The total distance to be traversed between Port Arthur and Fort Garry was over 600 miles, and the range of hills that we had to cross, and which divided the waters which drained into Hudson Bay from those that reached the sea by the St.
The American psyche is in some part shaped by the myth of the frontier, but Canada has the bush. The US Army fought frontier wars, but the Wolsely expedition is a different beast altogether. It's the epitome of bush warfare. The sheer audaciousness of projecting a self-sufficient force that far, that fast, by manpower alone to demonstrate the resolve of a fledgling federal government.
To gain a better appreciation for what moving through this sort of terrain at that time would have been like, here's a video of modern folks attempting to portage a yorkboat 1600m (metres!) through the northern bush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlWn3VVjIGc
Audacity combined with meticulous planning, preparation and equipping, were the hallmarks of Wolseley’s style of war. The campaign against the Ashanti was a similarly bold lunge into the bush, also built upon a scrupulously constructed logistical foundation. Thank you for the link.
The American psyche is in some part shaped by the myth of the frontier, but Canada has the bush. The US Army fought frontier wars, but the Wolsely expedition is a different beast altogether. It's the epitome of bush warfare. The sheer audaciousness of projecting a self-sufficient force that far, that fast, by manpower alone to demonstrate the resolve of a fledgling federal government.
To gain a better appreciation for what moving through this sort of terrain at that time would have been like, here's a video of modern folks attempting to portage a yorkboat 1600m (metres!) through the northern bush: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlWn3VVjIGc
Audacity combined with meticulous planning, preparation and equipping, were the hallmarks of Wolseley’s style of war. The campaign against the Ashanti was a similarly bold lunge into the bush, also built upon a scrupulously constructed logistical foundation. Thank you for the link.
Ok, I just ordered it, my first Disraeli.
Which Contarini does your site title reference?
Contarini Fleming by Benjamin Disraeli.