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Posted on 06/17/2004 12:00:18 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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Even with the victories at Chrysler's Farm and Chateauguay which ended any threat to Quebec and Montreal, the loss by the British troops at the "Battle of the Thames" left Niagara in a vulnerable state. Sir George Prevost ordered a evacuation of all of Upper Canada west to Kingston to relieve the pressure on his meager resources. Fortunately Major-General John Vincent, who had resumed command in that theatre of operations, felt a withdrawl to Burlington would be good enough.  The Americans were quick to act on this withdrawl and reoccupied Queenston and Chippawa. Joseph Willcocks and his Canadian Volunteers also wasted little time making the loyalists left behind pay a heavy price. The farms of those who had once been neighbours and friends were looted and burned. Then Willcocks arrested prominent loyalists and had them sent to prisons in the United States. Among them were Thomas Merritt, William Hamiltons's father and eighty year old Peter McMicking of Stamford County, a coroner and a town warden. William Hamilton Merritt was so angry at the treatment of his father that he wrote in his journal of, "having taken many long and weary ride, in the lonely hours of the night, in hope of catching Willcocks and making an example of him and all traitors." Colonel John Murray convinced Vincent that a small force should be moved back into the peninsula to protect the inhabitants after hearing of the arrests and raids. Subsequently Murray led a force of three hundred and seventy-eight regulars of the 8th Regiment and some volunteers, including Merritt's Dragoons, to Forty Mile Creek where a base was set up.  Lieutenant General Sir George Prevost Captain William Hamilton Merritt led his troop east away from their base camp atr Forty Mile Creek. Where were the Americans? The Indians had been in contact with their pickets the night before but now they were nowhere to be found. A signal from an advanced scout brought Merrittt forward quickly and the tail end of the American column was sighted tramping toward Twenty Mile Creek. Merritt sent his dragoons charging down the road scattering the American infantry and fighting a sharp engagement with some American cavalry who quickly withdrew. Some of the infantry tried to fight on, but many quickly surrendered and were taken prisoners of war. With the American Army in retreat Murray pushed his force forward to Twenty Mile Creek and then to Twelve Mile Creek. By this time the Americans had pulled back to Fort George. The American commanding officer, Birgadier General George McClure was in a tough position. The enlistment of many of his troops was expiring and his force began melting away. Willcock's raid had further alienated the local population and when Murray's outposts soundly defeated a probing force sent out by McClure, he decided to withdaw across the Niagara River to the American side and the confines of Fort Niagara.  Officer, New York State Militia, 1813 by H.C. McBarron The sun came up on 10 December to show a cold and blustery day with snow drifting about two or three feet in places. Joseph Willcocks was beside himself when he heard of the plans to abandon the peninsula. He had at least wrung the order to burn the town from McClure on the pretext of denying shelter to the advancing British troops. Willcocks was determined to punish his former neighbours for slights, real and imaginary, that he had suffered since going over to the Americans. The Canadian Volunteers and American Militiamen went door to door warning inhabitants to get out what they could. At dusk the destruction began. Willcocks mounted the stairs of the Dickson house, fire brand in hand, followed by two of his men. Willcocks ordered that the two men remove a woman who was ill, bed and all and place her in the snow. He had arrested William Dickson and had him sent off as a prisoner to the United States and was determined to destroy whatever property he could. The two men wrapped her in blankets the best they could and put her in a snow drift while Willcocks burned the house and it's contents. He walked away leaving Mrs. Dickson in the snow to watch her house burn to the ground.  Major General Phineas Riall Women and children stood in the cold December winter and watched their homes and almost everything they owned in the world burn into ashes. Their first concern was to find some shelter, there were four hundred refugees who woulds die of exposure if cover could not be found quickly. Captain Merritt reported to Colonel Murray. The glow in the eastern sky could mean only one thing and with Merritt's dragoons they rode off to investigate. The troop approached Fort George from the south and carefully reconnoitred the area. The Americans were pulling out and the only troops remaining were the rear guard, which consisted of the Canadian Volunteers. Merritt signaled the charge routing the enemy, killing two and taking a number prisoners. The scene that greeted them in the town was beyond belief. Every building except one was a pile of glowing embers and the streets were littered with furniture that some had been able to save before their homes were torched. People were desperately seeking shelter. Some moved toward the fort and Butlers Barracks, which had been spared for some reason, others built crude shelters against chimneys using half burnt boards as roofing while still other began bone chilling walks to farms in the neighbourhood.  Oliver Hazard Perry The next day the sun brought the misery of the town to bloom. many a snowdrift had frozen bodies of women and children who could not find their way in the bitter cold darkness of that December night in 1813. The mood of the British troops was dark indeed. Every man from Colonel Murray to the lowliest private had one thing on his mind; Vengence! For his part in the burning of Newark, General McClure was relieved of his command and dismissed from the U.S. Army.
