Zhovkva alias Polish Zolkiew - the town, church and castle Stanislaw Zolkiewski founded

 Salvete Omnes,

Stanislaw Zolkiewski, Polish  Crown grand hetman, inherited the sizable estates from his father, also Stanislaw.

no Zolkiew images from the 1600s, but this is Karol Auer print from 1838

During his career as a statesman and solider he augmented his wealth and holding, including founding a town of Zolkiew (by the will of Stalin and Khrushchev in today's Ukraine as Zhovkva).

Collegiate Church of St. Lawrence - the Zolkiewskis family sepulcher

 

The interior of this splendorous church also originally contained two monumental paintings - battle of Klushino 1610 by Szymon Boguszowicz, and Battle of Khotyn 1673 by Altomonte. 
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Crown Grand Hetman had this castle built

Zolkiewski's castle aka zamek

. the frieze on the Collegiate Church of Saint Lawrence contains images of horsemen, including the Polish 1600s cavalrymen 

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winged hussar

Saint George 

Saint Martin & beggar 

enjoy

Valete

Francois Xavier Aubry - Long Distance Rider on the Santa Fe Trail

 Salvete Omnes,

from the American magazine Blue Book (85n04)

comes the description bellow  of the life and deeds of Francois Xavier Aubry, French-Canadian long-distance rider.

 who left his Quebec in 1843, came to Saint Louis, Missouri (large French-Canadian community since time immemorial or La Salle founding of the town) where in the Spring of 1846 he begun his Santa Fe Trail businesses. Eventually he would crisscross  the Santa Fe Trail and other Southwestern routes during the 1846-54 period. He became known for his fast long-distance travels, like one in 1847, when he traveled 300 miles in 4 days (the total journey was 31 days long) - from Santa Fe to Independence, Missouri. In late December-early January 1848 he again traveled from Santa Fe to Independence, arriving there on January 5 - 14 days in total, making it the quickest trip on record . 
On Sept 12, 1848 he left Santa Fe on a solo ride, using a dragoon saddle  on his yellow mare 'Dolly,' and changing 6 horses of his remuda, he & his horse 'half ran, half staggered' into Independence on September 17, having traversed circa 800 miles in less than 5 days (frontier newspaper  - Santa Fe Republican- reporting - you can borrow  this book for more details- Archive World Library). 
Texas-on-Line has this article about gallant Mr Aubry.

Upon arrival in Albuquerque, Aubrey was killed in an altercation with another frontiersman,  Weightman, who used his Bowie knife to mortally wound Aubrey, whose revolver had misfired. During a jury trial Weightman was found not guilty by reason of acting in self-defense. 

Aubrey wrote diaries during his travels - his 1853 diary was published by Santa Fe Weekly Gazette in Sept 1853. Daily Missouri Republican published, posthumously,  his 1854 diary.
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Stories of Santa Fe Trail can be enjoyed from Archive World Library. 

Valete

US Light Dragoons - 1814 Hand book for cavalry by Lt. Col. William Duane

 Salvete Omnes,

the War of 1812 fought between US regular army and state militias against the Middle Ground tribal warriors confederation of Tecumseh first (Tippecanoe etc) and the the British armies and their Canadian militias. 

For the war US Congress authorized more regiments for the war, including adding a new, 2nd, cavalry regiment  of Light Dragoons in 1812.These units served the needs of their commanders, but according to researchers never as one full regiment in one place of any action during the war. 

In 1814 Congress expanded the Army numbers, but both regiments of US Light Dragoons were consolidated into one regiment. On March 3, 1815 US Congress abolished US Cavalry altogether, declaring the cavalry too expensive and not useful in fighting the hostile American Indian warriors. 
Cavalry would return, by act of Congress, in 1832, but that is another story for another day. 

 Lt. Colonel William Duane wrote regulations for the riflemen, infantry and finally for the cavalry of the US Army. Cavalry handbook was printed in Philadelphia in 1814.

We can read the Duane's Hand Book from the world library - Archive. 

enjoy

Valete

David Teniers the Younger - Guard room with saddle, pistolssuch & armor

 Salvete Omnes,

the paintings of the Flemish Teniers family artists have already graced this blog.
Today I would like to share with you this painting by David Teniers the Younger - The Interior of a Guard Room (painted between 1635-45). 

And in the foreground, on the right, we get a depiction of a Western European war saddle of this period (the Thirty Years War).

On the wall there is a pair (or a brace) of pistols in holsters, also done in red, like the saddle

war hammer /nadziak 

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another saddle from this 1643 saddle (  a black and white/sepia photo of the painting available on wiki commons )

such armor could have been worn by reiters/pistoleers/cuirassiers and Polish winged hussars

and the another version or the color photo of the same painting -

enjoy 

Valete