Augustus II or Frederick-Augustus I was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. He was born in 1670 at Dresden and died in 1733. He was the second son of John George III, elector of Saxony. He succeeded his brother in the electorate in 1694, and the Polish throne having become vacant, in 1696, by the death of John Sobieski, Augustus presented himself as a candidate for it and was successful. He joined with Peter the Great in the war against Charles XII of Sweden, invaded Livonia, but was defeated by Charles near Riga, and at Clissow, between Warsaw and Cracow. In 1704 he was deposed, and two years later formally resigned the crown to Stanislaus I, now devoting himself to his Saxon dominions. In 1709, after the defeat of Charles at Pultowa, the Poles recalled Augustus, who united himself anew with Peter. The two monarchs, in alliance with Denmark, sent troops into Pomerania, but the Swedish general Steinbock defeated the allies at Gadebusch, on December the 20th, 1712. The death of Charles XII put an end to the war, and Augustus concluded a peace with Sweden. A confederation was now formed in Poland against the Saxon troops, but through the mediation of Peter an arrangement was concluded by which the Saxon troops were removed from the kingdom. Augustus now gave himself wholly up to voluptuousness and a life of pleasure. His court was one of the most splendid and polished in Europe. The Poles yielded but too readily to the example of their king, and the last years of his reign were characterized by boundless luxury and corruption of manners. His wife left him one son. The Countess of Konigsmark bore him the celebrated commander Marshal Saxe (Maurice of Saxony). Research Augustus II
Cawnpore is a town in India, on the right bank of the Ganges. In 1857 the native regiments stationed here mutinied and marched off, placing themselves under the command of the Rajah of Bithoor, the notorious Nana Sahib. General Wheeler, the commander of the European forces, defended his position for some days with great gallantry, but, pressed by famine and loss of men, was at length induced to surrender to the rebels on condition of his party being allowed to quit the place uninjured. This was agreed to but after the European troops, with the women and children, had been embarked in boats on the Ganges, they were treacherously fired on by the rebels; many were killed, and the remainder conveyed back to the city, where the men were massacred and the women and children placed in confinement. The approach of General Havelock to Cawnpore roused the brutal instincts of the Nana, and he ordered his hapless prisoners to be slaughtered, and their bodies to be thrown into a well. The following day he was obliged, by the victorious progress of Havelock, to retreat to Bithoor. Research Cawnpore Mutiny
The Grand Army of the Republic was an American organisation for former members of the Armed forces, organized during the winter of 1865-66 at Springfield, Illinois, chiefly through the activity of Dr. B. F. Stephenson, late surgeon of the FourteenthIllinois Infantry. The first post was established at Decatur, Illinois, in 1866. The ritual is secret. All soldiers and sailors of the US army, navy and marine corps between April 12, 1861, and April 9, 1865, were eligible for membership, provided they had an honourable discharge. National conventions were held each year. The first commander-in-chief was Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Illinois. Grand army posts were established in nearly every city in the North and West. The last National Encampment was held at Indianapolis, Indiana in 1949. Six surviving Comrades attended that Encampment. The last member of the Grand Army of the Republic, Albert Wollson, died in 1956. Research Grand Army of the Republic
Greytown was a town on the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua, which in 1854 was bombarded and destroyed by the US ship 'Cyane'.
