Peter Salem

 The life of Peter Salem is an extremely interesting one because he was not only a participant in the Revolutionary War; he was also one of the relatively few African Americans to do so. He further participated in some of the most significant battles in the war as a member of different militias. Salem was a unique individual during this period because he is noted to have been extremely dedicated to the Revolutionary cause.

Salem was born into slavery in 1750 to a slave woman and was owned by Jeremiah Belknap, who later had him sold to Lawson Buckminster. While not much is known of his life prior to the Revolution, there have been suggestions that he may have been a Muslim, although this is disputed by some scholars (Rashid, 2013, p. 78). What is well known is that Buckminster, his new owner and a major in the Continental Army, released him from slavery so that Salem could enlist.

Salem was a participant in the first battles of the conflict, which took place at Concord in 1775. This is attested to through the presence of his name in the role of Captain Edgell’s militia company where he served for four days (Quarles, 2012, p. 10). Salem is also noted to have been a participant in the Battle of Bunker Hill, where he is considered one of its most important heroes. He was also a participant in the Battles of Saratoga and Stony Point, and was later honorably discharged.

Following his time fighting in the Revolutionary War, Salem got married to Katy Benson at Salem, Massachusetts, and built a cabin close to Leicester. He lived the rest of his life peacefully and gained employment as a cane weaver. His death came about in 1816 and he ended up being buried at Framingham (Quintal, 2004, p. 190). The life of an individual that had played a significant role in the Revolution, which led to the independence of the United States from Britain, came to an end.

Peter Salem fought in some of the most significant battles of the Revolution and he gave almost five years of service to the cause. He not only showed his commitment to the Revolution through extending his commission despite its having expired, he is also considered to have made some important achievements, such as mortally wounding the British Marine Major John Pitcairn at the Battle of Bunker Hill (Nell, 1855, p. 21). His efforts seem to have played a substantial role when it came to the outcome of the Revolutionary War.

In conclusion, the life of Peter Salem is one that is characterized by his considerable dedication. It is this dedication that ensured that he became one of the most prominent participants of the Revolutionary War. Salem ended up in a situation where despite being born into slavery, he went on to fight side-by-side with other Revolutionaries towards the achievement of American freedom. A consequence is that Peter Salem became one of the most important heroes of the Revolution and his place in American history was secured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Nell, W. C. (1855). The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution: With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: to which is Added a Brief Survey of the Condition and Prospects of Colored Americans: Lulu. com.

Quarles, B. (2012). The Negro in the American revolution: UNC Press Books.

Quintal, G. (2004). Patriots of Color:" a Peculiar Beauty and Merit": African Americans and Native Americans at Battle Road & Bunker Hill: Government Printing Office.

Rashid, S. (2013). Black Muslims in the US: History, Politics, and the Struggle of a Community: Springer.

History of the Chicago Bears

 

The Chicago Bears is one of the most recognizable American football teams that play in the National Football League (NFL). It is a team with a long history in the League and because of this long history, it has seen a considerable number of critical eras take place within it. Founded in 1919 at Decatur, Illinois, the team moved to Chicago two years later and has since then been associated with the latter city. In this paper, there will be an attempt to show the history of the Chicago Bears, including its rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, and some of its most memorable moments.

The Chicago Bears has had a long rivalry with the Green Bay Packers, beginning in 1920 when the team was founded. The win in their first meeting went to the Bears in 1921 and this was countered by the Packers, who defeated the Bears for the first time in 1925 (Peterson). The rivalry between these teams also led to the ejection of players from a game in the history of the NFL when two players, Frank Hanny and Walter Voss, representing the Bears and the Packers respectively, ended up punching one another (Darkow). Another infamous incident that happened between these teams was the move by the Bears to have the Packers expelled from the NFL so that they could not sign in a particular player. The Bears later had the Packers readmitted after they had sealed the deal with the player (Peterson). Therefore, the history of the Bears is one that not only promotes its own interests, but also one that shows its friendly nature.

