The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1914-12-19


Teuton, the hosts of the Chm
merii, the legions of Rome and
all others who have battled
about the walls of "Namur
the Strong" thrill at the familiar
tread Of marching men. the sound OF
trumpets and the shouting above
them?
One wonders.
Namur was the strongest place in
all Transalpine Gaul when stormed by
Caesar in 81 B. c., writes E. e.
Bowles. He tells us that 1t was the
capital of the Aduatuci In Gallia Bel
gica, and after that day he "overcame
the Nervii," the inhabitants abandoned
Ill other strongholds and centered on
that place for last stand.
Who first fortified that precipitous
hill at the confluence of the Sambre
and the Mouse is not known definite
~. but, back Of the Caesars. the his
tory Of western Europe Is lacking in
details. We know, however, that as
early as 700 B. c. the Bolg. or Belg, q
tribe of the Cimmerii, from over near
The Black sea, began migrating into
western Europe and locating in that
country we know now as Belgium.
Caesar says that the town we know
as Namur was the strongest place In
all Gallia Belgica; hence. it was prob
ably that tribe OF Belg that fortified 1t
several hundred years before Caesar
Fought For Many Times.
Saxon, Norseman, Briton, Roman,
Frank, Burgundian. have died by hun
dreds and thousands within bowshot
Of its walls. Down the ages wars have
rolled about the foot Of that hill, and.
compared with its sieges, it has been
taken only few times. Caesar took
1t nearly two thousand years ago after
several Of his legions had been
crushed by the charging Belgians.
The dukes Of Burgundy were obliged
TO discipline its inhabitants several
times between 145O and 1900; 1t suf-
fered during the civil wars in France
along about 1850. Don John of Aus
tria died in his camp before it in 1873.
Louis XIV Of France sat down before
1t with an army Of $4,000 men In 1892.
A correspondent wrote at the time:
"The place was taken after a few
days resistance. parley having been
beat by the drummer who never dis
covered (told) who ordered him to do
60 Tho Erorrh ctror ~ orod &C. 60
itications, but the place was captured
by the Dutch and English under Will
liam of Orange in 1895, after.a desper-
ate siege. Marshal Boufflers, the
French commandant, was permitted to
march out with the honors of war,
drums beating and flags flying. He
rode at the head Of 1890 men, all
that was left of the garrison Of $4,000.
Namur was again taken by the
French In 1901. but was restored to
Austria, but in 1746 the French cap
tured It again after q continuous bonn
bardment OF seven days and nights
At that time 1t had q garrison Of
1000 Austrians, many of whom were
killed by the blowing up Of two pow
der magazines. In 1884 Joseph II OF
Austria destroyed the ancient fortifi-
cations. In 1892 the French took It
again. evacuated 1t In 1898. retook It
in 1874, again fortified 1t and held it
until after Waterloo. when It was de-
livered to the allies. It was again forti-
fed In 1917, under the inspection OF
the duke Of Wellington, but In 1866
the Notifications were RACED. Since
that time Belgium has constructed
modern forts.
The original Notifications consisted
Of glacis, counterscarp, q deep ditch
across the base of the triangle Of land
formed by the two rivers, and double
walls Of great thickness. In addi- |
ton, there were outworks, ravelins.
etc. The citadel or cas-
tie was on the summit Of the hill, an
strong fortress. protected by
double walls with bastions. These
the fortifications at q time