The Noble Society of Celts, is an hereditary society of persons with Celtic roots and

interests, who are of noble title and gentle birth, and who

have come together in a search for, and celebration of, things Celtic.

 

"Spring Edition 2010"

                   Irish Cuisine

Irish cuisine takes its influence from the crops grown and animals farmed in its

temperate climate.

The introduction of the potato in the second half of the 1500s heavily influenced

cuisine thereafter.

Irish beef is exported world-wide and renowned for its high quality.

While seafood has always been consumed by Irish people, shellfish dishes are also

very popular, especially due to the high quality of shellfish available from Ireland's

coastline, e.g. Dublin Bay Prawns, Oysters (many oyster festivals are held annually

around the fairy coast where oysters are often served with Guinness, the most notable

being held in Galway every September) as well as other crustaceans. A good example of an Irish dish for shellfish is ‘Dublin

Lawyer’ - Lobster cooked in whiskey and cream. Salmon and cod are perhaps the two most common types of fish used.

Other examples of popular Irish meals are ‘Irish Stew’, and ‘bacon and cabbage’ (boiled together in water). ‘Boxty’, a type of

potato pancake (served with beef and vegetables), is another traditional dish. A dish mostly particular to Dublin is ‘coddle’, which involves boiled pork sausages.  ‘Colcannon’ is a tasty dish made of cabbage or curly kale, potato and wild garlic (the earliest form).  ‘Champ’ consists of mashed potato into which chopped scallions (spring onions) are mixed.

Ireland is famous for the ‘full Irish breakfast’, a fried (or grilled) meal generally comprising bacon, egg, sausage, black and white pudding, fried tomato and which may also include fried potato farls or fried potato slices.  Traditional Irish breads include soda bread, wheaten bread, soda farls, and blaa, a doughy white bread roll particular to Waterford.

‘Dan’ Daly, USMC

Congressional Medal of Honor – Twice !

Dan was born into an Irish-American family at Glen Cove, New York on the 11th of November 1873.  A small man (five feet, six inches in height and weighing only 132 pounds) he established himself as an amateur boxer, and later, as Sergeant Major Daniel Joseph Daly, he cut a fine military figure; erect and well-proportioned.  His keen grey eyes looked upon danger without fear.  Although a ‘natural’ for publicity, he disdained it and disliked all the fuss made over him.  He termed medals "a lot of foolishness."  He enjoyed a pipe, crammed with cut plug tobacco, but he did not drink.

Dan was a strict disciplinarian, yet fair-minded and very popular among both officers and enlisted men.  He was noted not only for his reckless daring, but also for his constant attention to the needs of his men.  Offered an officer’s commission on several occasions, he is said to have declined on the grounds that he would rather be "an outstanding sergeant than just another officer."

Dan Daly is perhaps best remembered for a famous battle cry delivered during the desperate First World War fighting in Belleau Wood during June 1918.  Marines took a terrific pounding on the outskirts of Lucy le Bocage ("Lucy Birdcage" to the American Expeditionary Forces) at the fringe of Belleau Wood.  They were outnumbered, outgunned, and pinned-down.  1st Sergeant Daly ordered an attack.  Leaping forward, he yelled to his tired men, "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?"

On the evening of the 1st of June 1918, German forces punched a hole in the French front-lines to the left of the Marines' position.  In response, the U.S. reserve, consisting of the 23rd Infantry Regiment (US Army), the 1st Battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment, and an element of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, conducted a forced march over 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to plug the gap, which they achieved by dawn.  By the night of the 2nd of June, the American forces held a 19 kilometre (12 miles) front line north of the Paris-Metz Highway … running through grain fields and scattered woods, from Triangle Farm west to “Lucy” and then north to Hill 142.

At 5pm on the 6th of June, the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment advanced from the west into Belleau Wood as part of the second phase of the Allied offensive.  The Marines had to advance through a waist-high wheat field into murderous machine gun fire.  One of the most famous quotations in Marine Corps lore came during the initial step-off for the battle when Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly prompted his men of the 73rd Machine Gun Company forward with those now famous words: "Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?"

The first waves of Marines, advancing in well-disciplined lines, were slaughtered, and their commanding officer was wounded in the forearm during the advance.  On the right, the Marines of the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment swept into the southern end of Belleau Wood and encountered heavy machine gun fire, sharpshooters and barbed wire.  Soon, the Marines and Germans were engaged in heavy hand-to-hand fighting

The casualties sustained on this day were the highest in Marine Corps history at that point.  31 officers and 1,056 men of the Marine brigade were casualties. However, the Marines now had a foothold in Belleau Wood.

The battle was now deadlocked.  At midnight on the 7th – 8th of June, a German attack was stopped cold and an American counter-attack in the morning of the 8th of June was similarly defeated by the Germans.  The 3rd Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment, having sustained nearly 400 casualties, was relieved by the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment.

On the 9th of June, an enormous American and French artillery barrage devastated Belleau Wood, turning the formerly attractive hunting preserve into a jungle of shattered trees.  The Germans counter-fired into “Lucy” and Bouresches and reorganized their defences inside Belleau Wood.

In the morning of the 10th of June, the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marine Regiment, together with elements of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, attacked north into the wood.  Although this attack initially seemed to be succeeding, it was also stopped by machine gun fire.  The Germans used great quantities of mustard gas.  Next, the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Marines was ordered to attack the woods from the west, while the 1st Battalion of the 6th Marines continued their advance from the south.

At 4:00 am on the 11th of June, the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines advanced through a thick morning mist towards Belleau Wood, supported by the 23rd and 77th Companies of the 6th  Machine Gun Battalion, and were cut to pieces by heavy fire.  Marine platoons were isolated and destroyed by interlocked German machine gun fire.  It was discovered that the battalion had advanced in the wrong direction.  Rather than moving north-east, they had moved directly across the wood's narrow waist.  However, they smashed the German southern defens

ive lines. 