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Punch a hole in the side of the ammo cans for the 60, screw in a grenade fuze, fill the can with diesel mixture, and use it to excavate some extra legroom underground.
The poncho is good as a sun shield and rainfly.
The wooden ammo crates can be used to make benches and such.
:-)
Oh no, I'm older than dirt! I remember getting my tongue stuck on one of those metal ice trays!
Thanks for the link Johnny. It's horrifying to know they sent people back up thinking building one was the only problem...and people headed back up in the elevators. Sad.
Make nice table and chair sets. :-)
Even worse, we have two white vans.
I'm getting ready to shop for something to wear to the wedding Saturday. I've never been to a cyberwedding before. Somehow, my PJs and fuzzy slippers just don't seem right. What's msdrby wearing?
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The JAS 39 Gripen is the result of a joint development by Saab Military Aircraft, Ericsson Microwave Systems, Volvo Aero Corporation and Celsius Aerotech. It is a fourth generation, multi-role combat aircraft. The Gripen fighter combines new knowledge-based, software-controlled avionics systems; modern materials; advanced aerodynamic design; a well-proven engine and fully-integrated system to produce a highly-capable, true multi-role combat aircraft. The Gripen is the first Swedish aircraft that can be used for interception, ground-attack and reconnaissance (hence the Swedish abbreviation JAS -- Fighter (J), Attack (A) and Reconnaissance (S) in Swedish) and is now successively replacing the Draken and the Viggen.
In 1978 the Swedish Government decided that the Swedish Air Force needed a new multirole aircraft for the turn of the century. At the same time as the Swedish aerospace industry was defining a new project, the Air Force made an evaluation of existing foreign aircraft such as the American F-16 and F-18. After an evaluation process, Parliament decided in June 1982 to go ahead with the Swedish project and the Defence Materiel Administration signed a contract for development of the JAS 39 Gripen, and the final flight tests were completed in December of 1996.
A total of 204 aircraft in three batches have been ordered for the Swedish Air Force. The first batch of 30 aircraft has been completed. Deliveries from the second batch are ongoing, and comprises 96 one-seater and 14 two-seater aircraft. About 60 Gripens are in service with the Swedish Air Force. In June 1997, a third batch of 64 Gripens was approved by the Swedish Government and ordered by the Defence Materiel Administration (FMV). This will take the total for the Swedish Air Force to 204 aircraft, including 28 two-seaters. Production of batch thre is scheduled for 2002-2007.
Gripen offers high agility, advanced target acquisition systems - including a powerful multi-role radar, modern weapons, low environmental signatures and a comprehensive electronic warfare (EW) suite. The JAS39 Gripen system is designed to counter all current and future threats. The aircraft has been developed for the Swedish Air Force by the Industry Group JAS (SAAB, Ericsson, Volvo Aero and FFV Aerotech) in close co-operation with the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV). In partnership with Sweden’s Saab, British Aerospace is engaged in a number of marketing campaigns for the highly capable Gripen fourth generation combat aircraft. Engineering activity associated with improving the operability of the aircraft in the export market is now underway.
In 1995 Saab and British Aerospace (BAe) signed an agreement for the joint marketing of the Gripen. Hereby, Saab gained access to the global sales organization of British Aerospace, as well as to its governmental support in international marketing. British Aerospace will adapt the export version of the Gripen to NATO standards, and also produce certain subsystems for the aircraft. The agreement, which followed on more than a decade of cooperation between the two companies, became the basis for a consolidation between Saab and British Aerospace. It also paves the way for SaabCs deepened integration with the European aerospace industry. Saab intends to be an active player along with British Aerospace, Aerospatiale (France), DASA (Germany) and CASA (Spain) in the creation of an integrated European defense and aerospace industry - Eurospace.
