title: Peter Thomas (announcer)

text: Thomas is still best known today for the series "Forensic Files", which is broadcast in streams of episodes and has an enormous cult-following. He received scores of awards for his work but cited, as one of his best, the Oscar won by a documentary he narrated, "One Survivor Remembers". The film, produced by HBO, chronicles the personal experience of Gerda Weissmann Klein, who was interned at the Nordhausen Concentration Camp when she was a teenager; Thomas' unit participated in the liberation of Nordhausen. Klein and Thomas met during the post-production of the documentary, and again at its premiere. Thomas also participated in an HBO film on the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, in which he fought with the 1st Infantry Division. Thomas was also the narrator for a miniseries that ran on The Discovery Channel in 1993 entitled "How the West was Lost". Thomas was the narrator for the two-hour "Nova" episode entitled "D-Day's Sunken Secrets," broadcast May 28, 2014, just before the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings; in his youth, he had participated in the original D-Day landing on Omaha Beach.


title: Peter Thomas (announcer)

text: He worked at his home and, through ISDN, at recording studios throughout the United States. Also using ISDN, he continued narrating at recording studios in New York City, where he had worked for the bulk of his narration career. Before pursuing narration full-time, he was the New York anchor for CBS News. He continued to keep an apartment in midtown Manhattan for recordings that required his presence there. Thomas also recorded in many European capitals.


title: Peter Thomas (announcer)

text: He has been called by many of his peers in his industry the greatest voice in the history of American broadcasting. He may be remembered most of all as the inimitable narrator of "Forensic Files" which continues to be broadcast to a worldwide audience and has a cult following of millions.


title: Peter Thomas (announcer)

text: Thomas married his high school sweetheart, Stella (née Barrineau) Thomas, on June 29, 1946; she died on June 16, 2014. The couple raised three children (Peter Jr., Douglas McMillan, and Elizabeth) in Greenwich, Connecticut, and in 1985, they settled in Naples, Florida. He was heavily involved in work with veterans, having served on the board of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation and in other similar roles. Having been involved in liberating Nordhausen, Thomas also was a strong supporter of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; he narrated the museum's original audio tour and documentary.


title: Peter Thomas (announcer)