A German private, whose company had 30 men left out of 120, wrote "We have

Americans opposite us who are terribly reckless fellows."

Overall, the woods were attacked by the Marines a total of six times before they

could successfully expel the Germans.  They fought off parts of five German divisions,

often reduced to using only their bayonets or fists in hand-to-hand combat.

On the 26th of June the 3rd Battalion of the 5th Marines, supported by two companies of the 4th Machine Gun Battalion and the 15th Company of the 6th Machine Gun Battalion, made an attack on Belleau Wood, which finally cleared that forest of the enemy.  On that day a report was sent out simply stating, "Woods now U.S. Marine Corps entirely," ending one of the bloodiest and most ferocious battles U.S. forces would fight in the war.

In the end, U.S. Forces suffered a total of 9,777 casualties, 1,811 of them fatal.  There is no clear information on the total number of enemy casualties, although 1,600 Germans were taken prisoner.

After the battle, the French renamed the wood "Bois de la Brigade de Marine" ("Wood of the Marine Brigade") in honour of the US Marines tenacity.  The French government also later awarded the 4th Marine Brigade the Croix de Guerre.

The Croix de Guerre(left), pinned to the regimental flags of the recipient units – and the fourragère of the Croix de Guerre (right), which distinguishing military units as a whole, is worn over the shoulder of each man’s uniform by all the Marine units who fought at Belleau Wood

Belleau Wood is allegedly also where the Marines got their nickname "Teufel Hunden" meaning "Devil Dogs" in poor German (actually "Teufelshunde" in good German), for the ferocity with which they attacked the German lines.

An official German report classified the Marines as "vigorous, self-confident, and remarkable marksmen...", US Army General Pershing even said, "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle!"

General ‘Black Jack’ Pershing, Commander of the American Expeditionary Force in France said;

“the Battle of Belleau Wood was for the U.S. the biggest battle since Appomattox and the most considerable engagement American troops had ever had with a foreign enemy”.

Dan Daly also fought with the Marines in the St. Mihiel Offensive (September 1918) and the

Champagne Offensive (Blanc Mont, September-October 1918).  He was wounded in action on

the 21st of June, and twice on the 8th of October 1918.  Dan then served with the American Army

of Occupation in Germany following the Armistice (the peacetreaty with Germany was signed on

his birthday, the 11th of November), which he considered "not a bad birthdaypresent."

General John Pershing,

US Army – France 1917

Very little is known about Dan’s early life other than the fact that he was a newsboy and something of an amateur boxer for his weight and size.

With the hope of getting into the Spanish-American War, Dan Daly enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on the 10th of  January 1899.  However, before he had finished ‘boot-camp’ (recruit training), that war had collapsed and he was ordered aboard ship and sent to the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet.

In May 1900, he deployed aboard the USS Newark for Taku Bay, China, where he landed with other Marines, enroute for Peking, to fight in the Chinese ‘Boxer Rebellion’

The Boxer Rebellion (between 1898 and 1901), also known as the Righteous Harmony Society Movement  by the Chinese, was an anti-imperialism, anti-Christian movement by the ‘Righteous Fists of Harmony’ (because of the reference to ‘fists’ they were known as ‘Boxers’ in the English-speaking countries).  The uprising took place in response to foreign imperialist expansion, growth of cosmopolitan influences, and missionary evangelism.

In 1898 local ‘Boxer’ organizations emerged in Shandong as the result of the imperialist expansion, as well as other internal issues such as the state fiscal crisis and natural disasters.  Initially the ‘Boxers’ were suppressed by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty of China.

Later, the Qing Dynasty attempted to expel Western influence from China. Under the slogan “Support the Qing, destroy the foreigners” … the

‘Boxers’ then attacked and slaughtered Christian mission compounds

across North China.

Foreign troops guarding their Legations from attacking ‘Boxers’               inset: China’s Empress Dowager

Foreign diplomats, foreign civilians, foreign soldiers, and some Chinese Christians retreated to the foreign embassies in the ‘Legation Quarter’ of Beijing … where they were besieged by ‘Boxers’ and Chinese government troops.  The foreigners held out, for fifty-five days … until relieved by foreign troops of the ‘Eight-Nation Alliance’.

The ‘Eight-Nation Alliance’ (made up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, France, Imperial Germany, Italy, Japan, Tzarist Russia, Great Britain, and the United States of America) then invaded China with 20,000 troops in response to the siege of their diplomatic legations in Beijing.

Foreign navies started building up their

presence along the northern China

coast from the end of April 1900. 

‘55 Days at Peking’ was a 1963 epic film released by Allied Artists

Tsarist Russian Gunboat ‘Bobr’ – China 1900

USS Brooklyn – American armoured cruiser

British Auxiliary Hospital Ship ‘Maine’ – China 1900

Japanese Cruiser ‘Asama’ – China 1900

HMCS Protector, gunboat from the self-governing colony of South Australia, China 1900

On the 31st of May, before the sieges had started and upon the request of foreign embassies in Peking (Beijing), an International Force of 435 navy troops from eight countries were dispatched by train from Takou to the Chinese capital (75 French, 75 Russian, 75 British, 60 American, 50 German, 40 Italian, 30 Japanese, 30 Austrian); these troops joined the legations and were able to contribute to their defence.

As the situation worsened, a second International Force of 2,000 marines under the command of the British Vice-Admiral Edward Seymour, the largest contingent being British, was dispatched from Takou to Peking (Beijing) on the 10th of June.  The troops were transported by train from Takou to Tianjin with the agreement of the Chinese government, but the railway between Tianjin and Peking (Beijing) had been cut.  However, Admiral Seymour resolved to move forward and repair the rail, or progress on foot if necessary … as the distance between Tianjin and Peking (Beijing) was only 75 miles (120 kilometres).

After leaving Tianjin however, the allied convoy was surrounded.  The railway tracks behind and in front of them were destroyed, and they were attacked from all sides by ‘Boxer’ irregulars … and even by Chinese government troops.