In conclusion, the Chicago Bears is one of the most well-known teams in the NFL with a long and rich history. It has played a pivotal role in the development of the game as well as its popularity. It has also been the cause of many memorable moments in the League, as seen mentioned above. Finally, its rivalry with the Green Bay Packers has become one of the most significant historical moments in American football.

Interesting Facts About Alexander the Great

 

1. After his best friend Hephaestion died of illness in 324 BCE, Alexander the Great’s descent into alcoholism grew rapidly. In a fit of rage, he had Hephaestion’s doctor Glaucias crucified.
2. One of Alexander’s closest companions was his horse, Bucephalus (meaning ox-head). After Bucephalus’ death shortly after the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BCE, Alexander founded a city called Bucephala (located in modern-day Pakistan) in honor of his beloved horse.
3. Alexander was not guaranteed the throne. Macedonian customs dictated that the favored heir would be someone of complete Macedonian descent, while Alexander’s mother was an Epirot Princess.
4. When his father married a Macedonian noblewomen named Cleopatra, Alexander dropped his mother at Epirus and fled to Illyria, intending to stay there while he watched as events within Macedonia unfolded. He later returned to witness the wedding between his uncle Alexander of Epirus and his step-sister Cleopatra — where his father, Philip, would be assassinated by his bodyguard. He immediately consolidated his position by removing his rivals.
5. Alexander was obsessed with glory. His conquests were done so he could be remembered in the way that his idols, Achilles and Heracles, were. He had an infatuation with being remembered as a hero, and slept every night with a copy of the Iliad under his pillow. He even had several poets accompany him.
6. Speaking of his poets, Alexander the Great didn’t hold them in very high regard. He said of one of his court-poets, Choerilus of Iasus, that he would rather be the Thersites of Homer than the Achilles of Choerilus.
7. He was offered peace by Persia. After the Battle of Issus, Darius III offered all of Anatolia, the hand of his daughter, and an alliance in agreement for peace. After the battle of Gaugamela, Darius was forced to flee after his troops abandoned him. Both Persepolis and Babylon were seized by the Greeks, and in a desperate attempt to try to pacify them, he offered his entire Empire west of the Euphrates - including the incredibly wealthy regions of Asia Minor, the Levant, and Egypt in exchange for peace. Alexander refused both offers against the advice of his generals. In a somewhat famous encounter, his commander-in-chief Parmenion tried to get him to accept Darius’ terms and said, "If I were Alexander, I would accept the terms,” to which the young ruler replied, “So would I, if I were Parmenion. “
8. Alexander was also obsessed with his supposed destiny of glory. At the time of his death, he was planning conquests of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, and possibly even the Italian Peninsula.
9. He had severe problems with his family. His father, Philip, was a man who literally lived for war and spent whatever free time he had drinking. Philip had an unstable relationship with his wife Olympias, whom he had married solely for political purposes; there was no love lost between them. He suspected Olympias of being a snakecharmer and a witch, while Alexander (raised mainly by his mother) was often chastised by his father for his inability to grow a beard and his high-pitched voice which Philip considered a sign of effeminacy. This would manifest in his later insatiable desire for glory and to become a hero in the style of Achilles.
10. It was Alexander who completed the Gordian Knot. Phrygian tradition stated that whoever undid the knot would become the Lord of Asia. While campaigning in Asia Minor, Alexander arrived at the city of Gordium to complete the knot. After attempting to untie it, he grew frustrated and struck it with his blade and cut through it.
