1837, George Washington's lead coffin was
placed inside the marble sarcophagus that visitors see today. The coffin was opened in 1837, witnesses
reported that Washington's remains were remarkably well preserved because of
the lead-lined coffin. A contemporary account states that a section of the lead
was carefully lifted back, exposing the head and upper chest. Observers
described:
The face as readily recognizable as that of George
Washington. The features as shrunken but distinct. The nose retaining its
shape. The hair still visible. The dark military cloak in which he had been
buried remaining identifiable. The body appearing naturally mummified rather
than skeletal.
One witness wrote that the body seemed so well
preserved that it looked as though it had been buried only a short time rather
than nearly four decades earlier. After the inspection, the coffin was resealed
and enclosed within the marble sarcophagus donated by Philadelphia stonecutter
John Struthers.
Here are ten of the best-known quotes associated
with Confederate general Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (1824–1863):
“The time for
war has not yet come, but it will come, and that soon; and when it does
come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.”
Spoken to VMI cadets in March 1861.
“Then, Sir, we will give them the
bayonet!”
Reply at First Manassas (Bull Run), July 21, 1861, when told his men were
being driven back—just before he earned the nickname “Stonewall.”
“My religious belief teaches me to feel
as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not
concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may
overtake me.”
To Capt. John D. Imboden after First Manassas. He added that this was how
all men should live so that all would be equally brave.
“Never take
counsel of your fears.”
Described by his widow, Mary Anna Jackson, as a favorite maxim.
“Always mystify,
mislead, and surprise the enemy, if possible; and when you strike and
overcome him, never let up in the pursuit so long as your men have
strength to follow.”
His oft-quoted rule of offensive warfare.
“You may be
whatever you resolve to be.”
Frequently cited as a personal motto associated with Jackson.
“War means
fighting. The business of the soldier is to fight.”
From his views on how armies should be used—find the enemy, strike him,
and do so quickly.
“I like
liquor—its taste and its effects—and that is just the reason why I never
drink it.”
A characteristic remark on self-discipline.
“I yield to no
man in sympathy for the gallant men under my command; but I am obliged to
sweat them tonight, so that I may save their blood tomorrow.”
Explaining a hard night march.
“Let us cross
over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.”
His last words, spoken as he was dying of pneumonia after being wounded at
Chancellorsville (May 10, 1863).
John
Billington was not a Pilgrim. He was part of the “Strangers”—non‑Separatists
recruited by the London merchants who financed the voyage of the Mayflower in
1620. From the moment the Mayflower left England, Billington was a problem.
William
Bradford, later governor of Plymouth, described him as “a knave,” a man prone
to defiance and disorder. His family was equally notorious: his wife Ellen was
reprimanded for slander, and his sons were involved in repeated mischief.
The
Billingtons were loud, unruly, and unwilling to submit to the colony’s leadership
Billington’s
clashes with authority escalated quickly. In 1621, he refused to obey military
orders issued by Captain Myles Standish. Billington’s refusal to comply was seen
as a direct challenge to the colony’s survival in a savage environment.
He
was arrested and nearly executed, but the colony—still fragile and desperate
for manpower—chose leniency.This would
prove a mistake.
By
1630, Plymouth had grown more stable. But
stability did not tame Billington.
That
year, he became embroiled in a feud with a young man named John Newcomen.
One day, encountering Newcomen alone, Billington raised his musket and shot
him. Newcomen died from his wounds.
Billington
was arrested and brought before the colony’s governing council, which acted as
both judge and jury.
Witnesses
testified to the shooting. Billington offered no compelling defense. The
council found him guilty of “willful murder.”
The
governor described Billington as a man who had “been a bad man” from the
beginning, whose death was the inevitable result of years of disorderly
conduct.
Billington
was sentenced to death by hanging. His execution took place in September 1630,
making him the first European settler executed in what would become the United
States.
Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch Renaissance painter renowned for symbolic works depicting religious and
moral themes. He is known for grotesque creatures. His work critiques human
folly, sin, and societal corruption.
Here death comes for a
miser.The miser tries to buy death off,
but death is not impressed by the miser’s wealth.
Mount Vernon has always
been a place of pilgrimage because of the tomb of George Washington, America’s
secular saint. Prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War,
Mount Vernon was visited by HRH Prince Albert, Prince of Wales (later King Edward
VII). On October 5, 1860 President James Buchanan accompanied the Prince
on a tour of Mount Vernon and visited Washington’s tomb, which was not in very
good shape. A British correspondent wrote, “No pious care seems to have
ever tended this neglected grave. . .It is here alone in its glory, uncared
for, unvisited, unwatched, with the night-wind for its only mourner sighing
through the waste of trees, and strewing the dead brown leaves like ashes
before the tomb. Such is the grave of Washington!”
After the First World War another Prince of Wales visited. On
November 13, 1919, the future King Edward VIII visited Washington’s grave and
laid a wreath. The Prince also planted a small English yew tree near the
tomb.
On March 18, 2015, HRH Prince Charles,
the Prince of Wales, and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall laid a wreath at
Washington’s tomb. The Prince, a major force in raising awareness
about environmental issues, found Washington’s tomb in considerably better
shape than did his great-great grandfather.
This
dramatic painting is based on a true story, the rescue of fourteen year old
Brook Watson from the jaws of a hungry shark in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, in
1749.
Watson
survived. Years later, after he became a successful merchant and mayor of
London, he commissioned the American painter John Singleton Copley to portray
the incident.
H His dentures were not
wooden.Washington’s famous
“wooden teeth” were actually made from gold,
ivory, lead, and human and animal teeth, held together with a spring
that forced him to clench his jaw. By his inauguration, he had only one original tooth.He lost nearly all his teeth by age 57.
2 His real birthday wasn’t
February 22.He was born February 11, 1731 under the Julian
calendar. The switch to the Gregorian calendar moved his birthday to February
22 and changed his birth year to 1732.
3.The cherry tree story is
completely made up. The tale of young George confessing to chopping down
a cherry tree was invented by biographer Mason Locke Weems after Washington’s death.
4.He created his own dog breed.Washington selectively bred foxhounds
and is considered the father of the
American Foxhound, giving his dogs mushy names like Sweet Lips, Tipsy,
and Venus.
5.He ran one of America’s
largest whiskey distilleries.By
1799, his Mount Vernon distillery produced nearly 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year, making it the largest in
the nation.
Posts
