“In Flanders Fields” – John McCrae: Poet, Surgeon, Artilleryman

Yesterday was Veterans Day in the United States, honoring those who have served. Artillery History wishes everyone a happy Veterans Day and a big than you to those who have served!

The US’s Veterans Day grew out of commemorations of the armistice that ended the First World War. In the United Kingdom, Canada, and many other Commonwealth nations, 11 November became Remembrance Day, a time to honor service members who died in the line of duty, much like Memorial Day in the US.

The most prevalent symbol of Remembrance Day is the red poppy. As many people know, that originates from the poem “In Flanders Fields” by LtCol John McCrae of the Royal Canadian Forces; he wrote it after the death of a friend in the 1915 Second Battle of Ypres. The poem has given us one of the most enduring symbols and is a powerful commemoration of sacrifice and duty during what at the time was the bloodiest conflict in human history. McCrae himself did not survive the war; he died of pneumonia in France in 1918.

LtCol John McCrae

Born in 1872, McCrae earned a medical degree in 1898 but he also trained as an artilleryman. As a lieutenant in 1900, he deployed with D Battery of the Royal Canadian Field Artillery to the Second Boer War (1899-1902). The most famous action in which D Battery participated was the Battle of Leliefontain on 7 November 1900. British forces had pushed Boers out of the area by 6 November south of present-day eMakhazeni, South Africa, then known as Belfast. But British leadership felt that the Boers would soon be reinforced and therefore, the British planned to withdraw. On 7 November, the Boers attacked the rear of the British column and the Canadians under LtCol François-Louis Lessard of the Royal Canadian Dragoons were tasked with the rearguard. D Battery manned its 12-pounder guns. The Canadians fought hard, and artillery fire was instrumental in repelling multiple enemy attacks until the British column reached high ground near eMakhazeni. Lt E.W.B. Morrison of the Royal Canadian Artillery was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions that day.

Undated photograph purportedly showing John McCrae training on artillery. Source: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lt-col-john-mccrae

D Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery 12-pounder field gun that was used in the Battle of Leliefontain. Now in the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.

At this time I have no direct evidence about McCrae’s involvement in the battle but I surmise he must have been there. I will do more research and hopefully find something to report.

“In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
    That mark our place; and in the sky
    The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high.
    If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
        In Flanders fields.

Happy Birthday, Marines! And, Fallujah 17 Years On

The tenth of November is a sacred date for the United States Marine Corps as it was on this date in 1775 that the Continental Marine Corps was established by an act of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Happy birthday, Marines! This time of year is also appropriate to remember the Second Battle of Fallujah, or Operation al-Fajr/Operation Phantom Fury, which took place 7 November to 23 December 2004 during the Iraq War. US, Iraqi, and British forces attacked the city of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in order to clear it of insurgents that had gathered there during the spring and summer of that year. The fighting was characterized by difficult urban combat that is often compared to the 1968 Battle of Hue during the Vietnam War.

Artillery was integral to the fight at Fallujah. It was provided by 155mm M198s from Battery M, 4th Battalion, 14th Marines (nicknamed “Palehorse,” now part of 3/14) and Battery C, 1st Battalion, 12th Marines, as well as the US Army’s Paladins from Battery A, 3d Battalion, 82d Field Artillery Regiment. Their fires were crucial in all aspects of the fight, particularly during the shaping and attack phases. Their contributions were important enough that a photograph of Mike Battery is featured on the cover of the Marine Corps History Division’s book on the battle as well as at the top of the battle’s wikipedia entry.

Mike Battery, “Palehorse,” 4/14 conducts a fire mission during the Second Battle of Fallujah, 2004. Battery M is now part of 3d Battalion, 14th Marines.

