Spiking the guns, and the attack on Bomarsund Fort 1854 

"This was going to be a short video" Classic, Lindy, classic.

Fun fact. While the brits were raiding the coast of Finland, they burned thousands of barrels of tar that were supposed to be shipped to Britain and the brits had already paid for them.

"These Russian guns still got the double-headed eagle, see this was used before Chernobyl" lmao

"I'm getting a little bit off the point here" -Lindybeige summing up his channel in a sentence. Those tangents are why we watch :P

I bet Lindy could upload a video aboat the Anglo-Zanzibar war and make it longer than the war itself

Being a long time Lindyfan from the Åland Islands, I can only state that this is a surreal experience. I knew he was about something when I thought I spotted the old chap biking around town...

This guy is incredible. He is able to talk in a mostly coherent manner, remaining engaging and thoughtful, without taking a pause, for a whole bloody hour! No referring to notes! Wow...

"is that Vik tower?" "no, its Notvik tower"

I love these nature documentaries featuring animals in their native habitat. A Lindy Beige wandering a historic fort hunting for spiked guns is as natural as this world gets.

>51 minutes Lindybeige video I mean, Christmas was a month ago, but I'm fine with this

"Helsingfors is the old Swedish name for Helsinki" It's also the *current* Swedish name for Helsinki.

This dude makes me even more excited about history, because his excitement is so contagious.

“Expanded a bit” almost an hour later... LOVE IT

"You see those things were there before Chernobyl" *Chuckles*

Lindy talks history just like I thought I could when I was getting my history degree. I think I hold the world's record on putting people to sleep in less than 60 seconds.

"How many of my videos have you watched!?" Enough to know that I have exactly enough time to make my bowl of ramen while you go on about your sponsor.

Notifications for lindybeige always make my day better

"Beat the French ! _Altough they're not the enemy this time it's the Russians_ but cmon ! Do it again !" Ah Lindy , you never change...

I really love that Lindybeige has all the details pretty precisely correct. The political profile of Åland (or Ahvenanmaa as we say it in Finland) is really complex. You got it pretty well covered. As well as other things about the odd history of Finland. I love the fact that he understands the complexity of history and understands the importance of details.

Interesting discussion about "spiking the guns". My father was a Marine cannoneer in the Vietnam war. He said that their technique for disabling the guns if they had to retreat (he never did) was to take a thermite grenade and chuck it into the muzzle end so it slide down the barrel against the (closed) breach. The thermite grenade would then go off and the molten steel running out of the grenade would weld the breech block to the back of the barrel, making it impossible to use it.

17:40 - "... neutral in the Swedish sense... " I'm probably not the only Norwegian who found that funny.

I’m always excited for a new Lindybeige upload, but this time more than usual. I’m from the Åland Islands and have been to Bomarsund several times. One thing I recall from school is that the Russians were placing more men on Åland than what they could sustain. So they solved it by “taxing” the locals, forcing them to feed a large part of the Russian troops. This created even more hate towards the Russians. Legend has it that a fed up local made contact with the British and showed them the shallow and hard-navigated route that allowed them to attack Notvikstornet from a position that surprised the Russians. One interesting note is that during the negotiations in Paris 1856 after the war, Sweden insisted on making the islands demilitarised, Russia still being a real threat. Russia protested but it was ruled that the islands must not be fortified again. Although during wartime this has not mattered much. During WW1, Russia placed naval artillery on the islands (with the approval of France and Britain). With the Soviet aggressions of the Winter war and Continuation war, some Finnish troops were placed and parts of the archipelago were mined. But since then there has been no military activity on Åland. Åland is demilitarised to this day, and young men are exempted from the Finnish mandatory military service. And thanks for all of your nice videos btw

Lindy, could you please do a video on the role of music on the battlefield? It's inception, evolution, and eventual, I suppose, practical demise? I see a lot of popular films depicting drums and bagpipes on the battlefield for the British in the 19th century for example, but it's quite hard to get a grip of how exactly this worked or came about. What about other nations or cultures aside from the British? Can't think of anyone better than you to give a good chinwag on this.

This guy reminds me of my old chemistry teacher, mad as a march hare. Man that guy loved blowing things up 😂

I suspect the reason the dates are different is because Russia was using a different calender at the time.

