The History Quiz

OK guys. Here is the answer. At the times of Henry V. , battle of Agincourt , 1415 etc., England had a massive force of long-bow archers, who were skilled at raining a devastating barrage of arrows upon their opponents. At the time, these archers were the stars of soldiery, and were held in high regard at the top of the pile.

Whenever any of these archers fell into the hands of the French, the practice was to chop off one of their two string fingers, and their career was over.

So when they faced their enemies before battle commenced, the lined up archers together would thrust their two fingers into the air, in a gesture of defiance and readiness, a deadly signal of what was to come.

So today, when an Englishman flicks the V's at you, he is dismissively announcing that he is ready and able to take you on, although he probably does not realise the significance.

The V for victory sign is a little different in that it is usually presented with the palm facing forward.

Right, I will pass the conch back to Fox. Thank you.
 
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And at the mentioned Battle of Agincourt, we are told that 3000 of these English longbow-men defeated 60,000 French.( Other reports reckon 5000- 30.00, but whatever.) The salute works! As Hitler discovered when he bombed London.
 
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What is so unusual about the Civil War military high look- out point on Blue Ridge mountains overlooking the battlefields of Shenandoah?
 
either that the lookout is in one state and the action took place in another OR that the lookout itself was the site of some of the action- assuming you are referring to Lookout Mountain.
 
What Union Army Civil War regiment saw the entire 864 men awarded the Medal of Honor, even though they had NEVER fired a shot in battle, during their one year period of enlistment ?

Name the unit ? For extra points, who gave them the awards ?

Jim B. Toronto.
 
27th Regiment Maine Infantry. Awarded to them by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton for staying on after their initial enlistment. Congress later purged these awards in 1917 as obviously they had not met the criteria.
 
Wallabies "

Correct. This one of the more obscure ACW bits, that are not usually known by Americans....... SO how did you know about it ?

Jim b. Toronto.
 
Well Jim B from Toronto. I am an ex Tor Scot..hehe..now in Victoria..and the regiment was the 27th Maine...but I might suggest you read very carefully Col Stone's Book or the book.. the Shower of Stars... before you drop into the same bucket as most in pooh pawing the event.

And the person making the award was Ab Lincoln, and his Secretary of state Staton.

How's that...

Bart Armstrong
 
Well Jim B from Toronto. I am an ex Tor Scot..hehe..now in Victoria..and the regiment was the 27th Maine...but I might suggest you read very carefully Col Stone's Book or the book.. the Shower of Stars... before you drop into the same bucket as most in pooh pawing the event.
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What's your point? They never saw battle.
 
Del Boy said:
What is so unusual about the Civil War military high look- out point on Blue Ridge mountains overlooking the battlefields of Shenandoah?
Click to expand...

bren122 said:
either that the lookout is in one state and the action took place in another OR that the lookout itself was the site of some of the action- assuming you are referring to Lookout Mountain.
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The place in the Shanandoah was Massanutten, used by the Confederates to watch the Yankees. Lookout Mountain is near Chattanooga, Tn. & the Missionary Ridge battlefield.
 
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