The Battle of Halle in 1813

Today is the 200 years anniversary of the Battle at Halle Saale. On 2nd May 1813 a Prussian corps occupied the French occupied Halle:

The Prussians appeared on 2nd May at Halle and started the attack at 6 o' clock on the northern suburbs, which could be taken, because the French were completely surprised by it. Only at the northern outskirts of the city, skirmishing began to develop. After several hours of fighting at the gates they were taken. After heavy losses of the French they fled across the Saale Bridge on the road to Lauchstädt. 432 Frenchmen were captured, as well as several artillery were conquered.*

Though the Prussians were victorious the battle was almost irrelevant, because the defeat at the Battle of Großgörschenfroced the Prussians to withdraw its troops to the Mark Brandenburg and Berlin protecting it from the advancing French, who were at Torgau and Wittenberg on the Elbe. But Marshal Ney moved to Bautzen to support Napoleon.

 

Source: wikipedia.

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Thrifty Elizabeth Shackleton

"I made me a work bag of my old, favourite, pritty, red & white Linnen gown", three years later: "made a cover for the Dressing drawers of my pritty Red & white linnen gown." Or: "I cut a pair of fine worsted stockings, good legs & bad feet - to draw over my Stocking to keep my knees warm - like them much now they are made properly for the use."

citated: Elizabeth Shackleton, in: Amanda Vickery, The Gentleman's Daughter, pg. 184.
Based on her diaries at the Lancashire Record Office in Preston. (Does anyone know how to get to read those 39 diares from where I live in Germany, I'd be grateful!)

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Measuring the World

Today a new period drama hits the theaters: Measuring the World.
Based on the novel by Daniel Kehlmann the movie takes us to the adventures of Carl Friedrich Gauß and Alexander von Humboldt's lives. The novel was a bestseller right after its publication and many a controversial discussion followed its success. Nevertheless I want to show the trailer to a very well adapted book and a beautiful period drama!

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A letter from the 4th Duke of Marlborough

"One June morning in 1763, the Duke helped himself to a sheet of guilt-edged ivory notepaper from the pile on his desk which, miraculously, never got any lower, and scribbled a note to Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, the most fashionable landscape-architect of the day. The Duke told Capability that he wanted to make 'expensive alterations' to Blenheim's dishevelled grounds. 'I have a notion I shall begin here immediately so that the sooner you come the better,' the Duke wrote in the peremptory tone which he used towards underlings."*

Well, I'm so inspired by this little abstract, that I want to do something with Leyland myself. Not with the help of Brown or William Kent I suppose, but something... And the guilt-edged notepaper! Gosh! i want some. Being a duke is really awesome indeed... ;-)

*Marian Fowler, Blenheim: Biography of a Palace, 1989, pg. 94.

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Lady Cartwright now on Facebook

Well, I did it. I managed to set up a page on Facebook for Emmeline. No profile, just a page. But its still offline, nothing much happened yet. I'm working on it... It's overwhelming what is possible with this timeline thingy... Still, I don't want a profile for my real life me...

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