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Redcoat History - Research Historian & Script Writer Projects List

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In May 2024, I was approached by Chris Parkinson of Redcoat History with an offer to collaborate as a Research Historian and Script Writer. This is not in any way replacing my book writing. Rather, it is another chance to broaden my horizons as a lover of history. Chris releases new videos every week. I am but one of several contributors. Currently, the channel has around 85,800 subscribers, and is steadily growing. This blog post compiles every project I research and co-write for the channel, so please do check back for updates! Watch via the YouTube links below, and feel free to share a comment with your thoughts. Also, if there are topics you would like to see us cover, please let us know. 13 Sept 2024 The Forlorn Hope - The Most Dangerous Job in History The Forlorn Hope. Brave lads who volunteered for near-suicidal missions, such as first into the breach of a siege. Their name is  mainly synonymous with the Napoleonic Wars. But what is the history of the Forlorn Hope? Who were the
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The Artorian Dynasty Ventures into Mesopotamia

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It's hard to believe I'm already reaching the tail end of Emperor Trajan's reign (98 - 117 A.D.). Soldier of Rome: The Road to Mesopotamia (Book Nine of the Artorian Dynasty) released on 21 June 2024. Beginning five years after the end of Soldier of Rome: Traiana Victrix , it follows the opening stages of Trajan's invasion of Armenia and War with Parthia: During the five decades since the Treaty of Rhandeia ended the War of Armenian Succession, an uneasy peace has existed between the Roman and Parthian Empires. The treaty’s terms dictated the King of Armenia must come from Parthia’s ruling Arsacid Dynasty but can only be lawfully crowned by the Emperor of Rome. Following the passing of King Sanatruk in 110 A.D., King Osroes of Parthia appoints a new Armenian sovereign with neither consultation nor consent of Emperor Trajan. Three years later, he forcibly removes the king and installs another, again without the knowledge or permission from Rome. Trajan sees this grievou
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Soldiers Who Should Have Received the Victoria Cross

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"The Victoria Cross was created for valour and extreme courage, beyond that normally expected of a British soldier in face of the enemy…"  - Richard Burton, at the end of the film, Zulu.   Twenty-four Victoria Crosses were awarded during the Anglo-Zulu War. But what constituted valour and extreme courage beyond that normally expected of a British soldier? General Sir Garnet Wolseley, who replaced Lord Chelmsford at the end of the war, was an outspoken critic of many Zulu War VCs. He spoke harshly about the eleven awarded to the defenders of Rorke’s Drift, who he described as, "Rats trapped in a hole."  Wolseley expressed the VC should be awarded to those who risked their lives in the saving of others. But what of those who did perform acts of extreme bravery, who met the 'Wolseley standard,' yet were denied? Four worth considering are Captain Charles Shervinton of the Natal Native Contingent, Sergeant Major Simeon Khambula of the Edendale Horse, Sergeant
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New Book Release - Soldier of Rome: Traiana Victrix

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   #booksandbiceps  My thirty-second book,  Soldier of Rome: Traiana Victrix  (Book 8 of the Artorian Dynasty), has been released! It is available on Kindle, paperback, and most eBook readers. It has already reached  #1 in Ancient Military History on Amazon . *** After decades of strife and a pair of bloodily savage wars, the Kingdom of Dacia is no more. With King Decebalus dead, and the surviving members of the royal family in captivity, an uneasy peace descends upon the new Roman Province of Dacia. The senate and people of Rome eagerly expect the return of the victorious Emperor Trajan. With equal eagerness, the people await the legendary great Dacian treasury, said to equal hundreds of tons in gold and silver, making its way to Rome. Like Vespasian before him, Trajan’s intent is twofold: to use the newly-won hoard for the benefit of all Romans, while leaving monuments that will echo across the ages. For Tiberius Artorius Castus, his nine-year tenure with the emperor’s Imperial Horse
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The Average Combat Soldier's Age - An Uncomfortable Truth

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Wars are fought by kids. We'll let that sink in for a moment. In every recorded conflict, at least from the Napoleonic Wars, when detailed records of armies began being kept en masse, to today, soldiers serving in combat have averaged around twenty-two years of age. Our brains are not fully mature until we reach twenty-five, yet nations send their young off to war, with many still in their late teens. This is an uncomfortable truth society still struggles with, and in many ways has remained oblivious to for decades, due in no small part to the film industry.  Thanks to war films, mostly from the 1950s and 60s, there has been an ongoing misconception about the age of soldiers in war. Watch any war flick prior to 2001's Black Hawk Down , and every soldier, even the low-ranking privates, are depicted as mature men in their thirties and even forties. Occasionally, you would see a young "newbie" in his late teens to early twenties, but these were always the exception. In r
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Queen Cleopatra Selene - Antony and Cleopatra's Forgotten Daughter

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Bust and artistic recreation of Cleopatra Selene II This post takes a much deeper look into what turned out to be a rather popular thread on my official Legionary Books Facebook Page . The story of Cleopatra's oft-forgotten daughter, Cleopatra Selene II, and their family can best be described as "complicated." First off, in light of that atrocious Netflix series claiming to be a documentary, let's sort out the whole racial elephant in the room and get that out of the way. I don't care what Jada Pinkett Smith says, Cleopatra was not black. Nor was she white. She looked nothing like Adele James or Elizabeth Taylor. Heck, she wasn't even Egyptian! The Ptolemies ruled Egypt, but were ethnically Alexandrian Greek and Macedonian. And because they were obsessed with keeping their bloodlines "pure," they were notoriously inbred. And we're not even talking cousins. Cleopatra's first two husbands were also her brothers! Given the attention-to-detail an
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