One particular episode illustrates the importance of artillery to coalition operations in Fallujah. On 10 November 2004, the infantrymen of 3d Battalion of the 1st Marines was advancing on the far right flank of the coalition attack, nearest to the Euphrates River. Forward observers kept a rolling barrage 100m in front of the advancing grunts. A platoon commander recalled that “as soon as the sun came, they started hitting the area around the mosque with artillery and two 500-pound bombs.” The artillery fire did not damage the mosque in the area but did flush enemy insurgents out. They jumped in the river and swam across, only for forward observers continue to call fire missions against them. The battalion’s operations officer, Maj. C.C. Griffin, commented favorably on fire support: the attack to the Euphrates “was largely uncontested . . . the artillery really facilitated some rapid movements to the west.”

The coalition forces eventually secured the city of Fallujah by Christmas 2004. It was some of the deadliest fighting for them, with 107 allied KIA and 613 WIA. Insurgent losses may have been upwards of 2,000, and civilian fatalities are estimated at 800.

There are also serious allegations that US forces used white phosphorus munitions, some delivered by artillery, against personnel during the battle. The United Nations’ Protocol III to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons puts restrictions on the use of incendiary weapons, such as white phosphorus, against “any military objective located within a concentration of civilians.” The United States was not party to Protocol III at the time of the Second Battle of Fallujah. Incendiary weapons like white phosphorus are permitted for marking, screening, and illumination.

Recent Artillery Posts From Around The Web

Two recent blog posts about historical cannons caught my attention, so I thought I would share them.

From The New York History Blog: “17th Century Cannon Returned To New York.” A cannon dredged from the St. Lawrence River, which saw service in the French and Indian War and American Revolution, is returned from loan to the Canadian War Museum to the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site in New York.

From the Heinz History Center Making History Blog: “A Closer Look: An 18th Century Cannon.” Living History Coordinator Justin Meinert conducts a detailed autopsy of the British 6-pounder cannon, detailing its engravings and parts, from muzzle to cascabel. A reproduction is located at the Fort Pitt Museum, and an original is on display at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is very similar to what I did with an 18th century French cannon that found its way to Galesburg, Illinois.

A 17th century cannon excavated from the St. Lawrence River is prepared to return to New York after being on loan to the Canadian War Museum.

Cannons & Current Events: Spanish Armada Cannons Raised Off Irish Coast

Ships from the 16th century Spanish Armada have come to light off the west coast of Ireland, allowing excavation and the recovery of many artifacts. This included cannons from the infamous navy, which were raised from the sea off Streedagh Strand, County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, around 15 June. In 1588, storms and squalls dashed the Armada against the rocky coasts of Ireland, and dashed King Philip II of Spain’s hopes of invading England. Nowadays, storms are pushing pieces of the ships onto the coast, prompting calls for excavation and preservation.

A cannon from La Juliana on the sea bed before it was raised.

Cannons & Current Events: Oldest Cannonball in England?

A piece of a lead cannonball has been discovered in the fields of Northampton, United Kingdom, and dated to the Battle of Northampton in 1460 during the Wars of the Roses between the Houses of York and Lancaster. It is believed to be the oldest surviving cannonball in England.

Medal of Honor Recipient, First Lieutenant John R. Fox

The Serchio River Valley in the province of Lucca, region of Tuscany, Italy.

On Christmas night 70 years ago , German units in civilian clothes began infiltrating the town of Sommocolonia, Italy in the Serchio River valley of the Tuscany region. Then, before dawn on 26 December 1944, artillery and mortar fire began raining down on the mountain-top village as a prelude to a German assault. All across Italy, the Germans and Italians were beginning a campaign to push back the Allies’ thrust into Italy, which had already liberated Rome. The Axis forces were hoping to initiate a counteroffensive that would parallel their compatriots at the Battle of the Bulge, who at that very same time were fighting back against the Allies’ successes in northern Europe. The Germans titled their efforts in Italy Unternehmen Wintergewitter, “Operation Winter Storm” (not to be confused with a 1942 operation of the same name, during the Battle of Stalingrad).

But as the indirect fire landed that morning, First Lieutenant John R. Fox in Sommocolonia with his observation team and a couple dozen Italian Partisans, did not know that he was at the forefront of a major enemy counteroffensive.