I hope one day you've accumulated so much unused video material that you can go six levels deep, inception style. "so I've heard about this thing, let 6 months in the past me explain - yes but to begin here's me from two years ago talking about it - right, so 1 year ago...."

I've often wondered whether the account of Michel Ney furiously striking at a cannon with his sword towards the end of the battle of Waterloo may have actually been a mistaken instance of him actually attempting to spike a cannon.

Fun fact jsut up your alley - During the Battle of Waterloo when the British Heavy cavalry first charged the French coloumn forming into a line, they famously continued on across the valley and momentarily routed a very large proportion French artillerymen. Apparently none of the troopers carried any hammers or nails because, allegedly, orders were shouted to spike the guns but none could be spiked. This happened in the brief space of time after the guns were overrun and the French Lancers counter attacked. Had the Heavies had hammers and nails with them, the further progress of the battle would have been vastly different since Napoleon for the first time would no longer have artillery superiority.

You should talk about the Falklands with the Harrier operations. That would be interesting. Very interesting. And very British.

Lindybeige, long videos are far better than short ones.

I'll say it again and again, your ability to tell stories is just marvelous. Thank you!

I’m always impressed how he learns the material so he can then relate it back for the camera often in one stream of consciousness, including “Oh, I almost forgot!” moments. Those often add to the interest due to his enthusiasm for telling the story. And kudos for doing due diligence in the realm of finding and reconciling all possible accounts and points of view on the events.

Newspapers being fictitious? Why I never.

As somebody who spent nearly every summer of his childhood on the Islands near Bomarsund i loved to hear about it in one of your videos. Greetings from Germany. Keep up your fantastic work!

I love that enemy commanders basically wrote each other references. Gentlemanly warfare at its best

As a person from Åland this video makes me very happy.

There's a rather merry finnish song about this "War of Åland" ("Oolannin sota"), the original lyrics having been written by one of the finnish defenders of Bomarsund taken to Britain as prisoner. The original lyrics were in fact a bit less merry as a whole than what the song eventually evolved into over time. You can find the song by the name "Oolannin Sota", but you won't find a version with the original lesser known lyrics, which would instead be called "Ålandin sota laulu". The original lyrics are written in this noticably older rather funny sounding finnish, but roughly translated the story the lyrics tell goes something like this: "A handful of sons of Finland were taken to the Åland fortress and enemies arrived. When the boys left to war to meet the enemy and defend fatherland. For the first time in june began the harsh war, about which I wish to write. With two hundred ships came to the Åland fortress the french and the englishman. Mountains and valleys echoed as sons of Finland fired and met the enemy. The french and the englishman begun firing at the stone walls and storming into the fort. Then an order was hastely given and the stone walls were sorely shot at and lots of enemies killed. Oh misery oh horror the death of the enemy as the sons of Finland killed. But what other could the boys do as the french and the englishman stormed in with thousands. Then the boys got really angry as the white flag was raised and the gates opened for the enemy. The boys were frustrated and angrily threw their weapons to the ground. Sixteenth day of august, the englishman took prisoners and took them away by ship. Then the boys were taken away to captivity in England, into the city of Lewes. There the boys were held in captivity for a year and eight months by the king of England. Then an order came from the emperor to release the boys from captivity and allow them to go back to their fatherland. Then the boys cheered and chanted as they left the city of Lewes and stepped into the chariots of fire. And the boys sang as they left that the English land here is wonderful, but more wonderful is our fatherland."

so you don´t put some hard liqure in the cannon. a bit like spiking the punch. So the that It will take hours before the cannon sober up and can hit anything. but your first idéa sounds fun too.

Some of the Finnish soldiers (at the time: Russian soldiers) who were taken prisoner in this battle wrote a song, "Oolannin sota" (Finnish for "The war of Åland"), while they were serving their 2 year POW sentence in England. The song is still sung to this day and pretty much every Finnish person alive knows it. The original version recounted the events of the battle in great detail, although in the early 1900s some details of the defeat which were deemed too embarrassing were removed.

Nothing better than a cup of tea while watching a 51:08 minutes long Lindybeige video about the glorious British navy! Huzzar!

..........................and breathe!...... I so admire your ability to do this, organize it in your head, remember places and dates ( for the most part) and then spew it all out seemingly in one take... ... :D

"Short video" *_51 minutes long_* Still , this video made my day.

