On the first page of Conflict of Command‚ George Rable posits‚ “People have largely made up their mind about George McClellan—and not in the general’s favor; nor do they seem amenable to rethinking their position.” He then spends 336 pages essentially proving the point. Uninterested in “refighting the military campaigns‚” he instead sets out to examine the relationship between Lincoln and his ill-starred general. The two men‚ both ambitious‚ shared a deep commitment to the Union’s preservation and possessed different‚ but potentially complementary abilities. An adept politician‚ Lincoln lacked the military know-how of McClellan‚ who contrariwise proved to be consistently obtuse politically. Although the two men met 57 times over a six-month period early in the war‚ their potential for an advantageous partnership went unrealized. On one hand‚ that failure rested on fundamental strategic disagreements. McClellan advocated one big‚ meticulously planned campaign to win the war with overwhelming force—hence his Peninsula Campaign of 1862. He opposed emancipation and confiscation‚ and proved unwilling to spend the number of lives ultimately paid for Union success. Lincoln‚ pressured by the Radicals for quick military successes‚ was ever-conscious of the political costs of a general he and many others came to see as far too cautious and secretive. But the two men‚ wary and reticent with one another‚ also failed to connect on a personal level. The well-born McClellan’s frequent excoriations of Lincoln as an uneducated rube in his letters to his wife reveal a deep disdain for his commander-in-chief‚ as did his frequent refusal to share his military thinking. Lincoln‚ for his part‚ was often indecisive‚ especially early in the war‚ and nettled the general with his often-unannounced visits to discuss strategy. But McClellan did some things well. Adept at organizing the Army of the Potomac‚ he endeared himself to his troops by displaying genuine concern for their well-being. He also insisted on humane treatment for civilians entrapped by the war. Furthermore‚ Rable notes‚ whatever his shortcomings‚ “The replacements for McClellan as both general in chief and commander of the Army of the Potomac proved less than satisfactory.” The general’s greatest moment may have been the manner in which he accepted Lincoln’s decision in November 1862 to replace him with a reluctant Ambrose Burnside. Rather than accede to credible talk among his junior officers of marching on Washington to force his restoration to command‚ McClellan quashed such plans and withdrew‚ amid considerable fanfare‚ never again to lead Union troops. Perhaps one of his contemporaries best understood why a man of such promise came to be seen as a failure. “The critics of McClellan do not consider this vast and cruel responsibility‚” observed former President Ulysses S. Grant in 1878. “McClellan was a young man when this devolved upon him‚ and if he did not succeed‚ it was because the conditions of success were so trying. If McClellan had gone into the war as Sherman‚ Thomas‚ or Meade‚ had fought his way along and up‚ I have no reason to suppose that he would not have won as high a distinction as any of us.” Conflict of Command George McClellan‚ Abraham Lincoln‚ and the Politics of War By George C. Rable‚ LSU Press‚ 2023 get it on amazon If you buy something through our site‚ we might earn a commission.