Cannons & Current Events: Civil War Artillery Round Found At College of Charleston

Somehow, I missed these two articles, from South Carolina’s College of Charleston newspaper as well as a local ABC station. This also gives me an opportunity to unveil the renaming of “Artillery in the News” to “Cannons & Current Events,” because everyone enjoys alliteration.

In perfect timing for St. Barbara’s Day, on 3 December construction workers laboring on an expansion to the College of Charleston’s Sylvia Vlosky Yaschik Jewish Studies Center unearthed an artillery round belonging to the Civil War. The round is described as being a foot in length; my knowledge of Civil War ordnance is such that by the description and the photograph (included below), I cannot determine what kind of round this is or to what kind of gun it belonged. If any readers have ideas, they would be greatly appreciated.

An Air Force Explosive Ordnance Unit ensure the artifact was safely handled and removed, and no one was injured.

A Civil War artillery round found at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Medal of Honor Ceremony for First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing

On the morning of Thursday, 6 November, the White House held the Medal of Honor ceremony for First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing, whose actions have been detailed in a number of articles and stories, as well as my last post. C-SPAN broadcast the ceremony with remarks from President Barack Obama. Present at the awarding were Helen Loring Ensign, Cushing’s cousin twice removed who accepted the medal, as well as a number of other relatives and historian Margaret Zerwekh, who helped bring Cushing’s story to light and campaigned for this award. I have embedded the video below and included the text of the citation; there are few other words I can add to expand upon his selfless devotion and disregard for his own safety as he fulfilled his duty at the most crucial point in a battle that is considered to have determined the course of the American Civil War and the future of the Union of the United States.

CITATION: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3rd, 1863, has awarded in the name of Congress the Medal of Honor to First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing, United States Army.

First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing distinguished himself by acts of bravery above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an artillery commander in Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 3rd, 1863 during the American Civil War.

That morning, Confederate forces led by General Robert E. Lee began cannonading First Lieutenant Cushing’s position on Cemetery Ridge.  Using field glasses, First Lieutenant Cushing directed fire for his own artillery battery.  He refused to leave the battlefield after being struck in the shoulder by a shell fragment.  As he continued to direct fire, he was struck again — this time suffering grievous damage to his abdomen.

Still refusing to abandon his command, he boldly stood tall in the face of Major General George E. Pickett’s charge and continued to direct devastating fire into oncoming forces.  As the Confederate forces closed in, First Lieutenant Cushing was struck in the mouth by an enemy bullet and fell dead beside his gun.

His gallant stand and fearless leadership inflicted severe casualties upon Confederate forces and opened wide gaps in their lines, directly impacting the Union force’s ability to repel Pickett’s charge.  First Lieutenant Cushing’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty at the cost of his own life are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, Army of the Potomac, and the United States Army.

Union Artillery Officer To Receive Medal Of Honor For Actions At Gettysburg

Today, 6 November, the White House will hold a ceremony to honor First Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing with the Medal of Honor for his actions 151 years ago, during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing

Cushing was born in Wisconsin in 1841 and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1861. He fought with the Army of the Potomac in a stunningly long list of engagements in northern Virgina from 1861-1863: the Manassas Campaign (including the First Battle of Bull Run), the Peninsular Campaign, the Siege of Yorktown, the Seven Days Battles, Rappahannock, and Thoroughfare Gap. Finally, he commanded Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery at the Battle of Gettysburg.

On the third day of the battle, 3 July 1863, Battery A was deployed along Cemetery Ridge in the center of the Union lines. Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered an assault on the center of the line, to be led by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, though it would come to be known as Pickett’s Charge for Confederate Maj. Gen. George Pickett. Cushing’s battery was deployed near The Angle, where the Confederate forces under Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead made their farthest advance against Union positions, known as “the High Water Mark of the Confederacy.”

