Butternut vs Union Blue

 

A Union Zouave faces off against a Rebel infantryman as the bloody War Between the States continues its path of destruction through the country. 

While the Union man is wearing the fancy French stye North African Zouave uniform, the Southerner is reduced to wearing home spun clothing dyed in "Butternut. With the lack of grey dye in the South, most of the soldiers of the Confederacy were reduced to using Butternut Dye for their uniforms. Butternut came from crushing the bark of trees and nut hulls, and when used on cotton clothing it gave a soft brown hue to the clothes. An unintended aspect of Butternut uniforms was that they foreshadowed the later introduction khaki unforms that made soldiers less of a clear target on the battlefield.

While their uniforms vary greatly their weapons are basically the same, the .58 cal. muzzle loading rifled cap and ball musket. The muskets .58 cal./14.73 mm "Minie Ball" could bring death to a target hundreds of yards away (up to 400 yds/366 m for marksmen). While many older as well as the latest repeating firearms were used in the war, the rifled muzzle loader continued to be the main infantry weapon of both sides throughout the war.

(The two soldiers are old 1970's. 25mm metal models that I painted.)

War Between the States-Living History

 

 Did a little presentation this week for my 8th graders on what life was like for a Union soldier in 1863.

Getting my equipment ready for my Living History Demo. All the equipment (except the glasses-sorry can't see without them nowadays) is either from the time period, as is my bayonet, or authentic reproductions like my cap and ball rifled .58 cal. musket. 

Explaining what life was like for a Union infantryman circa 1863, has been a passion of mine for decades.

As this is my 38 year of Civil War Living History Presentations to Elementary-Middle-High-College students and adults in addition to countless reenactments. 

Lebel Fusil Modele 1886

 

In the Great War the standard arm for the French in the early years was the 8mm Lebel rifle. When it was introduced in the late 19th Century, the Lebel was the most advanced military shoulder arm in general use. It was the first small bore, high velocity, smokeless powder, repeater to be accepted by a major power. But for combat use it had a major flaw, it was tube loaded. This was a slow process as the loader had to be careful loading the center fire cartridges to avoid an unfortunate explosive incident. A further complaint was made about the sight being both too short and too small for combat use. By 1914, the Lebel was out classed by most of the standard rifles of the major powers. The French Poilus took this in stride as they rose to the need to defend France from the invaders. Poor equipment would be a hinderance but would be overcome by the soldier's bravery and tenacity.

French Foreign Legionnaires armed with Lebel Fusil Model 1886 advance against the Germans in August 1914. These are metal 28mm pieces I painted for the "Great War" Centennial.

Some Fools are Always Fooled

 

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

 Abraham Lincoln

The miniatures are plastic pieces I painted in 2011 to represent the soldiers of 24th Michigan of the famous War Between the States Union Iron Brigade.

Age of Victoria Part Four -Industrial Revolution/Inventions 1867-1901

A version of Mucha's Zodiac calendar that he did for La Plume in 1897.

Victorian Age Inventions 1867-1901

1867- Karl Marx, Das Kapital. I/P Dynamite (TNT)

1868- I/P Traffic Light, Tungsten Steel, Typewriter

1869- Suez Canal completed. Transcontinental Railroad completed, 1st college football game-Rutgers 6 vs Princeton 4.

1870- Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I/P Stock Ticker

1871- Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles.  Darwin, Descent of Man(Text). 

1873- Ashanti Revolt. I/P Barbed Wire

1874- Benjamin Disraeli becomes the Conservative PM. Britain annexes Fiji Islands.

1875- Britain takes control of Suez Canal, creating a British protectorate over Egypt. Dakota gold find.

1876- Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. Belgium claims the African Congo, USA Centennial.  I/P-Telephone, Carpet Sweeper, National League (Baseball) founded

1877- Reconstruction ends. I/P Recorded Sound, Moving Pictures

1878-79- 2nd British-Afghan War.

1879- Zulu War. I/P Lightbulb 

1880- France claims Tunis. 1st Boer War. I/P Toilet Paper, Seismograph

Art Nouveau style appears

188-2 France took control of Algeria & claimed French Somaliland. American Chinese Exclusion Act. I/P Metal Detector, Standard Time Zones 

1884- Sudan Mahdi War. Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn (Text). I/P Rayon, Steam Turbine, Cash Register, Fountain Pen, Maxim Machinegun 

1884-1885- Germany established a protectorate over Southwest Africa, Togoland, Cameroons and East Africa. Britain claimed British Somaliland.