News arrived on the 18th of  June regarding attacks on foreign legations.  Admiral Seymour decided to continue the advance, this time along the Pei-Ho river, towards Tong-Tcheou, which is only 25 kilometers from Peking (Beijing).

By the 19th, the International Force had to abandon their efforts due to progressively stiffening Chinese resistance, and started to retreat southward along the river with over two hundred wounded.

Commandeering four civilian Chinese junks along the river, the International Force loaded all their wounded and remaining supplies onto them and pulled them along with ropes from the riverbanks.  By this point, they were very low on food, ammunition and medical supplies.  Luckily, they then happened upon ‘The Great His-Ku Arsenal’, a hidden Qing munitions cache that the Western Powers had no knowledge of until then.  They immediately captured and occupied it, discovering not only German Krupp-made field guns, but rifles with millions of rounds in ammunition, along with millions of pounds of rice and ample medical supplies.  There they dug in and awaited rescue.  A Chinese servant was able to infiltrate through the ‘Boxer’ and Qing lines, informing the Western Powers of their predicament.

Surrounded and attacked nearly around the clock by Qing troops and ‘Boxers’, the International Force was almost at the point of being overrun.  On the 25th of June, however, a mixed-regiment composed of 1,800 men, (900 Russian troops from Port-Arthur, 500 British seamen, with an ad-hoc mix of other assorted western troops) finally arrived.  Spiking the mounted field guns and setting fire to any munitions that they could not take with them (an estimate £3 million worth in 1900 money !), they departed the Hsi-Ku Arsenal in the early morning of the 26th of June, with the loss of 62 killed and 228 wounded.

With a difficult military situation in Tianjin, and a total breakdown of communications between Tianjin and Peking (Beijing), the allied nations took steps to reinforce their military presence significantly.  On the 17th of June, they took the Taku Forts commanding the approaches to Tianjin, and from there brought increasing numbers of troops on shore.

Interior of North Fort Immediately after its capture, 21st August, 1860

The International Force that marched from Tianjin to Peking (Beijing), about 75 miles (120 kilometres) consisted of about 20,000 allied troops. On the 4th of August there were approximately 70,000 Imperial Chinese troops with anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 ‘Boxers’ along the way.  The allies only encountered minor resistance and the main battle was initiated at Yangcun, about 19 miles (30 kilometres) outside Tianjin.  British troops and the U.S. 14th Infantry Regiment led the assault.  However, the weather was a major obstacle, with extreme humidity and high temperatures  -sometimes reaching 110 °F (43 °

The International Force reached and occupied Peking (Beijing) on the 14th of August. The U.S. was able to play a secondary, but significant role in suppressing the ‘Boxer Rebellion’ largely due to the presence of U.S. ships and troops deployed in the Philippines since the U.S. conquest during the Spanish-American War.

The siege of the foreign legations was finally ended when British-Indian troops of the International Force arrived under the command of German general Alfred Graf von Waldersee.  The main German force arrived too late to take part in the fighting, but undertook several punitive expeditions against the ‘Boxers’.

In order to provide restitution to missionaries and Christian families whose property had been destroyed, American troops were guided through villages by the missionary William Ament. ‘Boxers’, or at least those identified as ‘Boxers’, were punished, even executed, and their property confiscated.

The ‘Boxer Protocol’ (a punitive peace treaty) of the 7th of September  1901 ended the uprising and provided for severe punishments, including an indemnity of 67 million British Pounds to be paid by the Chinese government. 

The Qing Dynasty was greatly weakened, and was eventually overthrown by the 1911 Revolution, which led to the establishment of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Nationalist Chinese Republic.

During the Siege of Peking, U.S. Marines and German forces had been stationed at Peking on Tartar Wall, south of the American Legation, but intense enemy fire (Chinese ‘Boxer’ rebels) had driven them from the position.

With Capt Newt’ Hall, Private Dan Daly mounted the wall bastion, with rifles and fixed bayonets.  On the 14th of August, Capt Hall left to bring up reinforcements and Private Daly volunteered to remain to defend the position single-handed, and man the machine gun, while the other Marines were re-building their barricades.  Chinese snipers fired at him and repeatedly attempted to storm his bastion.  A huge force of Chinese ‘Boxers’ started storming the American Embassy with torches, rifles, and various other weaponry raised above their heads, screaming like madmen.  They had come to destroy the U.S. Consulate, and Daly was the only man between this rampaging horde and the diplomatic legation.  The next morning, the rest of Dan's squad arrived at the barricade that Private Daly had been charged with defending.  Through the smoke and the carnage, they saw Dan sitting on the fortifications puffing a smoke, surrounded by the bodies of more than 200 slain ‘Boxers’.  For his actions in single-handedly defending the U.S. legation in the face of impossible odds, Dan Daly was awarded his first Congressional Medal of Honor on the 11th of December 1901.

The citation for this, the first of Dan’s two awards of the Navy Medal of Honor reads;

"In the presence of the enemy during the battle of Peking, China, 14 August 1900,

Daly distinguished himself by meritorious conduct." 

(which was something of an ‘understatement !)

Dan's next expeditionary service saw him at Vera Cruze during the Mexican American

War in 1914.

The Battle of Veracruz, and U.S. occupation of the Mexican port of Veracruz, lasted for six months … and was in response to the ‘Tampico Affair’ of the 9th of April 1914.  The incident came in the midst of poor diplomatic relations between Mexico and the U.S.A., related to the ongoing Mexican Revolution.

The ‘Tampico Affair’ started off as a minor incident involving U.S. sailors and Mexican land forces loyal to General Victoriano Huerta during the guerra de las facciones phase of the Mexican Revolution. 

