The Union Auxiliary Guards

08/08/2026

The 1827 Rifle Officer’s sword was used by the British Army’s three Rifle Regiments, the 60th King’s Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC), the 95th Rifle Brigade and the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment (RCRR). It is still used in the Rifles Regiment today.

It was used extensively by Rifle Volunteers Officers and was even imported into America during the Civil War.

Various hilts were available but all featured the crown and horn.

08/05/2026

From Archbishop James of the Orthodox American Church:

The Transfiguration August 6

2 Peter 1:10 – 19
Matthew 17: 1 - 9

Kontakion, Tone 7:

Thou wast transfigured on the mountain, O Christ our God, and Thy disciples beheld Thy glory as far as they were capable, that when they should see Thee crucified, they might know that Thy suffering was voluntary and might proclaim to the world that Thou art indeed the reflection of the Father.

The time will come when the Lord shall eventually take each of us “into a high mountain apart”. And at that moment our mind will become inflamed with the brightness of God’s Face and we, too, shall experience the Transfiguration into the “Christ Consciousness”.

08/01/2026

Atlanta Campaign, Inc. will have a table to promote "The Battle of Franklin & the Franklin Campaign" and the “Commemoration of the Battle of Pickett’s Mill” at the 48th Annual Southeastern Civil War Show located in the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, GA on August 8th and 9th, 2026. The SE Civil War Show runs Saturday, 9 AM to 5 PM and Sunday, 9 AM to 3 PM. We look forward to seeing you there!

08/01/2026

Lord Elcho in his London Scottish Rifle Volunteers uniform.

08/01/2026

Continuing on the subject of Rifle Volunteers, a Wikipedia article on Lord Elcho, Commanding Officer of the London Scottish Rifle Volunteers for 17 years, starting from its formation in 1859:

Francis Richard Charteris, 10th Earl of Wemyss and 6th Earl of March GCVO DL (pronounced weems, rhyming with seems) (4 August 1818 – 30 June 1914), styled as Lord Elcho between 1853 and 1883, was a British Whig politician. He founded the Liberty and Property Defence League.

07/25/2026

07/18/2026

Another Black Canadian Rifle Volunteers unit:

The Victoria Pioneer Rifle Corps (VPRC), also called the African Rifles, was an all-black militia unit formed in 1860 within the British Colony of British Columbia, now known as British Columbia.[1] The VPRC was formed from volunteering immigrants from California. They were one of British Columbia's...

07/13/2026

07/11/2026

As someone who struggles with partial deafness and blindness, I found the article on the Prince de Joinville very interesting:

Described as having the finest mind he ever met in the U.S. Army, France’s Prince de Joinville was a highly capable military man. He was also deaf.

07/10/2026

Black Canadians felt the call of the Rifle Volunteer movement just as white Canadians did. A Wikipedia article on the Victoria Rifles of Nova Scotia:

The Victoria Rifles was a military unit of black soldiers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that was established in 1860 in the wake of the Crimean War and on the eve of the American Civil War.[1] It was one of the oldest black units established in Canada.[2][3] On January 30, 1860, at a meeting of the Victo...