USS Kearsarge... The Only Non State Named Battleship

About a month ago I wrote a couple of articles on battleships (South American Battleships & Last Battleship), while I was researching these ships I found one that I found was interesting. I found the USS Kearsarge. This was the only US battleship to not be named after a state. That is what I found interesting. The ship was named after Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire and the US Civil War ship, (USS Kearsarge), that defeated the Confederate raider CSS Alabama. The battleship Kearsarge served in both World Wars. She was a training and troop carrying ship in WWI. She was converted into a crane ship in the 1920s and served in WW2 as a crane ship. She is famous for serving the Great White Fleet from 1907-1909 CE. She is most famous for raising the submarine USS Squalus in 1939 CE. She was decommissioned in 1955 and sold for scrap. She had a relatively long career for a ship built in the late 1890s, (1896-1955) and surviving two World Wars. I found three good pictures of the Kearsarge as a battleship and one as a crane ship.

Saint Olga of Kiev and Pigeons as Weapons

While I was researching war pigeons, I came across an interesting person. Her name is Saint Olga of Kiev. There are two things that she was famous for. One, bring Christianity to the Kievan Rus and the other was using pigeons to burn the village or city of an enemy. Yes... you heard me correctly, she used pigeons to fight her enemies. Here is her info. Historians don't have her birth info, but they do know when she died (969 CE). She married to Igor of Kiev and helped him rule the Kievan Rus. They had a son named Sviatoslav. Igor died while Sviatoslav was young and Olga became regent. During her time as regent she tried to spread Christianity and conquer the enemies around her son. There was a tribe, the Drevlains, they killed Igor in 945 CE. Olga got her and her son's revenge. She killed their leaders and nobility. She later had her military send pigeons with torches and burnt one of their cities to the ground. Her legacy to her people and the world is beginning Christianity to Russia and turning pigeons into fire bombs. I found a view pictures of a few famous paintings. One is of Saint Olga and the last is a painting of Olga attending her husbands funeral.

Franch Avallon Theory

Everyone knows the myths and legends about King Arthur, Merlin, Camelot, the Round Table and Avalon. Some historians are even trying to match real historical figures and places to these legends. Most historians agree that these places and people were located in England. But there was one theory that is different from the others. According to this theory King Arthur was a Romano-British king named Riothamus. He fought many battles in France. Then he disappeared (died), near the town of Avallon, France. If you read the accounts of Riothamus and compare them to King Arthur's stories, you will see the similarities between Riothamus and King Arthur. Could Avallon in France be the mystical Island of Avalon? Could Riothamus be the legendary King Arthur? Could the French Avallon Theory be true? What do you think? The pictures are of famous paintings of the death of King Arthur and Island of Avalon.

War Pigeons... Messengers Before the Radio

War Pigeons... When most people hear this they laugh. But, pigeons were used in war times to deliver messages to and from the front lines. I did some digging and found some more information on this. Most of these war pigeons were from one of two breeds, (Homing & Racing). Another term used for war pigeons, it was messenger pigeons. The history of using messenger pigeons goes all the way back to 6th century with the Persian king Cyrus the Great. He used them to carry messages from across his massive empire. There are stories about Julius Caesar using them to deliver messages to use troops in Gaul (France). War pigeons were used up until WWII. But, some of the most famous war pigeons happened during WWI. One was Cher Ami. She served with the American army during WWI. She served in the war from 1914 to 1918CE. Another pigeon was John Silver, who served with the American military during WWI. He got the name from surviving a canon blast. His care takers carved a wooden leg and an eye patch for the bird. They nicked named him Long John Silver after the pirate. War pigeons became obsolete due to the radio. Most of the world stopped using pigeons by the 1950s. I found a few pictures online for John Silver, Cher Ami and an unknown pigeon wearing a camera during WWI.

The 6 Powerful Julii Women + 1 Extra

A while ago I was researching ancient Rome and the powerful men that ruled their nation. While I was researching these men I found that each family has a bunch of powerful women in it as well. One family peeked my interest. They were the Julii. Yes... The powerful women that were related to Julius Caesar. There are 6 women that stood out.

1.  Julia Cornelia, she was the wife the powerful consul and general Cornelius Sulla. She is Julius Caesar's Cousin on his father's side of the family.
2. Julia, She was the wife of Gaius Marius. He was a powerful general and consul of Rome 7 times. Julia was Caesar's aunt.
3. Julia Antonia, She was the mother of Mark Antony. She was also another cousin of Caesar's.
4. Julia Major, She was one of the older sisters of Caesar's. Little is written about her.
5. Julia Minor, She was the grandmother of the future Emperor Augustus.
6. Julia Pompeia, She was the daughter of Julius Caesar. She was married to Pompey the Great. He was a powerful consul, general and conqueror.

There was one other powerful woman in the Julii family. Her name was Aurelia Cotta. She was the mother of Julius Caesar. She was a huge influence in Caesar's life and later raised Caesar's daughter. I found a few pictures. The first picture is of Caesar's mother and the last one is of Caesar's daughter.

Haakon the Crazy... Fierce Not Insane

While I was looking into Eric the Memorable I found another interesting character. His name is Haakon the Crazy. That is one interesting name. Not a lot of people in history have the nickname of Crazy and not be insane. You heard that correctly, he was not insane. Let him tell you what I found out about Haakon the Crazy. He was a Jarl in Norway during the Civil War Era in Norway (1130-1240). He was born in the 1170s and dies in 1214 CE. He controlled a good chuck of Western Norway. He served and fought under several kings. Those included: King Sverre, Magnus V and Guttorm. He got his nickname by being fierce in battle, which can be translated as frenzied, furious or crazy. Other then that there really not a lot of info in this guy. I could not find a picture of Haakon, but I did find a photo of a painting depicting a famous story from the Civil War Era in Norway.

The Unmemorable Eric the Memorable

Eric the Memorable... You would think with a name like that people would remember who he was. That is not the case with Eric II of Denmark. Most historians can not find a thing on why people should remember this king. I will tell you what I have found. He was born around 1090 CE and died in 1137 CE. He ruled Denmark from 1134 to 1137 CE. He gave land and titles to his followers to keep them happy. He went on a Crusade to Rugen Island in the Baltic Sea in 1136 CE. He was killed by an upset noble in 1137 CE. His nephew Eric III was elected to replace him. Here is one of the only pictures I could find of Eric the Memorable.