Just had my tonsils removed and now i gotta sit around for two weeks doing nothing, your videos are a great help, also going to try listen to war and peace

I actually remember seeing the spiking of a gun in some film or miniseries about the Napoleonic Wars. Once a gun position was captured, some soldier stayed behind while the others advanced and he started methodically hammering little spikes or nails into the ignition holes, to disable the field guns from further use. I think I've heard about such a thing before that, but seeing it in a live-action work was interesting, precisely because it's so rarely shown. And IIRC, the soldier who took to that duty was a cavalryman.

0:34 Very good pronounciation of "Åland". - A Swede (not the root vegetable)

Every time I hear cyclopean masonry I start thinking H.P Lovecraft, I had a few really weird images going through my mind while you were explaining everything lol.

I really enjoy these types of videos where you accurately recount a historical battle or the life of a historical person. Please keep them coming and don't worry about the length or digressions they are lots of fun 😊

Ive been binge watching these and if i had a teacher this enthusiastic i might have stayed in school longer.

You know it's a good day when Lindybeige makes a short 50min video.

Fun fact, during the American war of independence, the captain John Paul Jones was able to take over a fort _on the British mainland_ and spike all of the cannons. The town, Whitehaven, was one of the biggest ports in the UK at the time, where Jones had begun his career, and he would've been able to seriously damage the British naval capacity if his crew hadn't gotten drunk and failed to burn all the ships in the harbor. The town has a statue of him now.

Mr. LindyHoppenBeigenHosen, I’ve been a subscriber since before 50k, Your content and presentation haven’t changed one bit. Fairly close to a million now, looks like you got it right from the start. You have a way with words and timing. The White Headhunter video is my absolute favorite. Thank you , sir.

Gosh I do so enjoy the rambling. It all comes together in the end nicely.

Im wierdly excited that you have actually been to my home island! Hope you enjoyed it!

So the hammer is too small but youre fine with the idea of using a musket stock :l

I've watched this video in full twice, and I just realized the joke at 5:03 about the Russian double headed eagle being a mutant from Chernobyl. Good one Lindy.

What a great presentation! I love the sudden recall moments where he remembers another detail. Very entertaining and informative.

Yes finally another video of Lindybeige rambling 51min long. The longer videos are so much better than the short ones. Keep up the good work!

There’s a really good lecture by the naval historian professor Andrew Lambert of Kings Collage London on this topic called “the other Crimean war” - you can find it it on RU-vid

Love Ur work Lindbeige - haven't seen any new videos from you for a while - hope your still making them because they are wonderful- great stuff - never disappointed with any of your videos- they're all informative and interesting and entertaining- an important trilogy- well done for all your work - great stuff

An excellent analysis of how and why the fort fell, very well presented as always.

Wow, fake news has been common right from the start? Has there never been honest journalism?

Once again Lloyd you have turned what would have been a dreadfully dull topic had any other RU-vidr covered it and made it 100% more interesting! All teachers should look to you to see how one can make learning fun and enjoyable!

I had the opposite reaction learning about spiking cannons. I had never heard the phrase, and the first time I learned of it was in the film Alatriste. It was during the opening scene where a small group of men sneak into an enemy camp at night, and my dad mentioned what they were doing since he (correctly) assumed I wouldn't know what it was.

Lindy i watched every one of your videos like this one, history psychology that last about an hour. And they are the best ever i hope you make more because nowadays i dont see many of these kinds of videos from you... These are the BEST!

"Ah, I've just remembered!...." Love that aspect of your videos :)

When she suddenly screams, " Hammer my touchhole!" you know she's a keeper.

I love these long form discussions Lindy - the more digressions the better!

Love all your sweaters! You clearly like history and enjoy sharing it. Much appreciated, touch of humor is brilliant! Happy conisour...❤️

"Minnie the Moocher" line snuck in there.... nice.