1885- Berlin Conference-Bismarck established “ground rules” for dividing Africa. 3rd Burma War. I/P Automobile, Rabies Vaccine

1886- Britain made Burma a province of India after winning the 3rd Anglo-Burma War.  Haymarket Riot, American Federation of Labor formed. I/P Dishwasher, Coca-Cola

1887- Britain claimed Nigeria. I/P Contact Lenses

1888- Kaiser Wilhelm II ascended to the throne of the German Empire. I/P Drinking Straw

1889- Italy claimed Italian Somaliland, Britain claimed Northern and Southern Rhodesia’s. I/P Cordite

1890- Kaiser Wilhelm II “retires” Otto von Bismarck, Britain established the colony of Uganda, Sherman Anti-trust Act.

1891- I/P Naismith creates Basketball at Springfield College Mass.

1892- I/P Reliable Internal Combustion Engine, Escalator

1893- France took Laos, with Cambodia & Vietnam the area is called French Indo-China. I/P Zipper

1894- Britain claims Zimbabwe. Sino-Japanese War, Japan took Taiwan from China and became a European style colonial power.

1895- Britain established the colony of Kenya, 1st Italian-Abyssinian War. I/P X-Rays

1896- Klondike Gold Rush

1896-99- English Sudanese War, England claims the entire Sudan.

1898- Britain obtains a 99-year lease for Hong Kong from China. Spanish American War-US “liberates” Cuba, takes Puerto Rico, Guam & Philippines. US annexes Hawaii. Fashoda Incident-France and Britain divide all unclaimed North Africa. H.G. Wells, War of the Worlds. I/P Rollercoaster 

1899-1902- 2nd Boer War, Britain invents the concentration camp.

1899- 'Open Door Policy' in the Far East, 1st Hague Peace Conference. US annexes Wake Island. Freud, Interpretations of Dreams. I/P Vacuum Cleaner

1900- Boxer Rebellion-united armies of Europe & Japan crush the Chinese, capturing & looting Peking. US annexes American Samoa. I/P Zeppelin, Tractor

1901- Death of Victoria age 81. Aside from Ethiopia, Japan, Persia, Siam and parts of China the entire world is under European control. I/P Safety Razor, Radio Receiver

By 1910, Queen Victoria’s grandchildren were on the thrones of the following states:

Wilhem II, Kaiser of the German Empire, George V King of Great Britain, Emperor of India, Nikolai II Aleksandrovich, Tsar of All the Russia's, Maud Queen Consort of King Haakon VII of Norway, Sophie, Queen Consort of King Konstantinos I of the Hellenes, Marie, Queen Consort of King Ferdinand I of Romania, Victoria Eugenie, Queen Consort of King Alfonso XIII of Spain 

In addition, other grandchildren held the following major royal ranks:

11 were titled prince, 2 were titled princess royal, 8 were titled princess, 2 were titled Grand Duchess, 1 was titled Grand Duke, 2 were titled Duke, 1 was titled Countess and 2 were titled Marquess.

 I/P- Inventions/Patents

Age of Victoria Part Three- Industrial Revolution/Inventions 1800-1865

Colored pencil version of Much's 1898 Job cigarette paper ad.

19th Century Inventions/Patents 1800-1865

1800 I/P Volta-Battery, Jacquard-Silk Loom
1804 I/P Winzer-Gas Light (coal gas)
1806 I/P "French Press" Coffee Pot-inventor is disputed
1807 I/P Forsyth Caplock System for Firearms
1809 I/P Davy-Arc Lamp
1810 I/P Durard-Tin Can
1814 I/P Stephenson-Steam Locomotion, Fraunhofer-Spectroschope & Niepce-1st Photograph (camera obscura)
1815 Davy-Miners Lamp 
1817 Baron von Drais-Velocipede (pre--bicycle)

1819 I/P Laennec-Stethoscope
1824 I/P Faraday Toy Balloons & Aspdin Portland Cement

1825 Erie Canal. I/P Sturgeon-Electromagnet
1827 I/P Walker-Safety Matches & Wheatstone-Microphone

1828 I/P 1st US Railroad-B & O. 
1829 I/P Braille-Printing for the blind
1831 I/P McCormick-Reaper & Sturgeon-Electric Dynamo
1833 I/P Morse-Telegraph 
1835 I/P Merrick-Wrench & Babbage-Mechanical Calculator