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A hollowed-out bone containing hundreds of black henbane seeds has been discovered in a Roman settlement in the Netherlands‚ indicating that the poisonous plant was used intentionally by citizens of the ancient empire. Known for its maddening effects‚ the species is mentioned in classical sources as both a poison and a medicine‚ so it’s unclear exactly what these seeds were used for.A member of the nightshade family‚ henbane is described by Roman author and botanist Pliny the Elder as a dangerous plant that causes insanity but which may also have therapeutic properties. For instance‚ in his famous text Naturalis Historia‚ Pliny writes that henbane seeds infused in asses’ milk and mead might help to treat flatulence‚ while other parts of the plant can be used to alleviate everything from toothache to pains of the womb.However‚ because the plant occurs naturally around cultivated fields‚ the presence of henbane in archaeological sites can’t easily be interpreted as evidence for deliberate use. Until now‚ the only clear examples of henbane utilization came from two medieval hospitals in Scotland and Finland‚ and a Viking-era grave in Denmark belonging to a woman who is thought to have been a type of sorcerer known as a vølva.In the latter case‚ black henbane seeds were found next to a metal wand alongside the seeress’ remains‚ suggesting that the plant was used for hallucinatory purposes. Medieval texts also mention henbane as an ingredient in witches’ potions due to its delusory properties.In the Roman world‚ though‚ no conclusive evidence for the use of henbane had ever been identified prior to the discovery of the hollowed bone. Unearthed in 2017 at the ancient settlement of Houten-Castellum‚ the bone – which belonged to a sheep or goat – has been dated to between 70 and 100 CE.The bone cylinder and plug (A) and henbane seeds (B).Image credit: BIAX Consult / Groot et al.‚ Antiquity‚ 2017Containing around 1‚000 black henbane seeds‚ the bone was plugged at one end with birch pitch‚ suggesting that it was purposefully crafted as a receptacle for the seeds. “The find is unique and provides unmistakable proof for the intentional use of black henbane seeds in the Roman Netherlands”‚ said archaeologist Dr Maaike Groot from Freie Universität Berlin in a statement seen by IFLScience.The author of a new study about the discovery‚ Groot told IFLScience that it’s unclear if the seeds were employed as a medicine or a poison‚ “but because we have classical sources describing the medicinal use of henbane‚ that's probably more likely.”“I think it was probably used as some kind of medicine‚ but we can't really say what for‚” she said.Groot also notes the significance of finding henbane seeds “on the edge of the empire”‚ far from the Roman heartland where the likes of Pliny would have lived. “What's exciting is that we're here in an Indigenous settlement of normal farmers who were tied into this Roman world‚” she remarked.More specifically‚ the settlement of Houten-Castellum was occupied by a Germanic tribe known as the Batavians‚ who were close military allies of the Romans. “The Batavians had to supply troops instead of paying normal taxes‚ so every family would have had someone serving in the Roman army‚” explained Groot.“Very often these people would come back after 25 years traveling around the empire‚ and they’d bring back all this knowledge. So even though [Houten-Castellum] is in the back of beyond‚ there are still ties to the Roman world.”Whether or not the medicinal use of henbane was introduced to the Netherlands by a returning Batavian soldier is something that‚ at this stage‚ we can only speculate about.The study is published in the journal Antiquity.

Four underwater mountains have been discovered in the Pacific‚ one of which towers for 2‚681 meters (8‚796 feet) – that’s over three times the height of the Burj Khalifa‚ the world’s tallest skyscraper. The collection of seamounts was identified last month by Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too) while making a voyage between Golfito in Costa Rica and Valparaiso in Chile. The four seamounts range in size from approximately 1‚591 meters (5‚220 feet) to 2‚681 meters (8‚796 feet). This revelation builds on a discovery made by the same crew last year. In November 2023‚ the Falkor (too) research vessel stumbled across an underwater mountain that was twice the height of the Burj Khalifa at 1‚600 meters (5‚259 feet) in international waters off Guatemala.The largest of the four seamounts recently discovered by Schmidt Ocean Institute experts is 2‚681 meters (8‚796 feet) tall.Image credit: Schmidt Ocean InstituteThe seamounts were located by measuring gravity anomalies within the sea. Structures on the seafloor have a very slight impact on the sea surface: a vast underwater trench will cause a minor dip in the sea surface‚ while a mountain of significant stature will cause the water surface to bulge."We were fortunate enough to be able to plan an opportunistic mapping route using these gravity anomalies in satellite altimetry data‚” John Fulmer‚ a marine technician and a hydrographic expert at Schmidt Ocean Institute‚ said in a statement sent to IFLScience.