A good talk upon an almost forgotten campaign. I have been enjoying doing some studying upon the British naval attacks upon the Grand Duchy of Finland during the Crimean War. However, I would like to point out something that needs correcting, you stated, "Charles Lucas...thus becoming a significant figure in history because he was the very first man to win the Victoria Cross...and this does also accentuate the lie that is that Victoria Cross is made by melted down cannons that were captured at the Siege of Sevastopol because the Siege of Sevastopol hasn't happened yet, this is the beginning of the Crimean War" While you are correct that Mr Lucas' actions came before the Siege of Sevastopol and thus he became the first person to win a VC by date of action, he was not the first individual to be awarded it. That honour would go to Lieutenant Henry Raby of the Royal Navy for his actions on the 18th June 1855 during the Siege of Sevastopol. This was because the VC was not established until 29th January 1856 (near the end of the Crimean War, which ended 30th March 1856). The awarding process was made retrospective to 1854 to allow it to be awarded to all those who had served during the Crimean War. The first medal presentation ceremony was held on 26th June 1857 at Hyde Park, 62 men were awarded the medal, with the order of presentation going by rank. Lucas was fourth to be given the VC by Queen Victoria. The majority VCs are produced from the Cascabels of two cannons that are held in a special vault at MoD Donnington, while these canons were captured at Sevastopol, they are Chinese in origin. But due to interesting circumstances, many of the First and Second World Wars' VCs are made from other metals. So it isn't quite a lie, it is a misunderstanding. Sources:- Symbol of Courage: The Men Behind the Medal: Max Arthur hancocks-london.com finland-at-war.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-first-victoria-cross-and-finnish.html

I always look forward to these videos. The excitement you have for these event makes it so great to listen to. I've learned so much from this channel, keep being you!

Being from Åland, I find it difficult to believe that first of all Lindybeige has been here, and second of all that I haven't found this video earlier. Fantastic work!

Wonderful pronounciation of Åland! Long time fan from the islands and, have to say, a great explanation of our political (both current and past) situation in the middle of Baltic!

Was just going to look for a couple of minutes to see if it was worth coming back to this later. 51 minutes later... Seems like I don't have to do that.

I only recently discovered Lloyd and his massif, fans, brilliantly researched explanations on many aspects, topics historical of warfare and subsequent results. Informative and numerous, his enthusiasm for his subject engages on many levels, keep on loving your motivational teachings Lloyd, it's massive fun.

This is what I'm subscribed for, love the long rants!

You are one of the few people who don't annoy me with their sponsorship addresses.

This was the first time I heard the term, and honestly one of the first and funnest sounding things that came to mind with "spiking" was to pour alcohol or something into the chamber to make it wet and keep powder from lighting until it's been properly dried out, which really isn't going to happen in the middle of a battle, maybe oil.

Hey, I'm a big fan of your channel and I'm so happy to find a video about the fort we have on the island where I'm from! And you even pronounced the name of our island correctly. Very cool. Many thanks and greetings from Åland! :D

I leanred nothing from this but i truly do enjoy your presentation when i am drunk and playing sim games. Truly, your rambling are a comfort treat

In short: accounts vary.

Me *walks in on a tour* "Infiltration successful" Tour guide: "what"

Lindy I am watching your videos instead of doing my online classwork for college. Longtime fan. Stay safe. Cheerio.

Thank you for these videos Lloyd, they truly fascinate and entertain me, my deepest gratitude.

