15 May 2025

161 Years Ago

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“When a gap opened in the Confederate line around the Bushong Farm, fear grew that the Federals would exploit it. To this point, Breckinridge had held the cadets in reserve, reluctant to send them in. Urged on by an aide, Major Charles Semple, he finally relented: ‘Put the boys in, and may God forgive me for the order.’ “

May 15, 1864 – charge of the VMI Cadets at New Market, Virginia. Written by John Sergeant Wise, one of the cadets —

The command was given to strip for action. Knapsacks, blankets, — everything but guns, canteens, and cartridge-boxes, was thrown upon the ground. Our boys were silent then. Every lip was tightly drawn, every cheek was pale, but not with fear. With a peculiar, nervous jerk, we pulled our cartridge-boxes round to the front, laid back the flaps, and tightened belts. Whistling rifled shells screamed over us, as, tipping the hill-crest in our front, they bounded past. To our right, across the pike, Patton’s brigade was lying down abreast of us.

“At-ten-tion-n-n I Battalion forward! Guide center-r-r!” shouted Shipp, and up the slope we started. From the left of the line, Sergeant-Major Woodbridge ran out and posted himself forty paces in advance of the colors as directing guide, as if we had been upon the drill ground. That boy would have remained there, had not Shipp ordered him back to his post; for this was no dress parade. Brave Evans, standing six feet two, shook out the colors that for days had hung limp and bedraggled about the staff, and every cadet leaped forward, dressing to the ensign, elate and thrilling with the consciousness that this was war.

Moving up to the hill crest in our front, we were abreast of our smoking battery, and uncovered to the range of the enemy’s guns. We were pressing towards him at ” arms port,” moving with the light tripping gate of the French infantry. The enemy’s veteran artillery soon obtained our range, and began to drop his shells under our very noses along the slope. Echols’s brigade rose up, and was charging on our right with the wellknown rebel yell.

Down the green slope we went, answering the wild cry of our comrades as their muskets rattled out in opening volleys. “Double time!” shouted Shipp, and we broke into a long trot. In another moment, a pelting rain of lead would fall upon us from the blue line in our front.
..
Meanwhile, the troops upon our left performed their allotted task. Up the slope, right up to the second line of infantry, they went; a second time the Federal troops were forced to retire. Wharton’s brigade secured two guns of the battery, and the remaining four galloped back to a new position in a farmyard on the plateau, at the head of the cedar-skirted gully. Our boys had captured over one hundred prisoners. Charlie Faulkner, now the Senator from West Virginia, came back radiant in charge of twenty-three Germans large enough to swallow him, and insisted that he and Winder Garrett had captured them unaided. Bloody work had been done. The space between the enemy’s old and new position was dotted with dead and wounded, shot as they retired across the open field; but this same exposed ground now lay before, and must be crossed by our own men, under a galling fire from a strong and well-protected position. The distance was not great, but the ground to be traversed was a level green field of young wheat.

Again the advance was ordered. Our boys responded with a cheer. Poor fellows! They had already been put upon their mettle in two assaults, exhausted, wet to the skin, muddy to their eyebrows with the stiff clay; some of them actually shoeless after struggling across the ploughed field: they, notwithstanding, advanced with tremendous earnestness, for the shout on our right advised them that the victory was being won.

But the foe in our front was far from whipped. As the cadets came on with a dash, he stood his ground most courageously. The battery, now shotted with shrapnel and canister, opened upon the cadets with a murderous fire. The infantry, lying behind fence-rails piled upon the ground, poured in a steady, deadly volley. At one discharge, Cabell, first sergeant of D Company, by whose side I had marched for months, fell dead, and with him fell Crockett and Jones. A blanket would have covered the three. They were awfully mangled by the canister. A few steps further on, McDowell sank to his knees with a bullet through his heart. Atwill, Jefferson, and Wheelwright were shot at this point. Sam Shriver, cadet captain of C Company, had his sword arm broken by a minie ball. Thus C Company lost her cadet as well as her professor captain.

The men were falling right and left. The veterans on the right of the cadets seemed to waver. Colonel Shipp went down. For the first time, the cadets appeared irresolute. Some one cried out, “Lie down!” and all obeyed, firing from the knee, — all but Evans, the ensign, who was standing bolt upright, shouting and waving the flag. Some one exclaimed, “Fall back and rally on Edgar’s battalion!” Several boys moved as if to obey. Pizzini, first sergeant of B Company, with his Corsican blood at the boiling point, cocked his rifle and proclaimed that he would shoot the first man who ran. Preston, brave and inspiring, in command of B Company, smilingly lay down upon his remaining arm with the remark that he would at least save that. Colonna, cadet captain of D, was speaking low to the men of his company with words of encouragement, and bidding them shoot close. The corps was being decimated.