text: Thomas died on April 30, 2016, at the age of 91. He was memorialized at the end of the first episode of "Forensic Files II" which aired on February 23, 2020.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The "Marchioness" disaster was a collision between two vessels on the River Thames in London in the early hours of 20 August 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people. The pleasure steamer "Marchioness" sank after being hit twice by the dredger "Bowbelle" at about 1:46 am, between Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Bridge.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: "Marchioness" had been hired for the evening for a birthday party and had about 130 people on board, four of whom were crew and bar staff. Both vessels were heading downstream, against the tide, "Bowbelle" travelling faster than the smaller vessel. Although the exact paths taken by the ships, and the precise series of events and their locations, are unknown, the subsequent inquiry considered it likely that "Bowbelle" struck "Marchioness" from the rear, causing the latter to turn to port, where she was hit again, then pushed along, turning over and being pushed under "Bowbelle"s bow. It took thirty seconds for "Marchioness" to sink; 24 bodies were found within the ship when it was raised.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: An investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) blamed a lack of lookouts, but their report was criticised by the families of the victims, as the MAIB had not interviewed anyone on "Marchioness" or "Bowbelle", but relied on police interviews. The government refused to hold an inquiry, despite pressure from the families. Douglas Henderson, the captain of "Bowbelle", was charged with failing to have an effective lookout on the vessel, but two cases against him ended with a hung jury. A private prosecution for manslaughter against four directors of South Coast Shipping Company, the owners of "Bowbelle", and corporate manslaughter against the company was dismissed because of lack of evidence.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: A formal inquiry in 2000 concluded that "The basic cause of the collision is clear. It was poor lookout on both vessels. Neither vessel saw the other in time to take action to avoid the collision." Criticism was also aimed at the owners of both ships, as well as the Department of Transport and the Port of London Authority. The collision and the subsequent reports led to increased safety measures on the Thames, and four new lifeboat stations were installed on the river.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The pleasure boat "Marchioness" was built in 1923 by the Salter Brothers of Oxford for Joseph Mears, a businessman whose interests included running pleasure launches on the River Thames. She was long and at the beam, and measured 46.19 gross tons. She spent most of her life on the Thames, including when she was requisitioned during the Second World War by the Thames Hospital Emergency Service, when she was stationed in Dagenham. Her service included being one of the little ships that aided in the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation. "Marchioness" was sold to Thames Launches in 1945, when Mears's company was wound up. She was purchased by Tidal Cruises Ltd in 1978 and the upper works were rebuilt to form an upper and lower saloon. The new upper saloon obstructed the vision from the wheelhouse, and there was, the later inquiry established, a lack of easily accessible emergency exits, particularly from the lower decks. "Marchioness" had seven life rafts—each of which could support twenty people—and seven lifebuoys—each of which could support two people. Registered in London, she was licensed to carry 165 passengers. From the early 1970s there was an increase in the number of boats for evening or night-time parties and discos, and "Marchioness" was part of this market.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: "Marchioness" carried a crew of two: her captain was Stephen Faldo; the mate was Andrew McGowan. On the night of her sinking, she also carried two members of bar staff. Faldo and McGowan had a business partnership, Top Bar Enterprises, which provided the bar staff and drink for the party. Faldo was 29 at the time of the sinking. He had begun working on the Thames at the age of 17 and had earned his full waterman's river licence in June 1984. He began work at Tidal Cruises in 1986 and became the permanent captain of "Marchioness" in 1987. He had forgotten to renew his riverman's licence in the run-up to the night of the collision, and was technically not entitled to skipper the vessel that night. A later inquiry considered the lack of licence was "a minor point because he was undoubtedly qualified to do so and could have renewed his licence by paying 50 pence". McGowan, age 21, became an apprentice to a waterman in June 1986. By February 1988 he had completed courses at the Port of London Authority for chartwork and seamanship, and obtained his apprentice licence in May 1988; he joined "Marchioness" as a crew member around the same time.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The aggregate dredger "Bowbelle" was launched in 1964 by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company of Troon, Scotland. She was long and at the beam; her deadweight tonnage was and she measured 1,474.72 gross tons. "Bowbelle" was one of six "Bow" ships owned by East Coast Aggregates Limited; they were managed by South Coast Shipping Company Limited. East Coast Aggregates Limited (ECA) was part of the larger RMC Group, a concrete products company. "Bowbelle" had a crew of nine: a master, two mates, three engineers, two able seamen and a cook. The ship's captain, Douglas Henderson, aged 31, undertook a Deep Sea apprenticeship until 1978 and joined ECA in November 1987, when he became second mate on "Bowsprite". In May 1989 he became the master of "Bowbelle".