1836 I/P Colt-Revolver & Ericsson & F.P. Smith-Propeller 
1837- I/P Hill-Postage Stamp

1839 Poe: "Fall of the House of Usher." I/P Goodyear-Vulcanized Rubber, Daguerreotype-Photography & Grove-Hydrogen Fuel Cell
1840 I/P Herschel-Blueprint
1841 I/P Slocum-Stapler

1843 I/P Perkins-Ice Maker-Refrigeration

1845 I/P Morton-Anesthesia, Howe-Sewing Machine & Thompson-Pneumatic Rubber Tire
1947 Marx and Engels: "The Communist Manifesto(Text)" I/P Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis-Antiseptics & “germ” theory of infection

1849 Henry David Thoreau: "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" 

1850 I/P Hunt-Safety Pin 

1852 I/P Foucault-Gyroscope & Singer-Sewing Machine
1853 I/P Cayley-Glider
1854 I/P Tyndall-Principles of Fiber Optics

1856  I/P Cayley-Glider Pasteur-Pasteurization & Bessemer-Steel Process

1857 I/P Pullman Sleeping Car
1858 I/P H.Smith-Washing Machine & Lenoir-Coal Gas Internal Combustion Engine

1859 "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin is published and promotes the theory of "natural selection."  I/P 1st Steam Powered Ironclad "Glori," Imperial French Navy

1860  I/P Silliman, Jr. Cracking(distillation)

1861  I/P Otis-Elevator & Yale-Cylinder Lock

1862 I/P Gatling-Machine Gun, Parkes 1st Man Made Plastic & USS Monitor, 1st Turreted Ironclad Warship
1863 I/P French "Boneshaker" Pedal Bicycle possibly by Lallement

1865 Lewis Carroll: "Alice in Wonderland(Text)"

Age of Victoria Part Two-Political 1868-1901

 

Victorian Era Events 1861-1901

1861 Victor Emmanuel II proclaimed King of Italy. 

1862 Otto von Bismarck becomes Prime Minister of Prussia. 

1863-67 France occupies Mexico. Homestead Act.

1864 Danish-Prussian War results in quick Prussian victory. Prussia and Austria respectively rule Schleswig and Holstein. 

1866 Austro-Prussian War breaks out over the Austrian administration of Holstein. Prussian victory in seven weeks. 3rd Māori War. 3rd Italian War for Independence.

1867 Dual Monarchy established in a compromise between Austria and Hungary. US purchases Alaska claims Aleutian Islands & annexes Midway Island. 

1869 Japanese Boshin War, Suez Canal completed. Transcontinental Railroad completed.

1870 the Italian state annexed Rome. Italian unification completed. France declares war on Prussia over Ems dispatch. France was defeated at Sedan and Emperor Napoleon III captured.  Third French Republic proclaimed. 

1871 Proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles.  

1873 3rd Anglo-Ashanti War.

1874 Benjamin Disraeli becomes the Conservative PM. Britain annexed Fiji Islands.

1875 Britain took control of the Suez Canal, creating a British protectorate over Egypt. Dakota Gold Rush.

1876 Victoria proclaimed Empress of India. Belgium claimed the African Congo. 

1877 Reconstruction ends. 

1878-79 2nd British-Afghan War.

1879 Zulu War. 

1880 France claims Tunis. 1st Boer War. Art Nouveau style appears

1882 Anglo-Egyptian War, France controlled Algeria, claiming French Somaliland. Chinese Exclusion Act.

1884 Sudan Mahdi War. 

1884-1885 Germany established a protectorate over Southwest Africa, Togoland, Cameroons and East Africa. Britain claims British Somaliland, Sino-Franco War.

1885 Berlin Conference-Bismarck establishes “ground rules” for dividing Africa. 3rd Burma War. Serbo-Bulgarian War

1886 Britain made Burma a province of India after winning the 3rd Anglo-Burma War.  Haymarket Riot, American Federation of Labor formed. 

1887 Britain claims Nigeria. 

1888 Kaiser Wilhelm II ascends to the throne of the German Empire. 

1889 Italy claimed Italian Somaliland, Britain claimed Northern and Southern Rhodesia’s. 

1890 Kaiser Wilhelm II “retires” Otto von Bismarck, 1st Fanco-Dahomean War, Britain established the colony of Uganda, Ghost Dance War, Sherman Anti-trust Act.

1892 2nd Franco-Dahomean War.

1893 Franco-Siamese War, France takes Laos, with Cambodia & Vietnam the area is called French Indochina. 

1893-94 1st Matabelle-Spanish War.