The International Force, called the ‘Eight-Nation Alliance’, with British Lieutenant-General Alfred Gaselee acting as the commander, eventually numbered 55,000 … with the main contingent being composed of 20, 840 Japanese, 13,150 Russians, 12,020 British, 3,520 French, 3,420 Americans, 900 Germans, 80 Italians, 75 Austro-Hungarians, and anti-‘Boxer’ Chinese troops.  The International Force finally captured Tianjin on the 14th of July under the command of the Japanese colonel Kuriya, after a full day of fighting.

American troops assaulting the walls of Beijing

Executed Boxer leaders at His-Kou, guarded by a German soldier

China Relief Expedition Medal

American Naval forces at Veracruz

US Marines raise the flag over Veracruz

Mexican Revolution 1910 – 1920

General Victoriano Huerta - centre

In response to the ‘Tampico Affair’, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the U.S. Navy to prepare for the occupation of the port of Veracruz. 

While waiting for authorization of U.S. Congress to carry out such action, Wilson was alerted to a German delivery of weapons for Victoriano Huerta due to arrive to the port on April 21.  As a result, Wilson issued an immediate order to seize the port's customs office and confiscate the weaponry.

 

Huerta had taken over the Mexican government with the assistance of the American ambassador Henry Lane Wilson during a coup d’etat in early 1913 known as La decena tragica.

The Wilson administration's answer to this was to declare Huerta a usurper of the legitimate government, embargo arms shipments to Huerta, and support the ‘Constitutional Army’ of Venustiano Carranza.

La decena tragica - 1913

President Venustiano Carranza - centre

The arms shipment to Mexico, in fact, originated from the Remington Arms company in the United States.  The arms and ammunition were to be shipped via Hamburg (Germany) to Mexico, allowing Remington Arms a means of skirting the American arms embargo.

On the morning of the 21st of April 1914, warships of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Frank Fletcher, began preparations for the seizure of the Veracruz waterfront. 

By 11:30 a.m., with whaleboats swung over the side, 502 Marines from the 2nd Advanced Base Regiment, 285 armed Navy sailors, known as ‘bluejackets,’ from the battleship USS Florida and a provisional battalion composed of the Marine detachments of the Florida and her sister ship USS Utah began landing operations.  Plowing through the surf in whaleboats toward pier 4, Veracruz's main wharf, a large crowd of Mexican and American citizens gathered to watch the spectacle. 

Admiral Frank Friday Fletcher, USN

USS Florida

USS Utah

The invaders encountered no resistance as they exited the whaleboats, formed ranks into a Marine and a seaman regiment, and began marching toward their objectives.

This initial show of force was enough to prompt the retreat of the Mexican forces led by General Gustavo Mass. 

In the face of this, Mexican Commodore Manuel Azueta encouraged cadets of the Veracruz Naval Academy to take up the defence of the port for themselves.  Also, about 50 line soldiers of the Mexican Army remained behind to fight the invaders along with the citizens of Veracruz.

The U.S. Navy ‘bluejackets’ were instructed to capture the customs house, post and telegraph offices, while the Marines went for the railroad terminal, roundhouse and yard, the cable office and the powerplant.

Soon arms were being distributed to the population, who were largely untrained in the use of Mausers and had trouble finding correct ammunition.  In short, the defence of the city by its populace was hindered by the lack of central organization and a lack of adequate supplies.  The defence of the city also included the release of the prisoners held at the feared San Juan de Ulua prison.

Although the landing had been nearly unopposed, as U.S. forces marched into the city, Veracruz was quickly becoming a battleground.  Just after noon, fighting began with the 2nd Advanced Base Regiment under Colonel Wendell C. Neville USMC becoming heavily involved in a fire-fight in the rail yards.

While the forces ashore slowly fought their way forward, Admiral Fletcher landed USS Utah's 384 man ‘bluejacket’ battalion, the only other unit at his disposal.

By mid afternoon, the Americans had occupied all of their objectives and Admiral Fletcher called a general halt to the advance, initially hoping that a cease fire could be arranged.  That hope however, rapidly faded as he could find no one to bargain with and all troops in the city were instructed to remain on the defensive pending the arrival of reinforcements.

On the night of the 21st, Fletcher decided that he had no choice but to expand the initial operation to include the entire city, not just the waterfront.

Five additional U.S. battleships and two cruisers had reached Veracruz during the hours of darkness and they carried with them Major Smedley Butler and his Marine Battalion which had been rushed from Panama. 

The battleship's ‘blue jackets’ battalions were quickly organized into a regiment 1,200 men strong, supported by the ship's Marine detachments … providing an additional 300 man battalion. These newly arrived forces went ashore around midnight to await the morning's advance.

At 7:45 a.m. the American advance began.

The U.S. Marine ‘Leathernecks’ adapted to street fighting, which was a novelty to them.

The sailors were less adroit at this style of fighting. A regiment led by Navy Captain E. A. Anderson advanced on the Mexican Naval Academy in parade ground formation, making his men easy targets for the cadets barricaded inside. This attack was repulsed with casualties, and the advance was only saved when three warships in the harbor, the USS Prairie, USS San Francisco, and USS Chester, pounded the Academy with their long guns for a few minutes, silencing all resistance and killing 15 of the cadets inside.

That afternoon, the ‘First Advanced Base Regiment’, originally bound for Tampico, Tamaulipas, came ashore under the command of Colonel John A. Lejeune USMC and by 5 p.m., U.S. forces had secured the town square and were in complete control of Veracruz. 

Some pockets of resistance continued to occur around the port, mostly in the form of hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, but by the 24th of April all fighting had ceased.

A third provisional regiment of Marines, assembled at Philadelphia, arrived on the 1st of May under the command of Colonel Littleton W.T. Waller, who assumed overall command of the Brigade, by that time numbering some 3,141 officers and men.

By then, the sailors and Marines of the Fleet had returned to their ships and an Army Brigade had landed.  Marines and soldiers continued to garrison the city until the U.S. withdrawal on the 23rd of November.

