Famous Cavalry Leaders (eBook)

Charles Johnston (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2018
446 Seiten
Charles River Editors (Verlag)
978-1-5378-0099-8 (ISBN)

Infos

Famous Cavalry Leaders is a collection of biographies of famous generals throughout the ages.Biographies include Genghis Khan, George Custer, Saladin, and more. The original illustrations are included.

Textauszug

PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION

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SO MANY INQUIRIES HAVE COME to me regarding the truth of my statement to the effect that the Hon-hearted Marshal Ney was not shot, that I regret a foot-note was not added, giving the authority for my conclusion, at the time of the publication of the first edition of this work. The fact is fully proved in a volume entitled Historic Doubts as to the Execution OF Marshal Ney, by the Reverend James A. Weston, Rector of the Church of the Ascension, Hickory, N. C.; Major 33d N. C. Regiment, Confederate States Army; Honorary Member of the North Carolina Historical Society, etc., etc. Published in 1895, by Thomas Whittaker, 2 and 3 Bible House, New York.

This work is in most public libraries, but, I believe, is at present out of print. It gives convincing and accurate proof of the fallacy of the belief that Marshal Ney was killed by the soldiers of France. I have submitted it to several members of the Bar and also to a number of Judges, among whom I would mention Judge William Allen Hayes, of Elmwood Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts, all of whom were of the opinion that the Reverend Mr. Weston had proved his case to their entire satisfaction.

Charles H. L. Johnston.

“Single Oak,” Woodley Lane Road,

Washington, D. C, January 5th, 1912.

FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS

ATTILA, THE SCOURGE OF GOD

[A.D. 410—454]

Four hundred odd years after the beginning of the Christian Era, a savage monarch terrorized all the nations of Europe and Asia. This was Attila, King of the Huns,—known to all those upon whom he waged barbarous and cruel warfare, as the Scourge of God. So feared was he, that when a boy disobeyed his parents, he was not punished in the usual manner. Pointing to the North with an outstretched arm, the mother or the father of the disobedient child would say, “If you are not good, Attila will come down from the North with all his horsemen, and Attila, the terrible one, will get you.” This warning was usually sufficient to make the child behave, for Attila, the fierce ruler of Hunnish hordes, was dreaded far and wide among all those who loved a life of peace and harmony.

The father of this much feared chieftain was called Mundzuk, and of him the dim pages of history have given us little record. He could not have had a very pleasing aspect, for the Huns were not a very handsome race of people. They had swarthy faces which they gashed with huge cuts in early childhood so as to prevent the hair from growing and to make them look more savage and ferocious. Their figures were squat, their eyes black, deep-set, and twinkling. By nature they were wild and blood-thirsty. From earliest years they were trained to ride on horseback and they became so perfect in this art that their bodies seemed to be moulded to the backs of their shaggy, little steeds. They lived, as much as possible, in the open air, and despised those who slept in houses.

About the year 400 a. d. we hear that they resided in the country lying north of Italy and Greece, but they had not always been in this part of Europe. Originally they had lived in the northern portion of what is now the Chinese Empire, and, starting from this barren waste, had overrun a large amount of territory. They were proud of these captured possessions and boasted that their kingdom stretched to the Arctic Ocean in the North, and to the Pacific in the East. So powerful were they and so feared, that in the third century before the Christian Era, a wall of fifteen hundred miles in length was constructed upon the frontier of China in order to defend the people from their inroads. This stupendous work can be seen to-day, but it could never keep them from plundering expeditions among the unwarlike Chinese. They would make frequent cavalry raids upon their neighbours, and the squadrons travelled with such swiftness that it was impossible to catch them after they had gained sufficient plunder. These forces frequently consisted of two or three hundred thousand men, armed with long lances, with bows, and with arrows. The soldiers managed their horses with the greatest dexterity and were hardened to stand the most severe changes of the weather. They never allowed themselves to be checked by torrents, precipices, rivers, or high mountains.

Living in the temperate climate of the North and feeding mainly upon raw and uncooked food, their fierceness was similar to that of the wild beasts which often surrounded their camps on the great plains of Siberia. To their flying squadrons of cavalry they would often add a goodly number of spare horses which they would use either to redouble their speed, or to satisfy the cravings of hunger. On quick marches they would provide themselves with a quantity of small balls of rolled cheese. These could be dissolved in water, and even this scanty diet would support their warlike spirits for a great length of time.