1894 Britain claims Zimbabwe. 1st Sino-Japanese War, Japan takes Taiwan from China, becoming a European style colonial power.

1895 Britain established the colony of Kenya, 1st Italian-Abyssinian War. 

1896 Anglo-Zanzibar War.

1895-96 4th Anglo-Ashanti War.

1896-99 English Sudanese War, England claims the entire Sudan.

1897 Greco-Turkish War

1898 Britain obtains a 99-year lease for Hong Kong from China. Spanish American War-US “liberates” Cuba, takes Puerto Rico, Guam & Philippines. US annexes Hawaii. Fashoda Incident-France and Britain divide all unclaimed North Africa. 

1899-1902 2nd Boer War, Britain invents the concentration camp.

1899 'Open Door Policy' in the Far East, 1st Hague Peace Conference. US annexes Wake Island. 

1899-1913 Philippine-American War

1900 5th Anglo-Ashanti War (War of the Golden Stool), Boxer Rebellion-united armies of Europe & Japan crush the Chinese, capturing & looting Peking. US annexes American Samoa. 

1901 Death of Victoria age 81. Aside from Ethiopia, Japan, Persia, Siam and parts of China the entire world is under European control. 

By 1910 Queen Victoria’s grandchildren were on the thrones of the following states:

Wilhem II, Kaiser of the German Empire, George V King of Great Britain, Emperor of India, Nikolai II Aleksandrovich, Tsar of All the Russia's, Maud Queen Consort of King Haakon VII of Norway

Age of Victoria Part One- Political 1818-1867

 

19th Century World Events 1819-1867 Age of Victoria Begins

1819 Birth of Victoria. US annexes Florida. 

1820 "Missouri Compromise"
1823 "Monroe Doctrine."

1825 Erie Canal.

1828 Greece gains its independence (lost in 338 B.C.). 
1833 Great Britain Abolishes Slavery

1836 Texas gains its independence from Mexico. 

1837 William IV dies, accession of Queen Victoria. age 18; Britain refuses to grant more home rule in Canada, leading to the Rebellions of 1837.

1840 Britain claims New Zealand, 1st Opium War (Britain vs China).

1841-42 1st British-Afghan War (total destruction of the invading English Army of 16,000).

1843 Britain claims Natal, 1st Māori War. 

1845 US forces Japan to open to foreign trade, Japanese chose to copy European concepts, & technologies-especially military. US annexes Texas.

1845-1850 Potato Famine in Ireland 1/3 of the population dies 1/3 immigrates (largely to the USA).

1846-48 Mexican American War. 

1848 Year of Revolutions, French 2nd Republic proclaimed, California Gold Rush.

1848-1864 Taiping Rebellion kills between 25 and 30 million Chinese.

1849 England annexes Punjab.

1850 "1850 Compromise."

1852 2nd Burma War. Napoleon III becomes Emperor of France. 

1853-1856 Crimean War: Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire vs. Russia. Russia's expansion into the Balkans is blocked and the 'Concert of Europe' destroyed.

1856 The Treaty of Paris ends the Crimean War, 2nd Opium War (GB & Fr vs China), Britain vs Persia War. 

1857-59 Sepoy or Indian Mutiny. 

1858 Victoria proclaims permanent British rule of India. Colorado gold & silver finds.

1859 War of Piedmont and France against Austria. 

1860 Garibaldi lands his forces in Sicily invades southern Italy. These southern states join the northern union forged by Piedmont under the direction of Camillo Cavour. 2nd Maori War. 

1861-1865 American Civil War.

1861 Victor Emmanuel II proclaimed King of Italy. 

1862 Otto von Bismarck becomes Prime Minister of Prussia. 

1863-67 France occupies Mexico. Homestead Act.

1864 Danish-Prussian War results in quick Prussian victory. Prussia and Austria respectively rule Schleswig and Holstein. 

1866 Austro-Prussian War breaks out over the Austrian administration of Holstein. Prussian victory in seven weeks. 3rd Māori War. 

1867 Dual Monarchy established in a compromise solution between Austria and Hungary. US purchases Alaska claims Aleutian Islands & annexes Midway Island.  

