ABRAHAM HANNIBAL

(1670 - 1761)

General Abraham Hannibal was born in 1670 in Eritrea, East Africa. As a young child he was stolen from his parents and sold in to slavery. He ended up in Turkey. In parts of Europe the fate for black people was much kinder than that of the millions who were sold into the trans-Atlanic slave trade, as the story of Abraham Hannibal shows. Abraham was taken to Russia where Tsar Peter (Peter the Great) and his wife Christina Queen of Poland adopted him.When Abraham was a young man, his bilogical parents found him and told him his real name was Ibrahim Hannibal and he was a descendent of the carthaginian Empire. Alike his namesake Hannibal, the great African military genius who lived around 200 bc, Abraham also became a military genius.

Tsar Peter sent Abraham to France to learn mathematics and engineering from the highest educationl insitutes. During Abraham's studies, war broke out between France and Spain and in 1718, he joined the French army to gain access to the best military engineering program and was captured bt the Spanish army. He was released in 1722 and promoted to lieutenanat and continued to study mathematics and engineering in france for anther year. he returned to Russia the following year and his advanced training enabled him to apply and successfully aquire posts frist as an engineer and than as a mathematics tutor for one of the Tsar's private guard units.

Abraham was sent to Siberia for three years to complate an engineering project. During this time he built a fortress and led several construction projects where he became a master engineer. he complated his srvice in Siberia in 1733 and returned to the court in 1741.

Abraham had 11 childern, most of whom became members of the Russian rayalty, he was the great grandfather to one of Russia's great men, Alexander Pushkin the poet and father of modern Russian literature.

Aberaham died around 1761

Dumas, Thomas-Alexandre (1762–1806)

Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was a mulatto born in the French colony of Saint Domingue. He joined the French Army as a private and rose to the rank of a General during the French Revolution. Dumas is probably best known for fathering the famous French writer Alexandre Dumas (père).

The son of the lesser French nobleman Alexandre-Antoine Davy, Marquis de la Pailleterie, and a black slave woman, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas was born on the island of Saint Domingue on March 25, 1762. In 1772, the Marquis returned to France, followed by his son in 1776. As Dumas grew into manhood he moved to Paris, enjoying life with the financial support of his father. But soon after the senior Davy married his second wife, he suspended the payments to his son.

Without any income, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas decided to join the French Army in 1786. At the request of his father, he enlisted under his mother's name Marie Dumas, in order to preserve the family's reputation. During the French Revolution Dumas became a devout republican serving in an all-black unit known as “La Légion Américaine.” This dedication helped him being catapulted from the rank of a corporal to that of a general of a division in less than two years.

Dumas' relationship with Napoleon Bonaparte, under whom he served in the Italian campaign between 1796 and 1797, was ambivalent. Napoleon admired Dumas' bravery and appreciated his military expertise, but the general's hot temper and his low opinion of Bonaparte often got Dumas into quarrels with his commander. Despite his skepticism about the purpose of the campaign, Dumas followed Napoleon to Egypt in 1798. Disappointed with the Army’s lack of military success, aware of his declining relationship with Napoleon and in poor health, Dumas left Egypt in February 1799. He was shipwrecked off the Italian port of Taranto where he was made prisoner of war by the Neapolitans for two years.

After he was finally released in 1801, Dumas sailed home having lost all of his possessions. Dumas spent his last years recovering from his time as a prisoner with his family in Villier-Cotterêts. Once and again he offered his service to Napoleon, but waited in vain to be restored to active duty. Only the birth of his son Alexandre in 1802, who would later become one of the most famous French writers, brought joy and hope into Dumas’ life. On February 27, 1806, Dumas died at the age of 44.

Sources:
Jon G. Gallaher, General Alexandre Dumas: Soldier of the French Revolution (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1997); André Maurois, The Titans: A Three-Generation Biography of the Dumas (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1957); J.A. Rogers, World's Greatest Men of Color, Volume II (New York: Macmillan, 1972).

Gaspar Yanga

The most memorable of the numerous Afro-Mexican maroon colonies in the range was the one founded after a bloody slave rebellion in the sugar fields in 1570. The rebel leader Gaspar Yanga was a slave from the African nation of Gabon, and it was said that he was from the royal family. Yanga led his rebel band into the mountains, where he found a locale sufficiently inaccessible to settle and create his own small town of over 500 people. The Yangans secured provisions by raids upon the Spanish caravans bringing goods from the highlands to Veracruz. Relations were established with neighboring runaway slaves and Indians. For more than thirty years Yanga and his band lived free while his community grew in size. A Spanish study of the situation concluded that Gaspar Yanga must be crushed. With that goal in mind a Royal war party left the city of Puebla in January of 1609. It did not succeed in its goal. Before he died, Yanga would have in hand a treaty with the Spaniards that granted freedom to his followers and established their own "free town."

Jean-Louis Michel

Early life

Jean-Louis was born in Saint-Domingue (now part of Haiti) in 1785. In his youth, Jean Louis took part in a winner take all tournament to the death. In the final Jean-Louis, a slight man of around 5' 2", duelled for 1 whole hour with a Spanish opponent who was 6 ft tall. Then as the Spaniard lost concentration Jean-Louis finished him.

In Napoleon's Army

Jean-Louis served as a soldier in the French army under Napoleon.

He was most famous for a series of regimental duels held outside Madrid, Spain, in 1814. Italian soldiers from the 1st Regiment and French soldiers from the 32nd Regiment of the 3rd Division of the French Army quarreled. Within 40 minutes, Jean-Louis is reputed to have killed three Italian masters including the Florentine master, Giacomo Ferrari, and wounded 10 others with 27 thrusts.