Gradually these wild Huns became more anxious for a better and richer country than the bare and rigorous territory which they occupied, so they determined to move with all their herds and families. The Chinese, too, had begun to give them more annoyance, and they had been frequently beaten back from the Mongolian border. Boldly they advanced into Eastern Europe, where they hoped to find more plentiful subsistence and a climate of greater mildness. It was a great emigration and it would have been impossible to move such a horde had it not been particularly easy because of the extreme coldness of the climate. As a result of this the broad and rapid rivers which flow into the Black and the Caspian seas, were frozen to the depth of three of four feet, and over these the advancing Huns safely transported their wagons, cattle, and families. They marched with great energy and soon had taken possession of a new kingdom.

Their advance was, of course, fiercely combated by the people who were then inhabiting the land which they desired. Many bloody engagements took place, but all fell before the might of the greedy Barbarians. The Goths,—a people originally living in the country north of the Danube—were driven farther south into the confines of the Roman Empire, for the Romans then held sway over France, Germany, and what is now Turkey. The strength and cruelty of the Huns were felt, dreaded and much magnified by all who came in their victorious path, for suddenly the people saw their fields and villages consumed by flames, and their women and children slaughtered before their very eyes. Every one abhorred and detested the deformed Barbarians whose shrill voices, uncouth manners, and warlike conduct incited the greatest terror.

Attila was similar in features to the rest of the Huns. His head was large, his complexion swarthy, his eyes were small and deep-set. His nose was flat and a few hairs were upon his face in place of a beard. He had broad shoulders, a short, square body of great strength, and short legs. Descended from a regal line of ancient Huns who had formerly waged war upon the Emperor of China, he showed, by his haughty step and domineering manner, that he fully realized the fact that he was superior to the rest of mankind. He had a custom of rolling his eyes fiercely and it gave him the greatest satisfaction to see the terror which this inspired.

Accustomed from early youth to exercise upon horseback, the King of the Huns was perfectly at home in the saddle and could throw the javelin and shoot with the long, Tartar bow, with splendid accuracy. Although surrounded with much barbaric splendour and handsomely dressed attendants, it was his custom to appear as often as possible in the simplest of raiment. In no way could he have been distinguished from his poorest followers save that his clothes were always clean, and of the newest texture. At the table he would eat from a wooden bowl when those about him dined from golden plates. Flesh was his only food. He never tasted bread and was usually most careful in eating and drinking. He insisted upon using a cup of ivy wood instead of the goblet of gold which one would expect such a powerful monarch to use.

Associated with Attila in the government was a brother, Bleda, and in the treaty concluded in the year of their joint accession, his name appears as co-administrator of affairs. But Attila could bear no interference with his sole direction of the kingdom, and soon his brother was forced to give up his position. He died, shortly afterwards; but whether from natural causes, or whether from poison, the ancient historians who have left records of the Huns on yellow parchment, can give us no clue. It was not long after this event that a simple-minded herdsman, who was tending cattle on the plain near the royal residence, noticed blood flowing from the foot of one of the heifers in the herd. Following the track with much curiosity, he discovered the point of a sword sticking upward from the grass. He dug deep into the ground and unearthed an ancient and rusty weapon which he presented to Attila, asserting that it was that of Mars—the God of War, a deity whom the Huns worshipped in the figure of a sword—and that it was a certain indication that he alone should rule. Attila—much pleased—accepted this favour of the Gods, and then made claim to the government of the entire earth; asserting that his right was based on the will of The Most High.

Certainly we know that he actually did rule over a vast amount of territory. By some of the ancient writers he is spoken of as the Emperor of Germany alone, but by others he is said to have control of an Empire stretching into the very heart of Asia. It is...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 22.3.2018
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Geschichte / Politik ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Geschichte ► Teilgebiete der Geschichte ► Militärgeschichte
• Schlagworte: Attila • Bayard • Custer • Horde • Saladin
• ISBN-10: 1-5378-0099-X / 153780099X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-5378-0099-8 / 9781537800998