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Wincanton Skirmish
The Wincanton Skirmish occurred on 20 November 1688 during the Glorious Revolution. A small patrol of the Royal Army led by the Irish officer Patrick Sarsfield, clashed with a detachment of the invading Dutch Army in the town of Wincanton in Somerset. It was one of the few notable actions fought during the campaign which has sometimes acquired the name the "bloodless revolution". Background Following the landing of William III of England, William of Orange in Devon, forces loyal to James II of England, James II had assembled on Salisbury Plain. Colonel Patrick Sarsfield was one of the most active officers on the King's behalf, at a time of growing doubts about the trustworthiness of other commanders. Inconclusive reports had arrived that enemy forces had been spotted at Bruton, close to Wincanton. Sarsfield was ordered by his superior General Percy Kirke to take out a fresh patrol and investigate. Skirmish On the morning of 20 November, Sarsfield rode out from the royal camp with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Reading (1688)
:''See also Battle of Reading (871), Siege of Reading (1642–1643)'' The Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688 in Reading, Berkshire. It was one of only two substantial military actions in England during the Glorious Revolution (the other being at Wincanton), and was a decisive victory for forces loyal to William III of Orange. The victory was celebrated in Reading for many years. Prelude On Wednesday 5 November 1688, William III, then the Prince of Orange and Stadtholder of the Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, and Overijssel provinces of the Dutch Republic, landed in Devon at the head of a Dutch army in an attempt to wrest control of the country. Five weeks later, on 7 December, the Prince of Orange and a strong body of troops had reached Hungerford. While there, English supporters came into the town, including several hundred cavalry headed by northern lords. After retreating from Salisbury, King James II's main force was stationed on Hounslow Heath. On Satu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and VII of England and Scotland in November 1688, and his replacement by his daughter Mary II and her husband and James's nephew William III of Orange, de facto ruler of the Dutch Republic. A term first used by John Hampden (1653–1696), John Hampden in late 1689, it has been notable in the years since for having been described as the last successful invasion of England as well as an internal coup, with differing interpretations from the Dutch and English perspectives respectively. Despite his personal Catholicism, a religion opposed by the Protestant majority in England and Scotland, James became king in February 1685 with widespread support in both countries, since many feared that his exclusion would lead to a repetition of the 16391651 Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horse Grenadier Guards
The Horse Grenadier Guards, usually referred to ''Horse Grenadiers'' were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Horse Guards, they became independent for a century before being disbanded. However, the men of the troops formed the basis of the new troops of Life Guards. History Origins The origins of the Horse Grenadiers lie in the ''grenadiers a cheval'' of the French ''l'armee''. Louis XIV added a troop of 154 to the Maison Militaire du Roi in December 1676, making it perhaps the most impressive regiment in Europe. Charles II was eager to copy the exciting new innovation of grenade technology. Grenadiers, soldiers specially trained to carry and use hand grenades, first appeared in the British Army in 1677. Particularly tall and strong soldiers were usually picked to become grenadiers, because of the weight of extra equipment that they carried. Their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex, and was a significant local commercial centre from an early time. As part of the suburban growth of London in the 20th century it expanded and increased in population, Municipal Borough of Uxbridge, becoming a municipal borough in 1955, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965. A few major events have taken place in and around the town, including attempted negotiations between King Charles I of England, Charles I and the Roundhead, Parliamentary Army during the English Civil War. The public house at the centre of those events, since renamed the Crown and Treaty, Crown & Treaty, still stands. RAF Uxbridge houses the Battle of Britain Bunker, from where the air de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dogs, Wincanton
The Dogs (also known as The Old House) in Wincanton, Somerset, England was built around 1650 and has been designated as a Grade I listed building. The name 'The Dogs' refers to two stone greyhounds, which were previously used as finials on the gateposts, but these have since disappeared. They represented the arms of the Churchey family who locally held the title Lord of the Manor. The two storey house was largely rebuilt in the 1740s by Nathaniel Ireson, but is one of the few buildings in the town known to predate a serious fire in 1707. It has a central range and two wings projecting towards the street. It has coped gables and mullioned windows. The house has elaborate scrolled cast iron gates. William of Orange slept in one of the bedrooms for at least one night during the Glorious Revolution in 1688. A Coachman's cottage was built for the house in 1838. In the 1930s a cinema was added by the owner of the house. See also * List of Grade I listed buildings in South Somerset ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Richmond Webb