In November 1998, South Africa announced that it will probably buy 28 Gripens. The value of the order is 12 billion SEK (1.5 billion USD) and the contract was expected to be signed in May or June of 1999. During the coming 10-15 years, Saab hopes to export at least 400 aircraft, on a total market for fighter aircraft estimated at 2,000 aircraft. The Gripen is currently being offered to Chile, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Brazil.
In August 2002 the Czech government announced that after paying bills to recover from the devastating summer floods, it would no longer be able to afford to buy 24 Jas-39 Gripen fighters from BAE Systems/Saab at a cost of about $2 billion. The Czech Republic's fleet of MiG-21s will reach the end of its service lifespan in 2004. US officials have offered used F-16s to the Czechs. Another candidate, Poland, had previously announced that it will chose the Boeing F 18 Hornet.
An important factor when offering the Gripen for export, is the aircraft missile system. Currently, the Gripens used by the Swedish Air Force are armed with AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinder, the Saab Dynamics RBS 15 for ship targets, and the Maverick ground attack missile. Saab Dynamics cooperates with the major European missile manufacturers in the development of new air-to-air missiles for the Eurofighter, the Rafale and the Gripen. The two main projects currently underway are the Meteor and the IRIS-T. The Meteor is a radar-guided, medium range (10-120 km.) air-to-air missile, which will compete with future versions of the Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM. The Meteor program features Matra BAe Dynamics, Saab Dynamics, Alenia Difesa, Marconi and German LFK. The IRIS-T is an IR-guided, short-range air-to-air missile, primarily funded by Germany for the Eurofighter. The project group includes Bodenseewerk Geratechnik and Saab Dynamics.
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Saab Aerospace
Main Role: Multi-role fighter
Country of Origin: Sweden
Current Status: In Service, In Production
Powerplant: Volvo Aero RM 12 (General Electric F404J) rated at 12,140 lb thrust - 18,000 lbs thrust with afterburner
Crew: One [JAS 39B: Two]
Dimensions:
Wing span: 27 ft 7 in
Height: 14 ft 9 in
Length: 46 ft 3 in
Weights: Empty 14,770lbs / Normal Take-off 17,639lbs / Maximum Take-off 28,000lbs
Performance :
Maximum Speed: Mach 1 15 at low altitude, Mach 2.0 at high altitude.
Climb rate: Less than 2 minutes from brake release to 10km (33,000ft), approx. 3 minutes to 14km (46,000ft),
Level Acceleration: Approx. 30 seconds from Mach 0.5 to Mach 1.1 at low altitude.
Max. Load Factor: 9G's
Armaments:
27-mm Mauser BK27 cannon semi-recessed under centre fuselage next to port air intake with 120 rounds,
Wingtip launch rails for Rb 74 (AIM-9L) Sidewinder or similar missiles,
Four underwing hardpoints and one under-fuselage centre-line pylon for a maximum of 14,330 lb (6500 kg).
Fairly likely.
But the look of innocence is astounding.
Strudy, and matching as well.
And, when you don't need them anymore, they can be used as extra weaponry for area blast fragmentation.
Dunno. Birthday suit?
I'm gonna tell her you said that. ;^)
Yeah, the back blast from a LAW turns an ammo crate into instant kindling. :-)
Ah, so you can really confuse them!
Who's getting cyber married?
Geez, you should have called me, I would have led you in the right direction.
Had you only known me then....
Yea all around me, there was a few battles here on the island too.
I'll have to look up the seneca indians and the battle for this island. It came back to light a few years ago and they wanted the island back, it dragged out for 8 years untill finally a judged ruled against them.
We pay them a $ figure every year since the purchase was made, they didn't have a leg to stand on but it killed businesses and the building industry.
Interesting read . . . a little frustrating.
McClure's therory that it was necessary to burn the town so the British would not have shelter was rather weak when Butler's Barracks, with it's store of tents and other military equipment was not touched at all.
It's safe to say that McClure had other motives, but what were they?
BTW, read all the comments from "Treadhead Tues." Wow! Sitting with you and Sam to watch the History Channel. The Dream Team! However, I'm not sure you guys would like my "rapid fire" questions . . . we'd never get to see the program. ;^)
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