“Examining gravity anomalies is a fancy way of saying we looked for bumps on a map‚ and when we did‚ we located these very large seamounts while staying on schedule for our first science expedition in Chile at the start of this year‚” said Fulmer.A seamount is an underwater mountain with steep sides that are typically the remnants of extinct volcanoes. These fascinating features often become hives of biodiversity since they provide wildlife with a solid surface to live upon‚ supplying them with food and nutrients.“Locating seamounts almost always leads us to understudied biodiversity hotspots‚” explains Dr Jyotika Virmani‚ executive director of Schmidt Ocean Institute. “Every time we find these bustling seafloor communities‚ we make incredible new discoveries and advance our knowledge of life on Earth‚” Virmani added.The Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too) sailing the high seas.Image credit: Schmidt Ocean InstituteSeamounts can be vast in size. Technically‚ the highest mountain on Earth is a partially submerged seamount: Hawai'i's Mauna Kea‚ a dormant volcano that is more than 10‚210 meters (33‚500 feet) tall. By comparison‚ Mount Everest is just 8‚849 meters (29‚032 feet) tall.The new seamount discovery is a small part of a much bigger project to map the whole world’s seafloor. Since 2013‚ Schmidt Ocean Institute has mapped over 1.44 million square kilometers (around 500‚000 square miles) of the seafloor‚ creating a map of almost 25 percent of the seafloor at a 100-meter (328-foot) or higher resolution. By the end of this decade‚ they hope to have mapped the totality of the seafloor‚ all 360 million square kilometers (139 million square miles) of it.“These incredible discoveries by Schmidt Ocean Institute underscore the importance of a complete map of the seabed in our quest for understanding Earth’s final frontier‚” continued Jamie McMichael-Phillips‚ project director of Seabed 2030. “With 75 percent of the ocean still to be mapped‚ there is much to be uncovered. Ocean mapping is crucial to our understanding of the planet and‚ in turn‚ our ability to ensure its protection and sustainable management‚” he said.

The Earth is spinning at around 1‚000 miles per hour (1‚600 kilometers per hour). So why do you‚ on Earth‚ not feel like you are hurtling along at these incredible velocities?When you get on a roundabout and it spins‚ you feel like you are being pushed outwards. This is the (not real) centrifugal force. There is no external force pushing you off the play equipment – what you are actually feeling is the result of your own inertia‚ or the tendency for objects in motion to remain in motion in a straight line at the same velocity unless another force acts upon it. You might extrapolate from that that you must experience the same feeling of being pushed outward as the Earth spins‚ and you'd be correct. In fact‚ the planet bulges at the equator because of it‚ and as a result‚ you weigh less at the equator because you are further away from the bulk of the Earth's mass. Forces that change the shape of the Earth also affect you‚ standing on said Earth. You are affected by it‚ but it is overwhelmed by gravity."The acceleration of gravity is about 9.8 m/s^2 on the Earth's surface‚ and the reduction of that due to the rotation of the Earth at the equator‚ where things are moving the fastest‚ is about 0.03 m/s^2‚" professor of physics and optical science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte‚ Greg Gbur‚ explained to Live Science‚ "which is measurable but really tiny compared to what we feel from gravity itself‚ so we don't notice it."Relative motion is the only motion you have to worry about (thank Einstein)‚ which leads us to the air. Think about how‚ in a car‚ the air feels stationary – but if you were to stick your head out the window like a dog‚ you would feel the air slamming against your face and making your ears/hair/loose skin flap. As the Earth spins it drags our atmosphere along with it‚ so we aren't battered constantly by incredibly high winds every moment of our waking lives.The Earth's motion is relatively smooth‚ though it is slowed and sped up by various factors‚ including earthquakes. If it were more jerky‚ you would feel the acceleration and deceleration‚ but you do not feel constant velocity. Which is good‚ because the planet orbits the Sun at 107‚000 kilometers per hour (66‚500 miles per hour)‚ and the Sun hurtles through the galaxy at 828‚000 kilometers per hour (514‚500 miles per hour)‚ which are much faster than‚ for example‚ your car. If the Earth were to suddenly stop‚ however‚ you would feel forces aplenty.[H/T: Live Science]All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.