The son of Commodore Azueta, Lieutenant Jose Azueta, was wounded during the defence of the Naval Academy building.  A cadet himself, José Azueta was manning a machine gun placed outside the building, facing the incoming American troops on his own and causing a number of casualties. 

José Azueta was rescued from the battlefield after sustaining two bullet wounds and taken to his home. 

After the battle, Admiral Fletcher heard of Azueta's actions in battle and sent his personal doctor to take care of him. 

Marine Officers at Veracruz

front row, left to right: Wendell C. Neville; John A. Lejeune; Littleton W.T. Waller, Commanding; Smedley Butler

USS Chester

USS San Francisco

Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune USMC

Littleton "Tony" Waller Tazewell Waller, USMC

However, Azueta refused medical services offered by the occupation army and only allowed local Dr. Rafael Cuervo Xicoy to examine him.  Dr. Xicoy lacked medical supplies to assist Azueta properly.  Azueta died of his wounds on May 10, México's Mother's Day.  During his funeral hundreds of citizens marched holding his coffin on their shoulders to the city's cemetery in open defiance of directives from the occupation army forbidding the right of assembly.

U.S. Army Brigadier General Frederick Funston was placed in control of the administration of the port.  Assigned to his staff as an intelligence officer was a young Captain Douglas MacArthur. 

While Huerta and Carranza officially objected to the occupation, neither was able to oppose it effectively, being more preoccupied by events of the Mexican Revolution.

Huerta was eventually overthrown and Carranza's faction took power.

The occupation, however, brought the two countries to the brink of war and worsened US-Mexican relations for many years.

The ‘ABC Powers’ (Agentine, Brazil, and Chile) conference was convened in Niagara Falls (Canada), on the 20th of May 20 1914, to avoid an all-out war over this incident. American troops remained in Veracruz until the 23rd of November 1914.

After the fighting ended, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels ordered that 56 Medals of Honor be awarded to participants in this action, the most for any single action before or since.  This amount was half as many as had been awarded for the Spanish-American War, and close to half the number that would be awarded during the First World War and the Korean War.  A critic claimed that the excess medals were awarded by lot. 

Major Smedley Butler, a recipient of one of the nine Medals of Honor awarded to Marines, later tried to return it, being incensed at this "unutterable foul perversion of Our Country's greatest gift" and claiming he had done nothing heroic. 

The Department of the Navy told him to not only keep it, but wear it !

Dan Daly’s ‘Veracruz adventure’ was quickly followed by a deployment to Haiti during the first occupation of that Caribbean country.  (Haiti was occupied by the U.S. from 1915 to 1934, to protect the threatened business interests of the ‘Haitian American Sugar Company’.)   By now a Gunnery Sergeant, Dan was part of a patrol which was pushing the bandit Cacos into an old French fort … in an attempt to consolidate and destroy the remaining Haitian rebels.

Dan’s patrol of 35 Marines was ambushed by an approximate 400 Haitian ‘Cacos’.

While the Marines were fording a river, the Haitian rebels opened fire.  All the Marines made it to the other bank safely, however, the horse carrying the heavy machine gun was killed and abandoned in mid-river.

During the night, the embattled and out-numbered Marines were again attacked and their officer called for the machine gun.  Dan immediately volunteered to return to the river and retrieve the weapon.

Sneaking out alone at night, making his way back to the river through enemy patrols, Dan found the dead horse, and cut the heavy machine gun from it.  Strapping it to his back, he returned to the Marines’ position and set up a strong defence.

The Marines then split into three fire teams, and manoeuvred against the ‘Cacos’.  By the end of the engagement, virtually all of their enemies lay dead, and the Marines had taken very few casualties.  This action in Haiti earned Dan Daly his second Navy issue of the Medal of Honor … and a place in Marine Corps history shared by only one other Marine, Smedley Butler.  Both men earning these second awards during the same campaign.

Dan's citation reads;

"Serving with the Fifteenth Company of Marines on 22 October 1915, Gunnery Sergeant Daly

was one of the company to leave Fort Liberte, Haiti, for a six day reconnaissance.  After dark

on the evening of 24 October, while crossing the river in a deep ravine, the detachment was

suddenly fired upon from three sides by about 400 Cacos concealed in bushes about 100 yards

from the fort.  The Marine detachment fought its way forward to a good position, which it

maintained during the night, although subjected to a continuous fire from the Cacos.  At daybreak,

the Marines in three squads, advanced in three directions, surprising and scattering the Cacos in

all directions. Gunnery Sergeant Daly fought with exceptional gallantry against heavy odds

throughout this action."

Dan’s continued service with the Marines was varied, and included sea duty aboard the USS Newark, USS Panther, USS Cleveland, USS Marietta, USS Mississippi, USS Ohio, and USS Machias.  In addition to combat in China, Haiti and France, Dan served in Panama, the Philippines, Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico, and at eight United States posts.

By the age 44 Dan was watching the ‘clouds of war’ gather in France, and soon he shipped "over the pond" as First Sergeant of the Marines’ 73rd Machine Gun Company.  His many actions during the First World War were to net him, as he said, "a hat full of medals."

Douglas MacArthur, US Army

US Marines – Haiti, 1915

Philippines Campaign Medal

US Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal

Mexican Service Medal

Haitian Campaign Medal

Citation: NAVY CROSS

The Navy Cross is presented to Daniel Joseph Daly, First Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, for repeated deeds of heroism and great service while serving with the 73rd Company, 6th Regiment (Marines), 2d Division, A.E.F., on June 5, and 7, 1918 at Lucy-le-Bocage, and on June 10, 1918 in the attack on Bouresches, France.  On June 5, at the risk of his life, First Sergeant Daly extinguished a fire in an ammunition dump at Lucy-le-Bocage.  On June 7, 1918, while his position was under violent bombardment, he visited all the gun crews of his company, then posted over a wide portion of the front, to cheer his men.  On June 10, 1918, he attacked an enemy machine-gun emplacement unassisted and captured it by use of hand grenades and his automatic pistol. On the same day, during the German attack on Bouresches, he brought in wounded under fire.