On another occasion, having been subject to repeated insults, he insisted in defending himself using only a training foil against a larger opponent armed with a rapier. Jean Louis adopted the most familiar tactic of retreating until his opponent tired himself with a series of clumsy attacks, whereupon he suddenly parried strongly and riposted with a wicked slash to the face, thereby teaching him a lesson in humility.

Retirement

He refused a commission, and in 1830, he retired to Montpellier, where he opened a fencing school. In later life he taught that fencing to the death was a blight on society.

Fencing in Ancient Egypt

The history of fencing parallels the evolution of civilization, back from the days of ancient Egypt and Rome, to the barbaric Dark Ages, to the fast and elegant Rennassiance, up to the modern, increasingly popular fencing of today. Fencing has always been regarded as more than a sport; it is an art form, an ancient symbol of power and glory, and a deeply personal, individual form of expression. Fencing is and always has been an intrinsic part of life, from the dueling and battle of yore to the widely captivating movies and facets of popular culture such as Zorro and The Princess Bride.

The earliest evidence of fencing as a sport comes from a carving in Egypt, dating back to about 1200 B.C., which shows a sport fencing bout with masks, protective weapon tips, and judges.

St. Maurice

Saint Maurice (also known as Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius) was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century during the reign of Emperor Maximian Herculius. Maximian sent an army to control an uprising of the Gauls throughout central Europe. One of the units in the army was recruited from Thebes in southern Egypt on the African continent. This legion was comprised of 6600 Christian soldiers. In order to give thanks for the success of their campaign, the soldiers were expected to offer a sacrifice to the gods. Since this included the killing of Christians, the legion of Thebes refused to comply with this order. When Maximian was unable to get the legion to obey, he ordered that they be decimated. Decimation was a military punishment where every tenth man was put to death. Saint Maurice was the legion’s leader and inspirer. When the soldiers still refused the emperor’s demands, a second decimation was ordered. Maximian threatened that if they continued then none of them would escape. Saint Maurice and the other soldiers could not renounce their God and chose to die innocent rather than live knowing they had killed other Christians. Upon hearing news of their continued resistance to obey orders, Maximian proceeded to order the slaughter of the rest of the legion. The place in Switzerland where this occurred, known as Agaunum, is now Saint Maurice-en-Valais, site of the Abbey of Saint Maurice-en-Valais. Besides Aguanum, the other sites where the soldiers were slain were Zurich, Soluthum and Zursach in Switzerland; Bergamo, Turin, Piacenza, the Cottian Alps, Pinerolo, Milan, Ventimilia in Italy; and Terier, Bonn, Cologne, and Xanten in Germany.

Saint Maurice became a patron saint of the Holy Roman Emperors. In 926, Henry I (919–936), even ceded the present Swiss canton of Aargau to the abbey, in return for the sacred lance of the Saint's. The Sword of Saint Maurice was part of the regalia used at coronations of the Austro-Hungarian Emperors until 1916. In 929, Henry I the Fowler held a royal court gathering (Reichsversammlung) at Magdeburg. At the same time the Mauritius Kloster in honor of Saint Maurice was founded. In 961, Otto I was building and enriching the cathedral at Magdeburg, which he intended for his own tomb. In the twenty-fifth year of his reign, in the presence of all of the nobility, the body of St. Maurice was conveyed to him at Regensburg along with the bodies of some of the Saint's companions. These relics were received with great honour at Magdeburg by a gathering of the entire city and of their fellow countrymen.

Saint Maurice is traditionally depicted in full armor, in Italy emblazoned with a red cross. He is often shown as a Moor, especially in the Magdeburg sculpture and other eastern German depictions. In folk culture, he has become connected with the legend of the Spear of Destiny, which he is supposed to have carried into battle. His name is engraved on the Holy Lance of Vienna, one of several relics claimed as the spear that pierced Jesus' side on the cross. Saint Maurice gives his name to the town St. Moritz as well as to numerous places called Saint-Maurice in French speaking countries. For over 500 years, a 24-hour vigil called Coptic Tasbeha has taken place in the monastery of St. Maurice in Switzerland.

Saint Maurice is also the patron saint of a Catholic parish and church in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and including part of the town of Arabi in the St. Bernard parish. The church was constructed in 1856, making it on of the oldest churches in the area. Unfortunately, the church suffered wind damage and flood damage from Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The church steeple was torn off and 5 feet of water entered the building; and the statue of St. Maurice was stolen by looters following the storm.

Although Saint Maurice and his companions faced imminent death, they held on to their beliefs. Over seventy European towns carry the name of Saint Maurice. Churches, statues, classical art masterpieces, and towns all over the world give homage to Saint Maurice and his faithful companions.

Fencing match between Chevalier Saint-Georges and Chevalier d'Éon

The Prince of Wales arranged a friendly fencing demonstration in London between Saint-Georges, who was 42, and a 59-year-old French woman, La chevalière d'Éon. Saint-Georges had broken an Achilles tendon at age 40, and was not as nimble as before. He could still parry and counterattack effectively. Gabriel Banat writes that on April 9, 1787 Saint-Georges was hit once by his opponent but still won the match. Pierre Bardin explains that La Chevalière hit Saint-Georges with what he calls a “coup de temps” which might be translated into English as a “time hit” or “counter time”. This action involves hitting one’s opponent on the preparation of his attack, thus reaching the target first. The chevalière was actually Charles d'Éon de Beaumont, a diplomat who dressed as a woman for many years to help him spy on foreign countries for the King of France. D'Éon was a multitalented man of letters, law, diplomacy and the military but had fallen out of favor with the royal court. He practiced fencing daily, in fear of his life.