Monday, March 30, 2009

Weaponry Through Time

In my (Matt's) travels to Louisville, I had a chance to visit a museum a few blocks from my hotel that houses a good number of weapons . It consists primarily of a private collection of historical American guns. The entire museum is 100,000 square feet so there are quite a few pieces. However, a substantial portion of the exhibit is dedicated just to a collection from the British Armoury. This includes weapons from the last 1000 years. It is presented sequentially through the wars and battles that were fought and the progression of defensive (armor) and offensive (swords and guns) weapons through the 1800s. Needless to say, you had to be there, but the progression in the use of armor was quite interesting. It's also somewhat disturbing to consider the brutalities of war through the centuries. Especially, to consider that each innovation was made at the cost of many lives.

War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over. - Sherman

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