Daly remained unmarried all his life.  In 1919 he was reported as saying, "I can't see how a single man could spend his time to better advantage than in the Marines." 

Soon thereafter he was placed on the retainer list of the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, awaiting retirement.  On the 6th of February 1929, Dan retired from the Marine Corps and took a job as a bank guard on Wall Street in New York City, and held the position 17 years.

At age 65, on the 28th of April 1937, Dan Daly died at Glenade Long Island, New York.

The destroyer USS Daly (DD-519) was named for Dan.  USS Daly received eight battle stars for Second World War combat service and one for Korean War service.

Distinguished

Service Cross

Navy Cross

FRANCE

Medaille Militaire       Croix de Guerre

USS Daly – Korea 1953

On the 10th of November 2005, the United States Postal Service issued its Distinguished Marines stamps in which Dan Daly was honoured, along with three other Marine Corps heroes.

                         Various Welsh Rugby Team Badges

References

History of the Welsh Rugby Union, Welsh Rugby Union website, http://www.wru.co.uk/14148.php, accessed 19 March 2010. 

Rules of Rugby Union, http://www.rugbyunionrules.com/the_game.html, accessed 19 March 2010

Wales National Rugby Union Team, Wikipedia,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales_national_rugby _union _team, accessed 19 March 2010.

Welsh Rugby

By Douglas S. Files

After its sesquicentennial rugby union remains an enormously popular sport in Wales.  The official website of the Welsh Rugby Union holds that “The game is a vital ingredient in the life-blood of the Welsh nation.”  Another website declares that “Rugby is as Welsh as coal mining, male voice choirs and Dylan Thomas”. 

The roots of rugby trace back to handball played by the Romans at Caerleon and Caerwent, as well as the Norman game of “la soule” and Cornish “hurling”.  Modern Welsh rugby, however, traces its origin to St. David’s College, Lampeter, where Rev. Rowland Williams introduced it in the 1850s.  Soon thereafter the South Wales Football Union was created in Brecon to play matches against English clubs.  Richard Mullock selected the first Welsh national team in February 1881 which was soundly beaten by an English team at Blackheath.  This drubbing led to the creation of the Welsh Rugby Union at the Castle Hotel a month later.  On the day of its formation Cardiff beat Llanelli in the 4th South Wales Challenge Cup final in Neath.  The Wales national rugby team currently competes against other national teams in the Six Nations Championship (Wales, England, France, Italy, Ireland and Scotland).  It took 7 more attempts before the first Welsh national team beat England in 1890

During the 1890s the Welsh the “four three-quarters” formation with 7 backs and 8 forwards, instead of 6 backs and 9 forwards, an idea which was soon almost universally adopted.  The first “golden era” of Welsh rugby occurred from 1907 to 1910 when Wales remained unbeaten.  The team won Grand Slams in 1908, 1909 and 1911 and Triple Crowns in half the years in that decade.  A Grand Slam is when one team in the Six Nations Championship manages to beat all the other teams in a single year.  It is rare, and after their 1911 performance Wales played a half century before repeating their feat.  A Triple Crown is when a team out of England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland wins all their games against the other three.  The twenties and thirties were more sedate for Welsh rugby and the game shut down for much of the 1940s due to the Second World War.  Only four players crossed the 7-year gap to continue competition. 

The 1950s brought Welsh rugby back into the spotlight, and the team’s stars had instant name recognition in their home country.  A 1969 Triple Crown paved the way for a 1971 Grand Slam and during the ensuing “Super Seventies” Wales boasted some of the best rugby teams of all time.  From 1981 to 2003 Wales won periodically but some authors have termed the era “the barren years”.  A new Cardiff sports arena, the Millennium Stadium, was finished in 1999 and seats 74,500 fans.  The WRU website claims that no other building in Wales contributes more to the economic benefit of the nation, and no other Welsh attraction even approaches the 1.3 million spectators Welsh rugby draws annually.  The stadium also sponsors other events, such as a Paul McCartney concert on June 26th, 2010.  Since 2004 the team has rallied and won more games and two Grand Slams. 

The Wales rugby union team plays in red jerseys embroidered with the ostrich feathers of the Price of Wales.  Their white shorts and green socks also advertise their national colors.  Cardiff brewery SA Brain sponsors their shirts but alcohol advertisements are forbidden in France, so the normal Brains beer logo is replaced by one that emphasizes “Brawn”.

Castle Hotel, Neath, where the WRU was founded.

2 Feb 2008 Match,

England 19 – 26 Wales

Exterior of Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales

Over the decades ten Welsh players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, including Gwyn Nicholls, Cliff Morgan, Gerald Davies and Gareth Edwards.  Edwards is often regarded as the greatest rugby union player of all time and he was voted so by Rugby World magazine in 2003.  He played 53 consecutive tests for Wales at scrum-half between 1967 and 1978 and scored 20 test tries.  He won five Triple Crowns and three Grand Slams. 

The two primary types of rugby are rugby union and rugby league.  Wales plays rugby union, a full-contact sport played with an oval ball on a level field. Rugby union has teams of 15 with 8 forwards and 7 backs.  Rugby league is played with two teams of 13 with rules that make it faster and more spectator friendly.  The goal of both games is to carry or kick the ball toward the enemy goal line where points can be scored. 

Each match lasts 80 minutes - divided into two 40-minute halves.  The team with possession of the ball moves toward the enemy goal line by kicking or passing the ball but in rugby union the ball may not be passed forward. If the defending team tackles the ball carrier, he is obliged to release the ball or pass it.  Points are scored either on tries, goals or conversions.  A try is scored when a team takes the ball

across the opponent’s goal and grounds it.  This is worth 5 points.  A goal is scored by kicking the ball through the H-shaped goalposts and counts as 3 points.  After scoring a try the attacking team gets a

free kick at the goal.  If they make it, it is called a conversion and 2 points are scored.