As Battery A directed fire against the enemy, Cushing was wounded twice by Confederate artillery fire. He continued to direct the battery against the enemy assault and refused to be evacuated to the rear. Cushing is reported to have said, “I’ll stay and fight it out, or die in the attempt.” First Sergeant Frederick Füger held Cushing upright so the officer could continue to give commands despite the wounds. As the enemy approached, Battery A continued to pour fire upon the enemy with its single remaining gun. Cushing was struck in the mouth with a bullet and died; he was 22 years old.

Füger assumed command and continued firing until no ammunition remained; the battery then defended with rifles and finally in hand-to-hand combat. The area around the Angle was briefly overrun by the Confederates before the enemy was beaten back and the Angle once again secured. Füger was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

This story is also one about the perseverance of a local historian. Margaret Zerwekh of Wisconsin has written and lobbied to honor Cushing for nearly a quarter century. Elected officials from Wisconsin took up this issue and after review of the relevant facts, an Act of Congress was passed to award the medal to Cushing. This is a fascinating story from start to finish, and certainly makes me want to pick up the biography of Cushing, Cushing of Gettysburg, written in 1993 by Kent Masterson Brown.

Sources:

http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=123506

“A Fortunate Shot”: The Venetian Destruction of the Parthenon, 1687

A week and a half ago, 26 September, marked the 327th anniversary of the destruction of the Parthenon in Athens during a Venetian siege of the city. On that date in 1687—and in fact, it was a Friday as it was this year—a mortar round penetrated the marble roof of the 2,000 year old temple and ignited a store of gunpowder that the defending Ottomans had placed there. The resulting explosion killed about 300 people and destroyed a building that was in succession a Greek temple, a Christian church, an Islamic mosque and, ultimately, an enduring symbol of the splendor and longevity of Athenian history.

The origins of the siege of Athens and ultimately the destruction of the Parthenon lay in the larger Great Turkish War (1683-1699), which pitted a “western” alliance of the Venetian Republic, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Ottoman Empire. Venice and the Ottomans had long competed for hegemony in the eastern Aegean Sea, and Venice sought to gain territory.

Francesco Morosini was chosen as Captain General of the expedition. He swiftly gained the southern peninsula of the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, known at that time as the Morea. He marched all the way up to the Isthmus by the middle of 1687. At a council at Corinth, it was decided that Athens would be the next objective.¹

Francesco Morosini, doge of Venice (1688-1694) and commander of the expedition to Morea and Athens in 1687.

On 21 September, the Venetians landed at the Piraeus, then called Porto Leone for the classical lion statue that stood by the harbor. The Turkish garrison withdrew to the Acropolis, where it then improved the walls and installed guns. Morosini’s forces advanced into Athens uncontested. Venetian indirect fire assets occupied Mouseion Hill, the Pnyx, and the Areiopagos; shelling began 23 September.

Venetian artillery and mortar positions during the siege of 1687.

In one of his reports to Venice, Morosini explains that “two batteries, the one made up of six pieces of cannon, and the other of four mortars”² were deployed to harass (“tormentar”) the enemy. Of particular interest is a set of maps, produced by the chief engineer of the expedition, Verneda, showing the Venetian positions in the city. Two mortars were emplaced on the east side of the Acropolis, and Verneda’s drawings make it seem that these were the guns that fired the shot that destroyed the Parthenon.

While the cannons were accurate, the mortars left something to be desired. The mortars commander, Mutoni, had to be “publicly corrected” by Morosini’s second-in-command, the Swedish Count Koenigsmarck. Venetian “bombs,” the term for mortar rounds, had struck an ammunition deposit in the Propylaea, igniting it. Then, a Turkish defector made his way to the Venetians and explained that the Ottomans had moved their gunpowder into the Parthenon.