A negro had been shot by a steamshipcaptain in May, and the mayor of Greytown ordered the captain's arrest. The passengers of the steamship resisted, among them Borland, the US Minister. The next day Borland was assaulted on the street. In July the 'Cyane' was despatched to the town. CommanderHollins sent to the mayor demanding immediate payment of the extortionate demands of a transit company, with which the town authorities had quarrelled. This was refused. Hollins opened fire and destroyed the town. Research Greytown Incident
The My Lai Massacre was the killing of some 300 civilians - including women and children - in My Lai, a village in South Vietnam, by American troops in March 1968. An investigation in 1969 produced enough evidence to charge 30 soldiers with war crimes, but the only soldier convicted was Lieutenant William Calley, commander of the platoon. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 1971, for the murder of 22 civilians, Calley was released less than five months later on parole. His superior officer was acquitted but the trial revealed an American Army policy of punitive tactics against civilians. News of the massacre contributed to domestic pressure for the USA to end its involvement in Vietnam. Research My Lai Massacre
A presidio was a military settlement made by the Spanish in California. They were massive forts, the chief being at Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Monterey and San Diego. That of Los Angeles was the first established, it being begun some time before 1795, but the later forts were of more importance. Regular armed forces were placed in these fortresses, and villages grew up around them. They were primarily intended to protect the religious missions, but the soldiers and friars were in constant collision. The commander of a presidio exercised no little influence in the management of the province. Research Presidio
The Rhea Letter was an American political scandal. On January the 6th, 1818, Andrew Jackson, then department commander in the South-west, wrote to President Monroe regarding the Seminole troubles in Florida and advising the prompt seizure of East Florida, which he declared could be done 'without implicating the Government'. He offered to accomplish the seizure himself within sixty days, if. it should be indicated to him that it were desirable. John Rhea, a Congressman from Tennessee, was the secret channel through which he hoped Monroe's assent might be signified. It was not. In 1831, during Andrew Jackson's administration, in the height of his quarrel with Calhoun, which turned in part upon the Seminole affair, John Rhea wrote to Monroe, hoping to elicit from him something that would implicate him as approving Andrew Jackson's plan. Monroe, on his death-bed in New York, denounced John Rhea's insinuations as utterly false. Research Rhea Letter
The Budyonny is a Russian breed of sporting horse developed during the 1920s and named after Marshal Budyonny, a Soviet cavalry commander of the Russian Revolution. The Budyonny stands 16 hands high and is mostly chestnut, but can also be grey, brown, bay or black in colour and exhibits a free action, very good gallop and an athletic jump, but are not so fast as the Thoroughbred. Research Budyonny
Viscount Adam Duncan was a Scottish seaman, He was born in 1731 at Dundee and died in 1804. He went to sea when young, and was a post-captain in 1761. In the following year he served at the taking of Havana; and in 1779 he shared in the victory of Admiral Rodney over the Spaniards. In 1789 he became rear-admiral of the blue, and in 1794 vice-admiral of the white squadron. The following year he was appointed commander of the North Sea fleet, and in October, 1797, won a brilliant victory over the Dutch fleet off Camperdown, for which he was rewarded with the title of ViscountDuncan and a pension of 2000 pounds a year. Research Adam Duncan
An admiral is the commander-in-chief of a squadron or fleet of ships of war, or of the entire naval force of a country, or simply a naval officer of the highest rank. In the British navy admirals are of four ranks: admiral of the fleet, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear-admiral. They were also divided formerly into three classes, named after the colours of their respective flag's, admirals of the red, of the white, and of the blue. In 1864, however, this distinction was given up, and now there is one flag common to all ships of war, namely, the white ensign divided into four quarters by the cross of St George, and having the union in the upper corner next the staff.
The title admiral of the fleet is conferred on a few admirals, and carries an increase of pay along with it. A vice-admiral is next in rank and command to the admiral: he carries his flag at the foretop-gallant-mast head, while an admiral carries his at the main. A rear-admiral, next in rank to the vice-admiral, carries his flag at the mizzentop-gallant-mast head.
In Great Britain the titleLord high admiral is an officer who (when this rare dignity is conferred) is at the head of the naval administration of Great Britain. There have been few high admirals since 1632, when the office was first put in commission. James Duke of York (afterwards James II) held it for several years during Charles II's reign. In the reign of William and Mary it was vested in lords commissioners of the admiralty, and since that time it has been held for short periods only by Prince George of Denmark in the time of Queen Anne, and by William IV, then Duke of Clarence, in 1827 to 1828.
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Augustus II