11. He grew increasingly deranged towards the end of his life. As Alexander began to lead more and more military campaigns, he also chose to abandon a political strategy in favor of senseless conquest. He came to spend whatever time that wasn’t in battle drinking, eventually becoming an alcoholic and engaging in heavy drinking episodes wherein he would lose his rationality. By the time he died, he was an alcoholic: he lived for battle and the glory that came with it and would follow the conquest of a city with an elaborate and drunken party. As he continued to drink, both his mental and physical state began to deteriorate. At the encouragement of a prostitute, he sacked the religious capital of the Persian Empire (Persepolis) and slaughtered Zoroastrian priests and burned numerous libraries. He killed his friend Cleitus in a drunken brawl two years later (in spite of the fact that Cleitus had saved his life personally at the Granicus). After he married Roxana in 327 BCE, he came to disregard her and treated her the way that Philip had treated Olympias - with callousness and disrespect. His addiction grew so much that in 323 BCE, following a heavy drinking bout, he died at the age of just 33.
12. He was severely narcissistic, especially towards the end of his life. He came to regard himself as the son of Zeus, occupied himself with dreams of unlimited conquest, felt himself invincible, disregarded most of his own generals as toys (i.e. the execution of Parmenion, killing of Cleitus), came to lack empathy, and was incredibly arrogant.
13. He wasn’t the great hero of Western mythology. Not even close. He was emotionally unstable, and a warlord through-and-through. He was brutal, vain, immoral, and a cold-blooded murderer. The man literally wept at the fact that he didn’t have anything more to conquer!
14. He enjoyed a very close relationship with the mother of Darius III, Sisygambis. At the Battle of Issus, Darius’ army was decisively defeated and the Shahenshah forced to flee for his life. In the turn of events, he abandoned his family including his daughters, his mother, and his wife. Alexander came to enjoy a close relationship with Darius’ mother Sisygambis; he referred to her as mother and she came to refer to him as son. Compared to Olympias, Sisygambis was a far better maternal figure while Alexander was much more talented and charismatic than Sisygambis’ own child, Darius, whom she never forgave for abandoning her at Issus. At the Battle of Gaugamela, when the Scythian cavalry broke through Alexander’s forces, she refused to celebrate what at first appeared to be an Achaemenid victory. After receiving news Darius’ death in 330 BCE, she was called to mourn but only said, “I have only one son [Alexander] and he is king of all Persia.” She cared so much for Alexander that upon hearing of his death in 323 BCE, she sealed herself in her quarters and refused to eat - dying four days later of grief and starvation.
15. His army was devoted to him and regarded him as a God-King. Alexander’s army loved him as their leader and as a man. Unlike most ancient kings, who would often maintain their own camps and stay separate from their soldiers, Alexander lived the way his soldiers lived — he shared their rations, ate their food, and led his battles from the front. He was injured on multiple occasions, earning the love of his army. Because of this, they would accompany him on various campaigns for over a decade.
16. Alexander was showing his military competence before he invaded Persia. Philip of Macedon, through a mixture of force and diplomacy, had set out on destroying the power of the old Greek-city states upon his ascension to the throne. In 338 BCE, his campaigns arrived at their culmination when the Athenians and Thebans - in a last ditch effort to try to protect their independence - sent a force numbering 35,000 soldiers to battle the Macedonians at Chaeronea. The left wing of the Macedonian army was commanded by the 18-year-old Alexander, whose brazenness and desire to please his father caused to him to lead a charge into the Allied line. He inflicted heavy losses on the alliance, while Philip followed with a second attack that caused from the Allied forces to be routed.
17. He would be regarded as the exemplar of military genius for centuries. Since Alexander’s death, he was immortalized as the epitome of the great conqueror. After the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, the leaders of both sides - Scipio and Hannibal - had a conversation where both agreed that Alexander was the greatest general of all time. It was said that Caesar wept around 67 BC when comparing his achievements to those of Alexander, while Trajan would lament in 117 that he was too old to go further east like Alexander. Over a millennium later, the Turkish Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror would grow his dreams of conquering Constantinople by reading stories about Alexander the Great’s conquests. Napoleon would admire him several centuries after that because of his enormous conquests at such a young age (although he would comment Alexander started out with the heart of Trajan and “ended up with the heart of Nero”).