Colin Charvis has scored more Test tries than any other forward in rugby union history.

The symbol of the Welsh national rugby union team was derived from the Prince of Wales’ ostrich feather badge in the 1800s, although the College of Arms maintains that the ostrich feather badge symbolizes the heir to the throne, not the Welsh nation.  The symbol of the WRU was changed in 1991 to allow the device to be patented.  The badge of Wales was historically a red dragon on green, although a new badge was chosen in 2008, based on the arms of Llewellyn the Great. 

Useful Welsh Rugby Links

Welsh Rugby Blog: http://welshrugbyblog.co.uk/

Welsh Rugby On-Line Dating: http://www.rugbyinwales.co.uk/rugbydating.html

1953 Red Dragon badge   2008 Royal Badge of Wales       Heir to the Throne badge

Captain Gallagher

Harassing the English Oppressor in Ireland

The Irish highwaymen who lived during the later half of the 18th century are often regarded as a more commercialised version of the Irish ‘Rapparees’.

The ‘Rapparees’ were mainly dispossessed Irish landowners whose land was confiscated to make way for Protestant English settlers - Crown favourites and military adventurers. This forced dispossessed Irish landowners to take to the forests and hills with as many followers as they could muster and wreak vengeance on the ‘New English’. The ‘Rapparees’ pursued a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the English ‘Planters’ and the British Crown, and were particularly active from the collapse of the 1641 Irish Rebellion, and the subsequent Cromwellian invasion, to about the middle of the 1700’s.

The Irish highwaymen who came after the ‘Rapparees’ were of a more proletarian origin and outlook - many of them had gained their knowledge of firearms through service with military or militia units. Some highwaymen carried out raids and hold-ups of mail coaches singly while other operated with a small band of followers – but rarely exceeding half a dozen. To the latter category belonged ‘Captain Gallagher’.

Born in Bonniconlon, County Mayo Captain Gallagher lived with his aunt in Derryronane, Swinford for much of his early life and was raised near the forest of  Barnalyra. 

When Gallagher decided on a freebooting career he picked three or four of his close companions and, equipped with fast horses and the erratic blunderbusses of the period, they ranged over all of the east of County Mayo and parts of south County Sligo as well as west County Roscommon. In addition to the holding up and robbing of the mail coaches, they raided the ‘big houses’ of the wealthy English landlords.

Gallagher’s attacks on English landowners were widely known in those days, and on one occasion they raided the home of a particularly hated landlord in Killasser, and in addition to seizing all his silver and other valuables, they compelled him to chew up and swallow eviction notices he had prepared for half a dozen of his poor Irish tenants.

Although successfully evading army patrols for some time, with some very narrow escapes from the English, Captain Gallagher’s luck finally ran out in 1818. He was spending a quiet Christmas recovering from illness at a friend’s house in the parish of Coolcarney or Attymass, among the foothills of the Ox Mountains. A jealous neighbour of his host, a man whom Captain Gallagher had formerly helped, sent a message to the commanding officer of the Redcoats at Foxford that Captain Gallagher was staying in a house beside his in Attymass.

The English officer dispatched messages to the Redcoats stationed in Ballina, Castlebar and Swinford for assistance. With a force of nearly 200 troops, the Redcoats then surrounded the house. Being ill and not wishing to endanger his host or his family, Captain Gallagher surrendered with out resistance.

Gallagher was rushed to Foxford and, after a hasty sham trial, was sentenced to be hanged.  He was then taken to Castlebar for the sentence to be carried out.  Questioned before mounting the scaffold, Captain Gallagher asserted that all his treasure was hidden under a rock in Barnalyra. Hearing this, the English commanding officer hastily carried out the execution and then galloped towards the forest of Barnalyra, taking with him a hand-picked squad of English cavalry. Doubtless, visions of new-found wealth or rewards from the Crown helped to hurry them on. When the English reached Barnalyra they found to their dismay not the few rocks they had visioned but countless thousands of rocks of all shapes and sizes. After some days’ search, all they found was a jewel-hilted sword.

The puzzle about the location of Captain Gallagher’s treasure may never be solved. Some believe his confession was made in the hope he would be taken to Barnalyra to point out the rock in question. Gallagher knew his companions were hiding-out on the Derryronane-Curryane border close to the forest, and he may have had hopes of being rescued.

The spirit of Captain Gallagher lives on through the ages in the hearts of all those swashbuckling Irish gentlemen wandering the globe in pursuit of glory.

Dublin Lawyer

This dish is delicious and traditional - a happy combination - though its expensive ingredients make it a rare treat rather than an everyday affair. For the best flavour the fish has to be freshly killed just before cooking. Plunge a sharp knife into the cross on the back of the head. Slice in half lengthwise and crack open the claws. Remove all the flesh and cut into large chunks. Keep both halves of the shell for serving.

________________________________________

1 live lobster, about 2 lb

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup Irish whiskey

1/2 cup whipping cream

salt and pepper

(serves two)

________________________________________

Toss the lobster meat in foaming butter over a medium heat for a few minutes until cooked. Take care that the butter does not burn. Add the whiskey and when it has heated up set light to it. Pour in the cream, heat through and season.

Serve in the half shells with plainly boiled fine beans.

‘Highland Laddie’

Regimental March of The Royal Highland Regiment – the ‘Black Watch’

During World War Two, Bill Millin – commonly known as ‘Piper Bill’ – was the personal piper to Lord Lovat, commander of Britain’s 1st Special Service Brigade at the D-Day landings in Normandy on the 6th of June 1944.

‘Piper Bill’ was most famous for being one of the few pipers to play them going into action during a World War II battle. Pipers had traditionally led Scottish troops into battle, however the death toll among pipers during the First World War was so high the practice was banned by the British High Command.  Lord Lovat, ignored these orders and ‘Piper Bill’, aged 21, played ‘Highland Laddie’ and ‘The Road to the Isles’ as his comrades fell around him on Sword Beach.  As German soldiers later attested, they did not target ‘Piper Bill’ because they believed him to be mad.

