Since 1992
Print and digital marketing
By Barbara McAllister
Word of the Day: Balaclava
It’s the time of year to haul out your balaclavas, the knitted head gear designed to keep the face warm. They’re the favorite of skiers, the military, bank robbers, SWAT teams and terrorists alike. They were originally made for British troops during the Crimean War and named after Balaclava, a town in Crimea. When Britain and France declared war against Russia in 1854, they figured to swiftly destroy Russian naval power in the Black Sea and take the port city of Sevastopol near Balaclava. Instead, it turned into a bloody, disorganized 11-month siege. Among other issues, British troops were not prepared for bitter Russian winters. Hence, the balaclava.
The Crimean war gave the world much more than a hat style, though. It was the first instance of civilian in-person war reporting and photography. It inspired Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “Charge of the Light Brigade” and it brought fame to Florence Nightingale for her heroic bravery caring for casualties. It may have even given the United States the opportunity to acquire its largest state.
When the war was officially ended in 1856 by the Treaty of Paris, a defeated Russian government was in desperate need of money to offset crushing war debts. Since the United States had been friendly with Russia during the war, it became a practical candidate to buy some of its territories. Russia didn’t want Alaska to go to Great Britain or another country in a future war. The purchase was delayed by the American Civil War, but in 1867, Secretary of State William Seward made the deal to buy Alaska for $7.2 million, or about .02 cents an acre. It was an unpopular decision at the time, referred to as “Seward’s Folly,” until the Klondike Gold Strike in 1896. In 1959 Alaska became the 49th state and is today considered one of the richest because of its natural resources, pristine wilderness and strategic location as a gateway to the Arctic.