This is where questions come in about whether the Venetians intentionally targeted the Parthenon, or that it was simply a lucky (or unlucky) round that managed to penetrate the heretofore intact marble roof of the ancient temple. Morosini called it a “fortunato colpo”—fortunate shot. A companion to Koenigsmarck’s wife recounts that Koenigsmarck felt compelled to fire on the temple. An anonymous Venetian officer present at the time believed that the bombardment was conducted randomly, owing to Mutoni’s poor gunnery. A Hanoverian soldier fighting with the Venetians reported that the Parthenon was deliberately bombarded for two days before the fateful round struck the powder inside. Finally there is the account of a certain Major Sobiewolsky; he relates the story of the Turkish deserter. Then he writes:

Upon this report [of the Turkish deserter], several mortars were directed against the temple, but none of the bombs was able to do damage, particularly because the upper roof of the temple was somewhat sloping and covered with marble, and thus well protected. A lieutenant from Lüneburg, however, offered to throw bombs into the temple, and this was done. For one of the bombs fell through (the roof of) the temple and right into the Turkish store of powder, whereupon the middle of the temple blew up and everything inside was covered with stone, to the great consternation of the Turks.”³

Ultimately, it seems the evidence supports the Sobiewolsky’s account and the “intentional” interpretation. Historian Theodor E. Mommsen points to a 1684 agreement between Duke Ernst August of Braunschweig (Brunswick) and Lüneburg and the Venetian Republic that stipulates that the Duke send troops to Venice, including mortars. So, Mommsen concludes, the mortars in the Venetian expedition were probably from the Duchy of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, making it not unlikely that a “lieutenant from Lüneburg” did indeed direct the fatal shot. One of Verneda’s plans greatly strengthens this interpretation: the mortar position east of the Acropolis is shown to fire the ultimate round, and that area is labeled “Quartieri del Reg[imen]to del Principe di Bransuich”—the quarters of the Prince of Braunschweig’s regiment.⁴

View of the destruction of the Parthenon, with illustrations of trajectories of Venetian rounds. From Fanelli’s “Atene attica” (1707).

Three hundred people, both men and women as Morosini reports, were killed, and fragments of marble were sent into the Venetian lines. Three out of the four walls of the Parthenon nearly collapsed and most of the famous frieze fell to the ground. Fourteen of the 46 outer columns, each weighing an average of 80 tons, fell.⁵ A fire burned for two days on the Acropolis before the Turks surrendered and ultimately evacuated on 4 October. But with an Ottoman force encamped to the north at Thebes, it was necessary to supply Athens entirely from the sea. Morosini had foreseen some of the logistical difficulties of holding on to the city and had objected to attacking Athens in the first place. By March 1688, the Venetians had evacuated Athens, but not before Morosini had collected some antiquities as victory trophies, including the Piraeus Lion mentioned earlier. Their occupation had accomplished little besides temporarily pushing the Ottomans north and is only well known for the destruction it did to the Parthenon. It was, as the archaeologist James M. Paton wrote, “one of the earliest and surely one of the most deplorable instances of ‘military necessity’ directing modern weapons against a supreme work of art.”⁶

Pockmark from the Venetian assault on the Parthenon.

Marks left on the Parthenon from Venetian artillery or mortars.

Modern view of the Parthenon showing the damage to columns and roof.

1 A general history can be found in W. Miller, “The Venetian Revival in Greece, 1684-1718,” The English Historical Review 35 (1920): 343-354.

2 “due batterie, l’una di sei pezzi di cannone, e l’altra di quattro mortari da bombe,” from C. de Laborde, Athènes aux XVe, XVIe et XVIIe Siècles, Vol. 2, J. Renouard et C. (1854): 158, n. 1.

3 T.E. Mommsen, “The Venetians in Athens and the Destruction of the Parthenon in 1687,” American Journal of Archaeology 45 (1941): 553. For all the other contemporary reports that Mommsen analyzes, see pp. 547-554.

4 C. de Laborde: 182; Mommsen: 552-554.

5 K. Chatziaslani, “Morosini in Athens,” http://www.eie.gr/archaeologia/En/chapter_more_8.aspx.

6 J.M. Paton (ed.), The Venetians in Athens 1687-1688: From the Istoria of Cristoforo Ivanovich, The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (1940): 3.