Button Gwinnett was born on March 3, 1735 in England. He became a merchant, but in 1762 he and his family moved to America. He ended up purchasing a plantation (with its slaves) in Georgia. He went into politics Read more…
In 207 B.C., Hannibal had been in Italy for 11 years. It had been 9 years since his stunning victory at Cannae. In that battle, he destroyed a Roman army of 80,000 men, but he was not able to Read more…
In 207 B.C., Hannibal had been in Italy for 11 years. It had been 9 years since his stunning victory at Cannae. In that battle, he destroyed a Roman army of 80,000 men, but he was not able to Read more…
They were giants. – the short summers and harsh winters did not provide the food necessary to grow big – their skeletons indicate the men were about 5’6” – not much taller than the average European male in the Middle Read more…
The Rhone River valley which Hannibal was crossing was the land of the Volcae. This powerful tribe was not going to let Hannibal cross the river. They withdrew most of their people living on the west bank to the opposite Read more…
Publius Cornelius Scipio (Scipio Africanus’ father) crossed the Po River to try to make contact with Hannibal’s army which had recently completed its crossing of the Alps. Scouts reported that the Carthaginian army was at the Trebia River. He had Read more…
The Roman legion was organized into maniples. These were like loose phalanxes. The hastati and principes maniples had 120 men each and the triarii had 60. It is unclear how the men were placed in the hastati and principes Read more…
The Romans were advanced in medicine and they knew that diet affected the health of the legionaries. We have information about the diet of the Roman Empire soldier. We will assume a legionary fighting in the Second Punic War would Read more…
The Roman army provided excellent medical care. In fact, Roman medical care was not equaled until the 18th Century. As with other fields, the Romans built from a Greek foundation. In conquering southern Italy, the Romans came in contact Read more…
In 1898, Morgan Robertson published a novel entitled Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan which was about the sinking of an ocean liner on a cold night in April, 900 miles from New York. His ship had Read more…