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Vessels from ECA, including "Bowbelle", had previously been involved in accidents on the Thames. In July 1981 there was a collision between "Bowtrader" and the passenger launch "Pride of Greenwich"; three months later "Bowtrader" was involved in a collision with "Hurlingham", another pleasure cruiser owned by Tidal Cruises. "Bowbelle" collided with Cannon Street railway bridge in May 1982 and, the following month, was nearly in a collision with a passenger boat.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: At the time of the collision with "Marchioness", "Bowbelle" was carrying aggregate and was trimmed down at the stern; this, along with the dredging equipment, limited the forward vision from the bridge. On 19 August 1989 Henderson visited several public houses over a period of three and a half hours and drank six pints (3.4 L; 120 imp fl oz) of lager. He returned to the ship at 6:00 pm for food and a short sleep; one of the ship's company, Terence Blayney, who acted as the forward lookout that night, was with Henderson, and drank seven pints over the same period.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: "Marchioness" was hired for a party for the night of 19–20 August 1989. It was organised by Jonathan Phang, a photographic agent, to celebrate the 26th birthday of Antonio de Vasconcellos, who worked in a merchant bank. The pair were good friends and business partners in a photographic agency. Phang paid £695 to hire the boat from 1:00 am to 6:00 am, with extra for the hire of the disco, food and drinks. Many of those at the party were also in their twenties; some were former students and others worked in fashion, journalism, modelling and finance. The plan was for "Marchioness" to go downriver from the Embankment Pier near Charing Cross railway station to Tower Bridge, then back to Charing Cross to land some of the passengers. "Marchioness" would then travel down to Greenwich before returning again to Charing Cross, arriving back at 5:45 am.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The night of 19–20 August 1989 was a clear one; it was three days after the full moon and there was good visibility. There was a negligible wind. It was a , recorded as one of the highest of the year and the river was at half-tide at the time of the collision; it was running upriver at a rate of three knots. There are several versions of the paths taken by the vessels in the approach to Southwark Bridge and beyond, and no agreement on the point when the two ships collided. Much of the evidence gathered in later investigations was inconsistent and any descriptions of the actions of the ships are based on average speeds and likely positions.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: At 1:12 am "Bowbelle" left her berth at the Nine Elms pier near Battersea Power Station and radioed her move by VHF radio to Thames Navigation Service (TNS), based in Woolwich. She reported passing Vauxhall Bridge at 1:20 am and Waterloo Bridge at 1:35 am. In accordance with the usual procedure, TNS radioed all river traffic at 1:15 am and 1:45 am, advising them of "Bowbelle"s downstream passage. "Bowbelle"s average speed was about over the ground.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: "Marchioness" was supposed to leave Embankment Pier at 1:00 am, but was delayed until 1:25 am. No count was made of the number of passengers, but the accepted number on board is either 130 or 131. Faldo was in the wheelhouse, where he stayed until the collision. Heading downriver, just before Blackfriars Bridge, "Marchioness" passed her sister pleasure cruiser "Hurlingham"—which was also hosting a disco that night, and was also heading in the same direction. "Marchioness"s average speed was about over the ground. She passed through the central arch of Blackfriars Bridge; at this point she was about in front of "Bowbelle". At some point after Blackfriars Bridge, "Bowbelle" overtook "Hurlingham" and steered for the central arch of Southwark Bridge. "Marchioness" also went through the central arch, but probably towards the southern side.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: When "Bowbelle" was within of "Marchioness", the smaller vessel was affected by the forces of interaction—the water being pushed ahead of the large ship. At about 1:46 am, just after "Marchioness" passed under Southwark Bridge, she was hit twice by "Bowbelle"s bow. The first impact was from "Marchioness"s stern, which had the effect of turning the smaller vessel to port. The second impact was from the stern, and caused the pleasure boat to pivot round the bow of "Bowbelle", and turn it on its side, probably to an angle of 120°. The upper superstructure of "Marchioness" was ripped off by "Bowbelle"s anchor. The lower saloon was quickly flooded and the lights went out. The weight and momentum of "Bowbelle" pushed "Marchioness" underwater and she sank, stern first, within 30 seconds of being hit. McGowan had been thrown from the boat into the water, but climbed back on board to tie open the port side door, which led to the dance floor, to allow several people to escape. One eyewitness to the crash, Keith Fawkes-Underwood, who viewed the incident from the south bank of the Thames, reported:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The barge collided with the pleasure boat hitting it in about its centre then mounted it, pushing it under the water like a toy boat. Within a matter of about 20 seconds the pleasure boat had totally disappeared underneath the water.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Of the 130 people on board "Marchioness", 79 survived and 51 died. The dead included de Vasconcellos and Faldo. No-one on "Bowbelle" was injured. "Marchioness" sank so quickly that most people were unable to locate or use the life rafts, buoys or jackets. Survival of those on "Marchioness" depended partly on their location within the vessel. There were 41 people known to have been on the forward deck and wheelhouse, of whom 9 died and 32 survived, a survival rate of 78%. Of the 13 people known to have been in the lower saloon, 9 died and 4 survived (a 31% survival rate). One of those from the lower saloon who survived was Iain Philpott, who said in his statement to the police:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: I remember turning around to head towards the windows to escape the boat, the water started coming in the boat through the window, I knew at this point the boat was going to go down. Within a matter of seconds the general lights went out, everything was in darkness ... I was then thrown forward by a wall of water, the whole boat filled with water instantly ... When I surfaced I was some distance away from the Marchioness which was partly submerged.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: "Hurlingham" was between 45 and 60 metres (150–200 feet) away from the collision, and those on board were in the best position to be eyewitnesses. George Williams, the vessel's captain, put out a call on VHF radio to the Thames Division of the Metropolitan Police Service, based in Wapping: "Woolwich Police, Wapping Police, Wapping Police, Emergency, pleasure boat is sunk, Cannon Street Railway Bridge, all emergency aid please". The call was also picked up by the TNS, who misheard the location as Battersea Bridge; Thames Division only heard part of the call, so TNS informed them that the police should be in attendance at Battersea Bridge.