General (United Kingdom), General John Richmond Webb (26 December 1667 – 5 September 1724), of Biddesden House, Ludgershall, Wiltshire, was a British general and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1695 to 1724. Politically he was a Hanoverian Tory who supported the Hanoverian Succession rather than the rival Jacobitism, Jacobite movement. Early life Webb was the son of Edmund Richmond Webb, Colonel Edmund Richmond Webb, a Wiltshire gentleman with a position in the household of Prince George of Denmark and second cousin to another Wiltshire man, Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, Henry St John, who became the British Tory Party, Tory leader in Parliament during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne. Webb was commissioned as a Cornet (military rank), Cornet of Dragoons in 1687. The following year he served in the Glorious Revolution campaign. While serving under Patrick Sarsfield at the Wincanton Skirmish, he was badly wounded by the Dutc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornet (rank)
Cornet was originally the lowest grade of commissioned officer in a British cavalry troop, the modern equivalent being a second lieutenant. The rank was abolished by the 1871 Cardwell Reforms, which replaced it with sub-lieutenant. Although obsolete, the term is still used when referring to a newly commissioned officer (the equivalent of a second lieutenant) within the British Army regiment of the Blues and Royals. The cornet rank was also used by other nations such as the Imperial Russian Army and the Prussians. Etymology A ''cornet'' or "cornet of horse" was in the 17th and 18th century a term for a group of cavalry (typically 100–300 men), so-called because it was accompanied by a cornet player (a trumpet-like instrument, from Latin ''cornū'', "horn"). Later "cornet" came to refer to the fifth commissioned officer in a cavalry troop, who carried the colours; it never referred to the cornet player himself. An alternative etymology claims that the term is derived from a ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually disappeared as the use of heavy armour declined, but ''musket'' continued as the generic term for smoothbore long guns until the mid-19th century. In turn, this style of musket was retired in the 19th century when rifled muskets (simply called rifles in modern terminology) using the Minié ball (invented by Claude-Étienne Minié in 1849) became common. The development of breech-loading firearms using self-contained cartridges (introduced by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1835) and the first reliable repeating rifles produced by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1860 also led to their demise. By the time that repeating rifles became common, they were known as simply "rifles", ending the era of the musket. Etymology According to the Online Et ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miller
A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents in other languages around the world ("Melnyk (surname), Melnyk" in Russian language, Russian, Belorussian language, Belorussian & Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, "Meunier (other), Meunier" in French language, French, "Müller (surname), Müller" or "Mueller (surname), Mueller" in German language, German, "Mulder" and "Molenaar" in Dutch language, Dutch, "Molnár" in Hungarian language, Hungarian, "Molinero" in Spanish language, Spanish, "Molinaro" or "Molinari" in Italian language, Italian etc.). Milling existed in hunter-gatherer communities, and later millers were important to the history of agriculture, development of agriculture. The materials ground by millers are often foodstuffs and particularly c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grenades
A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade generally consists of an explosive charge ("filler"), a detonator mechanism, an internal striker to trigger the detonator, and a safety lever secured by a cotter pin. The user removes the safety pin before throwing, and once the grenade leaves the hand the safety lever gets released, allowing the striker to trigger a primer that ignites a fuze (sometimes called the delay element), which burns down to the detonator and explodes the main charge. Grenades work by dispersing fragments ( fragmentation grenades), shockwaves ( high-explosive, anti-tank and stun grenades), chemical aerosols (smoke and gas grenades) or fire (incendiary grenades). Fragmentation grenades ("frags") are probably the most common in modern armies, and when the word ''gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deserters
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which are temporary forms of absence. Desertion versus absence without leave In the United States Army, United States Air Force, British Armed Forces, Australian Defence Force, New Zealand Defence Force, Singapore Armed Forces and Canadian Armed Forces, military personnel will become AWOL if absent from their post without a valid pass, liberty or leave. The United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, and United States Coast Guard generally refer to this as unauthorized absence. Personnel are dropped from their unit rolls after thirty days and then listed as ''deserters''; however, as a matter of U.S. military law, desertion is not measured by time away from the unit, but rather: * by leaving or remaining absent from their unit, organization, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mountaintops. Ambushes have been used consistently throughout history, from ancient warfare, ancient to modern warfare. In the 20th century, an ambush might involve thousands of soldiers on a large scale, such as over a choke point such as a mountain pass, or a small irregulars band or insurgent group attacking a Regular army, regular armed force patrols. Theoretically, a single well-armed and concealed soldier could ambush other troops in a surprise attack. Sometimes an ambush can involve the exclusive or combined use of improvised explosive devices, that allow the attackers to hit enemy convoys or patrols while minimizing the risk of being exposed to return fire. History This use by early people of ambushing may date as far ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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