[C1920] Big Bad

[CoyoteGestalt]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

(snip)...

I'm placing him in West Virginia, in the Appalachians, where there supposedly are isolated valleys, clannish people and white-capped mountains....(snip)

Any major anachronisms or improbabilities?

Not a very relevant one, but: West Virginia is actually pretty short on white-capped mountains. A few have bare, craggy tops, but most are forested all the way up, and none are tall enough for year-round snow (though they do stay snowy longer into the spring than the lowlands do).

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

There is no American reluctance to eat horsemeat in the 18th century, that's a recent post WWII fetish, possibly related to the "Mr. Ed" tv show.

On the other hand, there were plenty of mutinies during the Revolution, so if you reduce down the number of personnel in the unit, to reflect what an unpopular Lieutenant Colonel would lead, say 80-120 people or so, then say that he killed a 30-40 mutineers who just wanted to go home, then when the food ran out he killed another 30-40 mutineers who refused to eat the first batch, and you get both your survivors and live horses.

Thank you. Yes, the Continental Army was apparently a fractious bunch. Patton would not approve:

Now, an army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap. The bilious bastards who wrote that stuff about individuality for the Saturday Evening Post don't know anything more about real battle than they do about fornicating.

How would the Powers-That-Be react to torture? Of mutineers or of enemies?

[Nereidalbel]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

How would the Powers-That-Be react to torture? Of mutineers or of enemies?

This depends entirely on the methods used.

[Anders]

Crucifixion. Decimation. Flogging. Branding. Chopping bits off.

[Nereidalbel]

Crucifixion would be very, very rare, as well as being a waste of good materials.
Decimation would also be long gone (unless it was only done to the mutineers).
They wouldn't even bat an eye at flogging.
Branding is iffy.
Chopping bits off, you could probably get away with, depending on what you cut off.

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Crucifixion. Decimation. Flogging. Branding. Chopping bits off.

Crucifixion was never an approved method of execution, and hanging went out of favor around WWI, so only a few states still execute by hanging.

Decimation is a method of controlling large groups, killing 1 in 10 directly would be considered barbaric, but choosing 1 in 10 for a risky venture, or even to be eaten in a no other option situation might be accepted.

Flogging wasn't considered excessive until post Civil War, water torture until WWI.

Branding was stopped as a punishment for freemen in the early 19th century, the last recorded one being 1844 with an SS for slave stealing, though slaves were still commonly branded until slavery was outlawed, and people these days do it like tattoos.

Amputation/Chopping bits off was never a thing*, other than ears, and like branding the cropping of ears was stopped as a punishment for freemen in the early 19th century, though slaves would still get cropped ears for failed escape attempts.

*Not counting scalping.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Ze'Manel Cunha

On the other hand, there were plenty of mutinies during the Revolution, so if you reduce down the number of personnel in the unit, to reflect what an unpopular Lieutenant Colonel would lead, say 80-120 people or so, then say that he killed a 30-40 mutineers who just wanted to go home, then when the food ran out he killed another 30-40 mutineers who refused to eat the first batch, and you get both your survivors and live horses.

I'll think I'll go with this then. Thank you everyone. Updates will follow, but today has been a bad day. Will return tomorrow.

[Anders]

Background

The Man (1721-1779)
Luke Terrence Jackson was born the seventh son of William Terrence Jackson and Matilda Amanda Jackson in modern West Virginia on 5th August 1731. It soon became apparent that the young boy had a good head on his shoulders and in 1752 he traveled to William and Mary to study law. Although he was indeed intelligent he was an indifferent student at best and when the French-Indian war broke out he left college to defend his home state.
He served under Braddock in the disastrous expedition against fort Duquesne in 1755 and was commended for bravery during the retreat. In the following years he was promoted to Captain and was present at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga.
After the war was over, Luke returned to William and Mary and got his law degree. He was a devoted Patriot and spent a lot of time arguing against the tyranny of Parliament and, later, the King. Returning to Richmond as a lawyer, his business thrived and he soon became quite wealthy. He married Audrey Martha Richardson and settled down in Richmond.
When the Revolutionary War broke out, he was quick to enlist and was made a Major. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1777. Late in 1778 he led 60 men on operations against the Indians on other other side of the Ohio river when the weather suddenly became catastrophic. Supplies ran out, and he soon faced mutiny for his refusal to let the soldiers eat the horses, which he deemed crucial to the mission.
He calmed the men down and sent them to sleep, but it was a sham. That night, he lead three men he could trust on a rampage and murdered all the thirteen mutineers. The next day his announcement that “meat was back on the menu” – and the realization where this meat came from – led to the remaining men mutinying and heading for home.
While his superior officers at HQ agreed that mutiny was to be punished by death, there was no way they could agree to the callous way Luke had done it. After all, the right to a fair trial was one of the fundamental tenets of the Revolution. Luke was sentenced to death by the sword, and his three companions (Lt. Strom and Privates Mason and van Noorstrant) were unceremoniously hanged. Three days later there were four mysteriously empty graves in Richmond...

Does it look better? I glaned through the 1776 Articles of War. Although it doesn't mention this case explicitly, I assume that the butchery of sleeping men without a trial would be considered beyond the pale. He had the resources available to keep them alive for a court-martial - this was more an act of rage because he was thwarted than anything else.

ETA: Fixed a typo

[Ze'Manel Cunha]

Originally Posted by Asta Kask

Does it look better?

Looks reasonable, you just have one typo where you forgot to sub out Harvard for William and Mary in the 2nd paragraph.

[Anders]

So... now I need a large settlement in the US for the vampire to live for a while. He loves warfare, so he'll be getting out again in 1812, but what are the major settlements? New York, Boston (famous for its parties), what else?