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 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.  

From Declaration to Constitution

July 4, 1776  

Colonies declare their independence from Great Britain

October 17, 1777

General Burgoyne surrendered his army to the Americans under Arnold and Gates at Saratoga N.Y. As the greatest British defeat to this date, the victory guaranteed a French Alliance in the here-to-fore “English-Colonial Affair.”

November 1777

The Articles of Confederation establishes the first “official’ gov’t of the United States of America. The Articles stress the independence of the individual states and severely limits the powers of the central gov’t.

Winter 1777-78

Valley Forge, General’s Washington and von Steuben create the first “professional” American Army.

October 19, 1781

General Cornwallis surrenders his army to General Washington at Yorktown Virginia. Final straw that breaks the British will to continue the war. Peace negotiations begin in earnest.

1782-83

Peace of Paris, Great Britain grants the colonies their independence and all the territory from the East Coast to the Mississippi River, apart from Florida and the Gulf Coast which is given to Spain.

1785

Land Ordinance of 1785 (Township Act) established the township method of surveying and selling the lands of the Northwest Territories. A portion of each township is set aside to establish public schools.

September 1786-January 1787

Shays Rebellion demonstrated the need for a strong central gov’t. The inability/unwillingness of the states to assist one another in critical situations such as rebellions or natural disasters under the Articles of Confederation is undeniably demonstrated.

1787

Northwest Ordinance divides Northwestern territory into five smaller territories, established the format for accepting new states into the Union-60,000 settlers, a written state constitution and a representative/Republican form of gov’t. Slavery is also prohibited in the Northwest Territories.

May 25, 1787

Delegates from twelve states meet in Philadelphia to “revise the Articles of Confederation'' so as to provide unity, order and prosperity for the nation. This will become the Constitutional Convention.

May 30, 1787

The delegates decide to replace the weak “League of Friendship” of the Articles of Confederation with a strong, Federal, form of gov’t.

May-December 1787

Compromise! After many heated discussions the delegates create the United States Constitution, establishing three branches of gov’t, Legislative, Judicial and Executive. The Great Compromise established a two-house legislature: the Senate will be based on state equality with each having two senators, while the number of House seats will be based on the population of each state. The Slavery is defined and legalized in the Three-Fifths Compromise. Slave states will be allowed to count their slaves as Three-Fifths human for population numbers for the allocation of congressional representation.  This will give slave states a greater say in presidential elections through the Electoral College then the number of voters have in free states.

March-May 1788

Publication of the “Federalist Papers” to promote ratification of the United States Constitution. Written by John Jay, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, the papers are instrumental in swaying much public opinion to favor the ratification.

December 1787-July 1788

Ratification! Two-thirds (nine) of the states were required for passage of the US. Constitution. On December 7, 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify while New York became the ninth on July 26, 1788.  The Bill of Rights was not initially part of the U.S Constitution, it was not added until December 15, 1791.

April 6, 1789

George Washington is unanimously chosen to become the first President of the United States, taking the oath of office on April 30.

Results of the American Revolution

 

Major Results of the American Revolution

Immediate Results:

The United States of America wins its independence. For the first time in history a colony has revolted and broken away from the Mother Country.

George Washington, gives up control of the army, refuses to be king or dictator and returns to the life of a gentleman farmer.

All states have constitutions creating elected representative governments.

Articles of Confederation creates a weak national government and strong state governments that are loosely united into one country.

60,000+ Loyalists abandon the United States to live in the British Empire. 

Apart from Florida and the Gulf Coast, the United States gains control of the lands from the Atlantic Coast (future state of Maine to Georgia) South of the Great Lake to the East bank of the Mississippi River. All this land has overlapping, confusing and often ridiculous land claims by virtually all the 13 States.

France, Great Britain, the United States and all 13 States are left with massive war debts.

Shays Rebellion demonstrates the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.

Long Term Effects:  

Northwest Ordinance and Township Acts, established requirements for new states, surveying the land into townships to be sold and establishment of public schools from the sale of parcels. 
 
US Constitution & Bill of Rights created forming a strong national Federal Government.
 
Separation of Church and State established in the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution.

Revolutionary Spirit spreads to Europe and other colonies in the America's. The French Revolution and the Spanish American colonial revolts are the first to succeed.

Increased "American Diversity" through waves of new immigrants.

Eventual elimination of slavery in the North and Northwestern States.

The two major losers of the war were first, the Native Americans who faced continued Western expansion with no real chance of stopping the loss of their land to American settlers. The second was the growing slave population who continued to face generations of lifetime servitude in the South.