Manifestly, they must charge or fall back. And charge it was; for at that moment Henry Wise, “Old Chinook,” beloved of every boy in the command, sprang to his feet, shouted out the command to rise up and charge, and, moving in advance of the line, led the cadet corps forward to the guns. The battery was being served superbly. The musketry fairly rolled, but the cadets never faltered. They reached the firm greensward of the farmyard in which the guns were planted. The Federal infantry began to break and run behind the buildings. Before the order to limber up could be obeyed by the artillerymen, the cadets disabled the teams, and were close upon the guns. The gunners dropped their sponges, and sought safety in flight.

Lieutenant Hanna hammered a gunner over the head with his cadet sword. Winder Garrett outran another and lunged his bayonet into him. The boys leaped upon the guns, and the battery was theirs. Evans, the color-sergeant, stood wildly waving the cadet colors from the top of a caisson.

13 May 2025

“Tax the Rich!” Lefties Demand

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IMGWnews:

What was meant to be a modest fiscal tweak has turned into an expensive lesson in capital flight. In 2022, Norway’s Labour-led government raised the wealth tax to 1.1%, hoping to boost annual revenues by $146 million. Instead, it triggered a migration of the wealthy—not just of assets, but of people.

Roughly 50 of Norway’s richest citizens packed their bags and left, including high-profile investors and founders of tech firms. Switzerland emerged as a favoured destination, thanks to its lenient tax regime and predictable fiscal policy. The net effect? A reported $594 million loss in tax revenue—four times the projected gain.

Norway is one of a shrinking handful of countries that still imposes an annual tax on net wealth, and the recent adjustment, though minor in absolute terms, served as a tipping point for those already disgruntled by rising fiscal burdens. The departures, legal but disruptive, highlight a growing tension in policymaking: the trade-off between progressive taxation and fiscal pragmatism.

RTWT

13 May 2025

His Brother’s Perspective

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08 May 2025

Jasmine Crockett: “Our Family Business is Our Family Business.”

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06 May 2025

Visible English History

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St Michael’s Church, Shotwick, Cheshire.

The grooves in the Norman Porch were made by archers sharpening their arrows for Sunday practice.

A decree by Edward III in 1363 ordered all able bodied men to practice their longbow skills after Mass.

Wikipedia:

Whereas the people of our realm, rich and poor alike, were accustomed formerly in their games to practise archery – whence by God’s help, it is well known that high honour and profit came to our realm, and no small advantage to ourselves in our warlike enterprises… that every man in the same country, if he be able-bodied, shall, upon holidays, make use, in his games, of bows and arrows… and so learn and practise archery.

04 May 2025

Japan’s Cherry Trout

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Cherry Trout (Onchorynchus masou), also called Masu in Japan. Via mattsun_gram1210.

Steve Bodio reports that Japanese anglers revere these the same way we do brook trout. These are so young that they have parr marks.

04 May 2025

Orwell: On Liberal Women

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03 May 2025

Australian Humor

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A Queenslander is drinking in a West Australian Pub when he gets
a call on his mobile phone and as he listens to the call he starts
grinning from ear to ear, then when he disconnects he shouts to the
barman that he wants to buy everyone in the bar a drink.

The barman starts serving the drinks and the people start to crowd
around keen to know what they are celebrating.

“Well,” he announces, “My wife’s just produced a typical Queensland
baby boy weighing 25 pounds”.

Nobody can believe that any baby can weigh in at 25 pounds, but
the Queenslander just shrugs, “That’s about average in Queensland .
Like I said, my boy is a typical Queensland boy.”

Congratulations showered him from all around and many exclamations
of “STREWTH” and “BLOODY HELL!” were heard. One woman even fainted due to sympathy pains.

Two weeks later the Queenslander returns to the same bar. The barman
says “You’re the father of that typical Queensland baby that weighed
25 pounds at birth aren’t you? Everybody’s been having bets about
how big he’d be in 2 weeks, we were going to call you. So – how much
does he weigh now?”

The proud father answers: “17 pounds.”

The bartender is puzzled and concerned. “What happened? He weighed
25 pounds the day he was born!”

The Queensland father takes a long s-l-o-w swig from his XXXX Gold
beer, wipes his lips on his shirt sleeve, leans onto the bar and proudly says, “We had him circumcised!”

03 May 2025

I Think They’ve Got It!

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“The mains in Spain fail mainly under strain.”

The Peoples Cube.

30 Apr 2025

Firing Is Not Enough

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30 Apr 2025

302!

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28 Apr 2025

Trump’s Controversial Blue Suit

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HT: Karen L. Myers.

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