Attackers from the Sea-Let the Coastal Artillery is the Answer

                                                                              

When an enemy warship appears, coastal artillery was the first defense. This 32 pdr. smoothbore, muzzle loader could fire solid shot, explosive shell or the dreaded hot shot into the vulnerable wooden sailing ships of the early 19th century. The structure with a chimney in the background is a furnace to heat up the cannon balls (hot shot) so as to catch wooden ships on fire. Even today, fire onboard any ship is many a sailor's worst fear.                                            

Largely hidden behind angled ramparts up to ten meters (30+feet) thick, the artillerymen and their pieces were well protected from return fire. Batteries of heavy coastal artillery in stone, brick or earthen forts such as this protected key harbors and seaport cities throughout the 19th century world. 

Each fort would have a massive "bombproof" magazine as seen to the left that stored ammunition for the cannon. The other building to the right was the barracks for the forts garrison of soldiers. 

These pictures are from Fort McNab in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A traditional "star fort," Fort McNab was built to protect Halifax Harbor from possible American attacks during the 19th century.

Above is a model of a wooden frontier "Star Fort" with a cannon in the lower right redoubt. The star name is in reference to the corner redoubts that jut out like the spokes of a star.

                                                                              

Pathans-Bane of Imperial Britain

 

For much of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the fanatic Pathan (Afghani Pashtun Tribes) warriors of the Northwest Frontier of the Raj (British Imperial India), Pathans were a constant menace to Imperial control. Raids, wars, punitive expeditions, threats, bribes and the like were commonplace events as these warlike tribesmen resisted Imperial authority. 

Rather armed with flintlock rifles like these men or more modern rifles as time progressed, no British officer took lightly the thought of fighting these warriors, not if they wanted a long life that is. Many a great career in Imperial service was started, or cut short, during these conflicts on the Northwest Frontier-including that of a young Winston Churchill in the late 1890's. Never fully conquered, the Pathans remained a thorn in the side of Imperial Britain until the end of the Raj in 1947, when it became a problem for other nations well into the 21st century. 

Portraits Through the Centuries

Early 17th Century

Early 18th Century

Early 19th Century

                                                                    Early 20th Century

                                                                    Early 21st Century

                                                                                 2020

Northwest Native Americans

 

One of the dooms of independence of North American the military power of the Europeans

Pirate or Privateer

From the 16th to early 19th centuries "Privateers" were the mother countries legal pirates given "Letters of Marque" that allowed them to prey on the merchant shipping of "enemy" nations. Such commerce raiding was lucrative for both the privateers who provided their own ships and crews and for the navy that added to their commerce raiders at no expense to the naval budget.  

The object of a privateer was to capture their victims, man them with a "prize crew," and sell the ship and cargo at a friendly port. The government that granted the "Letters of Marque" most often received a percentage of this "prize money." Be they the "Seadogs" of England's Elizabeth I or American adventures of the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, privateers were more often seen as legal pirates by the merchants they pounced upon on the high seas.

One City Three National Rulers-New Orleans

The standards of the Kingdom of Spain, Kingdom of France and the 15 stared flag of the United States, three rulers of New Orleans in its first century of existence.

In 1718 (tradition says on May 7th), the French Mississippi Company founded La Nouvelle-Orleans as a French colony to control the mouth of the Mississippi River as well as an entry point to the greater Louisiana Territory. French adventurer Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville is credited for choosing the site that eventually became the shipping hub of the Gulf Coast. Its strategic importance was was not lost on the powers of the day and as a result of the disastrous Seven Years War, France was forced to cede New Orleans to the Kingdom of Spain in the 1763 Treaty of Paris.

By 1803, Spain and Napoleonic France were allies and the Spanish returned New Orleans to their former owner. But Napoleon was at war and in need of money, he found a ready buyer in the up-and-coming new power in North America-the United States. President Jefferson was quick to accept the price of fifteen million dollars for not only New Orleans but also the entire of the New France-Louisiana Territory (an area in the range of 828,000 square miles). For the price of around eighteen dollars a square mile, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, would go down as one of the greatest land purchases of all time.

Napoleon's Queen of the Battlefield

Batteries (normally six cannon and two howitzers plus caissons and crews) of Light (a relative term as this piece weighs just under 2000 lbs.) field pieces like this 12 pdr Foot Artillery cannon were the Queens of the battlefield to a master of artillery like Napoleon.

Firing a 12 pd ball or the deadly grapeshot (a mass of smaller iron balls that in action made the cannon a giant shotgun), field artillery was used to deadly effect throughout the 17th to 19th centuries. 

Howitzers such as this 5.7-inch (muzzle diameter) example were used to lob shells in a high arc over intervening terrain, fortifications and friendly troops.  Howitzers were used in smaller numbers than field cannons but were no less deadly when place under the command of an expert such at Napoleon.