The Jeep-Workhorse of the Allies in the Second World War

 

With at least 640,000 Jeeps made during the Second World War, it's not surprising that they were a common sight in every Allied army on every front. Rugged, well-built and reliable, the Jeep became the new mule/workhorse of the Allies military. Completing every conceivable job from recon to raiding, transporting to towing, ambulance to anti-air, the jeep did it all.

Here we have Pacific Theater USMC Jeep armed with the famous M2 Browning (Ma Deuce) .50 cal. heavy machinegun. Firing a massive 12.7 mm (1/2-inch) wide bullet, the Ma Duce has been, and still is, a staple of the US Military since 1933. Effective against infantry, vehicles, lightly armored AFV's, aircraft and small boats, the Ma Deuce has been a popular choice in any firefight. 

At a cost of $1291.78 ($22,000 in 2022), the Jeep was a cheap and versatile way to get firepower and supplies to any hot spot on the line. With a speed of over 45 mph (72 km/p), the ability to haul over 1000 lbs. (454 kg) and travel in every combat environment, the Jeep was a welcome addition to any military motor pool.

After the war, many Jeeps became war surplus and served a double duty in the civilian realm. My own Uncle Herb used a Jeep at the Ranch for decades, doing sterling duty on the rolling hills and mountains of the Central California Coast. We still use the Jeep trails that he blazed in the 1940's, '50's and 60's. My favorite saying, he had about his trusty Jeep was "there are only two types of trees on the Ranch...those the Jeep can run over and those they can't...and there are darn few of those it can't."

This is a plastic/resin/metal piece I painted 

American Armor - 1940's Style

M3A1 Stuart light scout tank 37mm ATG, two .30 cal. machineguns. 

The second largest American production tank, with over 22,400 Stuart M3/M5 family of tanks produced, the Stuart was a common sight on the major battlefields of World War Two, as well as a variety of conflicts up until the Nicaraguan Revolution of the late 1970's. Built in such large numbers, Stuarts were seen in every major Allied army in the Second World War, even in the Soviet and Chinese forces.

While too lightly armored and armed to be a main battle tank in Europe by the time the US entered the war, the Stuart was still quite useful as a scout tank and against the lighter AFV's of Japan. It's original max armor of 51mm (2inches) a main gun of only 37mm and up to five .30 cal. machineguns was fine when first designed but was quickly surpassed as the war progressed. What it did possess was a great turn of speed, up 58 kph/36mph and unsurpassed reliability. So reliable were Stuarts that the British tankers in North Africa gave them the nick name "Honey." Many variants included upgraded armor, weapons (flame throwers and short 75mm cannon being especially popular) and even turrets.

As with the later Sherman's, Stuarts had a long and successful life in the armies of smaller nations after the war, the army of Paraguay was still using ten upgraded Stuarts as late as 2014.

M4 Sherman medium tank, Draftee, 75mm cannon two .30 cal. machineguns one .50 cal. machinegun. Note the extra inch thick applique armor on extra areas of the vulnerable sides and turret. 

50,000+ Sherman's were produced during World War Two, seeing combat on every front as well as in the Korean War, India vs Pakistan wars the Arab-Israel conflicts and countless smaller actions through the '50's, '60's and '70's with dozens of countries.  The varieties produced are too many to list in this small post check out "The Online Tank Museum" for a more complete list. 

The weight went up from 30.3 tons for the first M4 models to over 42 tons for the massive M4A3E2 Jumbo Sherman. Armor was constantly increased and changed with frontal armor ranging from 76mm (3 inches) to 177mm (7 inches)-again on the Jumbo.

Main weapons available also went through a dizzying amount of varieties, 75mm, 76mm, 76.2mm, 105mm cannons; flame-throwers and rockets from 76.2mm, 113mm, to 183mm, fired in groups of from 2 to 60 projectiles. Adaptability was a hallmark of the Sherman.

All in all, the massive number produced, reliability and the great variety of designs made the Sherman a real war winner for the Western Allies (while over 4100 Sherman's saw service in the Soviet Armies in WWII, they had their own game winner in their excellent T34 series of tanks.) The last Sherman tanks in active duty, after many upgrades, were retired in 1999, from the Chilean army. While the army of Paraguay did not fully retire their last three Sherman's until 2018, quite a career for a tank that many considered way inferior to its German advisories.

Both of these tanks are on display at the National World War Two Museum in New Orleans.
 

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.