Actually, using the American 1861 Ordance manuals terms, spiking a gun can include blowing it up and making it completely unusable, or shoving something inside the barrel. You can even make use of a temporarily spiked gun without removing the spike first. Here is the exert: Spiking and unpiking guns, and rendering them unserviceable. To spike a piece, or to render it unserviceable.-DriTe into the Tent a jagged and hardened steel spike with a soft point, or a nail without a head ; break it off flush with the outer surface and clinch the point inside by means of the rammer. Wedge a shot in the bottom of the bore by wrapping it with felt, or by means of iron wedges, using the rammer or a bar of iron to driTC them in; a wooden wedge would be easily burnt by means of a charcoal fire lighted with the aid of a bellows. Cause shells to burst in the bore of bronze guns, or fire broken shot from them with high charges. Fill a piece with sand over the charge to burst it. Fire a piece against another, muzzle to muzzle, or the muzzle of one to the chase of the other. Light a fire under the chase of a bronze gun, and strike on it with a sledge to bend it. Break off the trunnions of iron guns ; or burst them by firing them with heaTy charges and full of shot, at a high eleTatiou. When guns are to be spiked temporarily, and are likely to be retaken, a spring spike is used, haTing a shoulder to preTent its being too easily extracted. To unspike a piece.- If the spike is not screwed in or clinched, and the bore is not impeded, put in a charge of powder of J the weight of the shot, and ram junk wads oTer it with a handspike, laying on the bottom of the bore a strip of wood with a groove on the under side containing a strand of quick-match by which fire is communicated to the charge; in a bronze gun, take out some of the metal at the upper orifice of the Tent, and pour sulphuric acid into the grooTe for some hours before firing. If this method, several times repeated, is not successful, unscrew the vent-piece, if it be a bronze gun, and if an iron one, drill out the spike, or drill a new Tent. To drive out a shot wedged in the bore.-Unscrew the Tent-piece, if there be one, and drive in wedges so as to start the shot forward, then ram it back again in order to seize the wedge with a hook; or pour in powder and fire it, after replacing the Tent-piece. In the last resort, bore a hole in the bottom of the breech, drive out the shot, and stop the hole -with a screw. To use apiece which has been spiked. Insert one end of a piece of quickmatch in the cartridge, allowing the other to project out of the muzzle of the gun. Apply the fire to the quick-match, and get out of the way. When quick-match of sufiicient length is not at hand, insert one end in the cartridge, the other projecting in front of the shot, and, after ramming the cartridge home, throw -two or three pinches of powder into the bore. Place another piece of match in the muzzle, the end projecting out. The piece may be fired in this way without danger. Quick-match in the cartridge may be dispensed with by piercing three or four holes in the cartridge- bag. In this manner the gun may be fired with great rapidity.

Interesting that you mentioned Govenor's Island in New York. Just across from there at Fort Hamilton (Brooklyn) there was a fort which had been dismantled in the 1960s to make room for a building. This fort had massive granite blocks which were dovetailed together. From the front, it looked like a standard wall, but with the dovetailing, it could withstand direct fire from a cannon. At one point a large turf covered berm had Been added to reinforce the wall even further. Took forever to dismantle it; wrecking ball kept bouncing off it. Finally had to use a crane and lift the blocks, one by one, straight up. If I can find the article I had about it, I'll edit this comment and put the name of the fort (Which I can't remember) in it. And, no, it wasn't Fort Hamilton. There were a series of forts on the site.

Lindybeige is so exciteable my bladder gets 'funny', then I'm off quickly to the wazzer. When I return I've missed a few minutes I've got to 'wind back'. I know, Lindybeige gets me so excited I need to learn to calm down. This is BEFORE covid finished and I was having a beer....or two!

I am in love with this new longer documentary kinda stuff. Keep it going!

Hey its åland! Thats where i live! :D Was a couple of years ago i was by the Bomarsund ruins though, really nice seeinga video by you Lindy of the fortress we had here on our little island, thanks! :D

Its been too long since the last hour long video. I actually prefer your long winded rants even if Yotubes algorithm doesnt.

I love you Lindy. You're great, thank you.

I only just found your channel, and you remind me so much of my Modern World History teacher in college that I am glued watching - Awesome videos, keep up the great work I have a big back-catalog to work through

Always fun when you talk about a little bit more than just spiking the guns...

Keep on with the long Videos!! It can not be long enough! (I did read war and peace 😉)

51 minute video on a subject that took 4 minutes to explain. This is why we love you Lindy.

That sly "Minnie the Moocher" joke at the end ... perfect Lindy moment!

28:50 The base names of the three towers (with translations) are Prästö (Priest island), Notvik (a bay used for seine fishing) and Brännklint (a hilltop of bare rock where a fire has been kept, possibly as a signal). Similar names appear all over the Swedish speaking coast. Swedish may add -s- for genitive (not always) and -tornet for tower. Similarly Finnish adds -(i)n torni. So the local names are Prästötornet, Notvikstornet and Brännklintstornet. Finnish uses Prästön torni, Notvikin torni and Brännklintin torni (the names aren't translated - some areas have parallel names in two or more languages, such as Helsinki/Helsingfors).

lindy has a doppelganger captaining the brig at penny royal in launceston tasmania.

Once again a really, really instructive video about history. I need to dig into the Crimean war further, now. Tanks a lot & Congratulations

I just love your work. I enjoy your enthusiasm and your style. And you are really funny.