The Arch of Victory

 

Since the age of Rome, great triumphal arches have been built to glorify the conquests of a great leader.  One of the oldest known was the 29 BCE Arch of Augustus that once graced the road by the Temple of Vesta in Rome.  The arch commemorated the victory of Augustus over Marcus Antonius at Actium.  The arch no longer exists and only coins of the era give any idea as to its design. 

Around 1806, Napoleon ordered the construction of the 19m tall by 23m wide, L'arc de Ttriomphe du Carousel.

The L'arc de Triomphe du Carousel was built to honor the great French victories of the previous year.  It was modeled after the 23m tall by 25m wide, 203 C.E. victory arch of Roman Emperor Septimius Severus.

For his greatest arch, in 1806, Napoleon decided to create the gigantic-Arc de Triomphe, one of the largest arch's ever built (the 1982, triumph arch in Pyongyang is 10 m higher) to honor military victories. Based on the 1st century 15m tall Arch of Titus, the Arc is a massive 50m tall and 45m wide and took over 30 (although construction was halted for nine years due to regime changes) years to complete.

Imperial Nippon the Colonial Power

After Commodore Perry's fateful trip to Nippon in the 1850's the Nation of Nippon choose to embrace every aspect of the Modern World, including the European concept of Colonialism and overseas empires. Starting in the 1870's with dozens of Pacific islands, by the 1890's Nippon had turned its attention to the dying Qing Dynasty of China. After a swift victorious war, the Imperial Army and Navy annexed Formosa (Taiwan) and Korea (although the Europeans forced the technical return of the latter to the tender care of the Russian Empire).

By 1905, tensions had run their course between the empires of Russia and Nippon. The Imperial Navy used a lightning strike, before declaring war, on the Russian East Asia fleet in Korea. The Surprise attack destroyed Russian Naval power in Korean waters and allowed the unfettered movement of the Imperial Army as they systematically destroyed the Russian forces in Korea. The overwhelming victory of the Imperial Navy over the Russian reinforcement fleet in the Battle of Tushima sealed the Russian defeat and added Korean to the growing Empire of Nippon. By the 1930's, the Imperial Staff had made plans for the dismemberment of China, starting with Manchuria. This path was to directly lead to the final expansion of the Empire with the early conquests of much of East Asia in the opening victories of World War II.

The Japanese entry into World War II began as it had in the Russo-Japanese War, with a surprise attack upon the naval forces of the Japanese enemy, before a declaration of war.

The Empire's massive victory was also its greatest mistake.  The sneak attack on this "Day of Infamy" while the two governments were engaged in peace negotiations, would so enrage the American public that only total destruction of the Empire would satisfy the cry for revenge.

The Empire Nippon had reached its zenith of size and power and yet it had but four years left to live.

Meiji Restoration, Japan Modernizes into a World Power

The few ships of the Tokugawa Shogunate "Navy" before Commodore Perry's visit in 1853, were coastal junks with no effective armament.

By the 1880's, the Imperial Japanese Navy contained warships of the latest design such as the protected cruiser Naniwa armed with machine guns,and breech loading cannons.

After the United States opened Japan to the Modern World, a massive culture shock shook the country to its core. The Tokugawa Shogunate wanted to keep the status-quo while the Young Emperor Meiji wanted to modernize the whole of Japanese society, without the Shogunate and Samurai Feudalism. This led to brief, but bloody civil war. The modern Imperial Army and Imperial Navy won. Under Emperor Meiji's reform government, a crash modernization program that touched every aspect of Japanese life was instituted. By the 1890's the new Japan had defeated the Chinese and in 1905-06 Japan won the Russo-Japanese War. For the first time in history an Asian nation had defeated a Major European Power. In less than fifty years Japan had advanced from 17th Century technology to that of the Modern World. Under the Meiji Restoration Japan had arrived as a Major World Power.

Meiji, the 122nd Emperor of Nippon, in traditional robes of state.
Emperor Meiji in the modern clothing of a European Imperial Head of State.
Samurai officers of the Tokugawa Shogunate circa 1866.
Officers and men of the modern Imperial Army of Japan circa 1890. They are equipped with the latest weapons, trained in the most current European tactics, and confident in the power of Modern Japan.
Emperor Meiji and his Imperial Consort Shoken in European dress befitting their station.



After the modernization of his nation, Emperor Meiji said, "I dreamed of a unified Japan. Of a country strong and independent and modern… Now we have railroads and cannon and Western clothing. But we cannot forget who we are. Or where we come from."