This old Russian cannon sits in the main square of my hometown. It was captured by the British during the Crimean War and later presented to the town in honour of it's service to the Empire. I've known this artifact my whole life.I don't believe any Galt men fought in the Crimean war, but I do know that this cannon claimed two local men on Victoria day 1866. They were packing charges into the barrel and firing a salute to the Queen in front of a crowd of spectators. As they drove in a charge it met with remaining embers of the previous discharge, it exploded while they worked the ramrod. The men were thrown a distance, I believe one had his armed torn off. When the smoke from the discharge cleared the two men were found dead.
Imagine the effect that incident must have had on the town. Tragedy striking in the middle of joyous celebration.
Who can guess how many lives this sleeping monster may have taken on the fields of Europe before it killed for the last time, on that day in May 1866?
3 comments:
how sad. that is tragic.
i'm not familiar with the Crimean War at all except having heard of it. are you a big fan of war stories and such?
my husband loves to read about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.
i enjoy the stories just because it was such a different world and i admire the courage these men and women had to endure such times. when i read about wars from the 1800s or even the 1900s, i feel so convicted about my petty complaints in life when i have it so easy. it's almost hard to grasp, since wars in my lifetime are so different.
Few things in human experience can be as dramatic as war, I have an interest in the stories from that standpoint. I love war stories, hate war. I'm a bit of a peacenik at heart. Being a peacenik I still have a great respect for soldiers, they have a tough, thankless, necessary job. Unlike me they don't have the option of disagreeing with their boss. I can always quit and find another job, the soldier has to...Well soldier on. To me war when necessary, has to be the last resort. The Canadian Military is fighting in Afghanistan I know that it's a noble cause. Whether it's the right way to go about it I don't know. In WW2 .40% of the Canadian population was killed, America lost .32%. These were young people with so much to
give this world, the man who may have cured cancer, or found a solution to world hunger, was blown apart in a field in France. Stopping the Nazi was what had to be done. It was a noble sacrifice. But the cost was huge.
Oops, forgive me I,m starting to let my politics show. I may lean left and you may lean right, but in the end people of good will have to find common ground and be friends.
now, what makes you think i lean right? you are right, but i am curious why you guessed that.
i do think war is sometimes necessary, but i like you, think it should only be a last resort. the older i get, the more strongly i feel that way.
really what i think is that so many wars are fought over the stupidest reasons. truly. i mean, i know there are so many complex factors to why wars start, but when it all boils down, the reasons are to be ridiculed.
i absolutely hate war. even the most telling films, which i'm sure do not even come close to making us know the true horror, are enough to make me wish there was no war ever.
okay—we're getting deep here. it's your fault. you posted about a cannon. :) actually, i don't mind. i think i could read and reply to your comments all day long, no matter what the subject. but, alas, hungry stomachs call, and i must go make dinner. so i will have to end it here.
no worries about letting your political opinions show, for i agree with your last statement about common ground amongst friends.
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