Also known as ‘Hielan' Laddie’, this tune is the same as an ancient Scottish popular folk tune If thou'lt play me fair play, but as with many old melodies, various sets of words can be sung to it.

After the 1715 Jacobite Rising in Scotland the English government did not have the resources or manpower to keep a standing army in the Scottish Highlands (as they were also very ‘busy’ in Ireland and elsewhere).  As a result, they were forced to keep order by recruiting men for this purpose from local Highland clans that had remained loyal to the English Government.

This scheme proved to be unsuccessful in deterring crime, especially cattle rustling, so independent companies were raised as a militia in 1725 by George Wade (an Irishman) to keep ‘watch’ for crime. The militia was recruited from local clans, with one company coming from Clan Munro, one from Clan Fraser, one from Clan Grant and three from Clan Campbell. These companies were commonly known as the Am Freiceadan Dubh, or ‘Black Watch’, taking their name from their task and from the dark-green government tartan they were issued (with so few colours, it was the cheapest available).

Highland Regiments raised in the 18th and early 19th centuries employed many unique symbols to differentiate themselves from other regiments and enlisted distinctive music to announce their arrival, but as a result of the ‘Cardwell Reforms’ of 1881, all British Army Highland Regiments were required to use ‘Highland Laddie’ as their Regimental March. Over time, many of these regiments had managed to return to their pre-Cardwell marches when, in 2005, the establishment of the ‘Royal Regiment of Scotland’ saw the disappearance of all Scotland’s historic infantry regiments and their distinctions, including music, and the adoption of a new Regimental March, ‘Scotland the Brave’.

However, ‘Highland Laddie’ continues to be the Regimental March of a number of other British and Commonwealth regiments with Scottish affiliations. Some of these regiments include:

•The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

•The Scots Guards

•The London Scottish

•The Tyneside Scottish

•The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada

•The Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada

•2nd Battalion, The Nova Scotia Highlanders

•The Essex and Kent Scottish

•The 48th Highlanders of Canada

•The Lake Superior Scottish Regiment

•The Calgary Highlanders

•16th Battalion (The Cameron Highlanders of Western Australia)

•41st Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment (The Byron Regiment, Australia)

•1st Armoured Car Regiment (New Zealand Scottish)

As in the case of most traditional Scottish folk songs, ‘Highland Laddie’ can be sung with lyrics. One version of the tune’s ancient lyrics, which obviously has much to do with Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite Rising, goes:

Where ha' ye been a' the day?

Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie

Saw ye him that' far awa'

Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie

On his head a bonnet blue

Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie

Tartan plaid and Hielan' trews

Bonnie laddie, Hielan' laddie

When he drew his gude braid-sword

Then he gave his royal word.

Frae the field he ne'er wad flee

Wi' his friends wad live or dee.

Geordie sits in Charlie's chair

But I think he'll no bide there.

Charlie yet shall mount the throne

Weel ye ken it is his own

There is another version, for the tune's four-parted variation:

The Lawland Lads think they are fine

But oh they're vain and idle gaudy

How much unlike the graceful mein

And manly looks o' my Highland Laddie

If I were free at will to choose

To be the wealthiest Lawland Lady

I'd tak' young Donald without trews

Wi' bonnet blue and Highland plaidie

(Chorus):

Oh my bonnie bonnie Highland Laddie

Oh my bonnie bonnie Highland Laddie

When I was sick and like to die

He rowed me in his Highland plaidie

O'er Bently Hill wi' him I'll run

And leave my Lawland kin and daddy

Frae winters chill and summers sun

He'll screen me in his Highland plaidie

A painted room, a silken bed

Maun please a Lawland Lord and Lady

But I could kiss and be as glad

Behind a bush in his Highland plaidie

Nae greater joy I'll e'er pretend

Than that his love prove true and steady

Like mine to him, which ne'er shall end

While heaven preserves my Highland Laddie

(Repeat Chorus)

And, from the Scottish & Irish songs of Ludwig van Beethoven:

‘Bonny Laddie, Highland Laddie’ – Beethoven No.7 (for Violin and Cello), Four Verses:

Where got ye that siller moon, bonny laddie, highland laddie,

Glinting braw your bell a boon, bonny laddie, highland laddie?

Belted plaid and bonnet blue, bonny laddie, highland laddie,

Have yet been at Waterloo, bonny laddie, highland laddie?

Weels me on your tartan trews, bonny laddie, highland laddie,

Tell me, tell me, a’ the news, bonny laddie, highland laddie!

Saw ye Bonny by the way, bonny laddie, highland laddie?

Blucher wi’ his beard sae grey, bonny laddie highland laddie?

Or that doure and deadly Duke, bonny laddie, highland laddie,

Scatt’ring Frenchmen wi’ his look, bonny laddie, highland laddie?

Some say he the day may rue, bonny laddie, highland laddie,

Ye can tell gin this be true, bonny laddie, highland laddie.

Would yet tell me gin ye ken, bonny laddie, highland laddie,

Aught o’ Donald and his men, bonny laddie, highland laddie?

Tell me o’ my kilted Clan, bonny laddie, highland laddie,

Gin they fought, or gin they ran, bonny laddie, highland laddie?

For over 300 years, when wearing kilts, it was customary for ‘Black Watch’ troops to ‘go regimental’ –  wearing no underwear.

In the 1950s, kilted soldiers on parade would be checked by the sergeant major using a mirror on the end of a stick.  In 1997, a ‘Black Watch’ soldier received wide press exposure, because of windy conditions during a military ceremony in Hong Kong …

Scotland The Brave !

D-Day Landing on Sword Beach

Piper Bill Millin is in the foreground

Lord Lovat, on the right of the column, wades through the water

‘Black Watch’ Piper – Iraq 2003