Historic Replicas

On behalf of the VP Debates this evening I thought that I would post a little story about war and honorable battle tactics- the birth of a Shogun.  Both Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin should take a lesson from the ancient Japanese samurai.

 The year is 1464. It is an age of iron and steel.  It is the age of the japanese sword.  On the isolated island chain of Japan, a conflict over the ascendance of its next military leader (the Seii-Taishogun) was to set into motion a chain of event that would lead to centuries of massive and brutal war. 

Asikaga Yoshimasa, the current Shogun was at the end of his days, and after a lifetime of rule and relative stability, he looked forward to retiring to a life of privilege, wealth, and peace.  However, Yoshimasa had yet to be blessed with and heir and the question remained: who would hold the power of the Shogun? 

Yoshimasa’s brother Yoshimi, though a devout Buddhist monk, seemed the only choice.  Yet one year later, Yoshimasa’s wife gave birth to a healthy son, Yoshihisa.  Without hesitation, the boy was named the next Shogun.

I just got this as a gift for my father- and he just loves it!  It is called the Cogswell Pepperbox Percussion Pistol.

  The Pepperbox, one of our more eccentric Civil War replicas, was never a standard issue weapon during the war.  Cogswell and Harrison, London’s oldest gun manufacturers, had been producing and importing these weapons to the United States since the mid-19th century.  They were popular among civilians, and many found their way onto the battlefield in the hands of volunteers.