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: After colliding with "Marchioness", "Bowbelle" hit one of the piers of Cannon Street Bridge, and radioed TNS at 1:48 am to correct the inaccurate reference to Battersea Bridge; at 1:49 am Henderson reported to TNS:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: I have to get underway now and proceed out through bridges. I believe I have struck a pleasure craft. It has sunk. I am getting clear of the bridges now. I was distracted by flashing lights from another pleasure craft. My vessel was proceeding outward bound just approaching Cannon Street bridge and, well, I just lost steerage, um and I don't know after that, I can't really say anything else sir. Over.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: After the radio transmission, "Bowbelle" travelled downstream to Gallions Reach, where she dropped anchor. Her crew did not deploy the ship's lifebuoys, flotation devices or lifeboat and she did not take part in the attempts to rescue survivors. All ships in the area were instructed to go to the area to assist with the rescue. "Hurlingham" was already on the scene, and the passengers and crew threw lifebuoys and buoyancy aids to those in the water. Many of those from "Marchioness" were swept into driftwood collection cages, and "Hurlingham" picked up several survivors—the passengers climbing out onto the cages to help people out of the water. The vessel then dropped all passengers and 28 survivors at the nearby Waterloo Police Pier (now Tower Lifeboat Station) before it took members of the emergency services back out to the collision site. Waterloo Police Pier was used as the landing point for all casualties and the first responders from the emergency services set up a treatment and processing point there. Police launches rescued more than half the survivors from the river; some reached the river bank themselves.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Less than half an hour after "Marchioness" was hit, a major incident was declared with an incident room at New Scotland Yard. The police's body recovery team were also deployed, and the first body arrived at Wapping Police Station—where the Thames Division were based—at 6:50 am. The station acted as a holding area for bodies before they were taken to the mortuary in Westminster.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister, returned home early from her holiday in Austria to be briefed by Michael Portillo, the Minister of State for Transport. His senior in the department, the Secretary of State for Transport Cecil Parkinson, also returned home early in response. Portillo announced that an investigation would be made by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), but that no decision had yet been made as to whether to hold a public inquiry. Within 24 hours of the collision, the decision was made that there would be no public inquiry, and that the MAIB investigation would be sufficient.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: A Port of London (PLA) hydrographic surveyor located the wreckage of "Marchioness" and, during the late afternoon of 20 August, work began on lifting the vessel. The bodies of 24 party-goers were found on board, 12 of them in the lower saloon. The wreckage was moored against the north bank of the Thames.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: While the lifting operation was progressing, police arrested and interviewed Henderson and Kenneth Noble, "Bowbelle"s second mate who was at the wheel for the collision. Both men were breathalysed; the police announced soon afterwards that alcohol was not a cause of the collision.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: On the day following the collision Paul Knapman, the coroner for the City of Westminster, opened and adjourned the inquest into the deaths. In the days after the collision, bodies were still being found and recovered from the water. To help with the identification process, Knapman opted to use several methods, including dental records, identification of personal items and clothing descriptions from descriptions provided by the families, and fingerprints. As part of their approach, Knapman decided that:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: With those bodies which were not recovered from the "Marchioness" and which would be likely to surface only when putrification and bloating meant that they would float, the following would apply:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: During the post-mortem examinations, 25 pairs of hands were removed; no written records were kept of the removal. No guidelines were issued over which hands should be removed and no individual was given responsibility for making the decision. The majority were identified through other means—visual identification of the face, or through identification of clothing or personal items, and only four of the victims were identified through their fingerprints. Families of the victims later complained that they were not told in a timely fashion that bodies had been recovered, that some were denied access to view the bodies of their relatives, and were not told of the processes that would be used—including that the hands would be removed. One family was shown the body of the wrong person, then given the right body, but without the hands; these were sent on later with apologies, and a request not to tell other parents about the need to remove them as this was a 'one-off' mistake.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: On 24 August "Marchioness" was taken from her mooring near Southwark Bridge, and towed downstream to Greenwich, where she was broken up.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The MAIB issued an interim report towards the end of August, with recommendations as to increasing safety on the Thames. These included a requirement that vessels over had to have a forward lookout in contact with the bridge by radio, and tighter controls on the passage of vessels along the upper Thames. Their investigation continued with a reconstruction of the events on the night of 16–17 September; "Bowbelle" took part, and a PLA launch was used as a stand-in for "Marchioness". This was later criticised by Brian Toft, a disaster and risk-management expert commissioned by the Marchioness Action Group (MAG), as being unsatisfactory. Toft identified that there were several problems, including no second pleasure cruiser, no fare-paying passengers and no disco lights or music included in the re-enactment.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: In October 1989 the companies behind "Bowbelle" and "Marchioness" agreed to pay up to £6 million in compensation to the families of the victims, without either company admitting any liability for the crash. The sum offered was under a calderbank condition that the offer stood to be withdrawn if a judge awarded a lower amount. A week later a report was compiled for Allan Green, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), which recommended that criminal charges should not be brought against Henderson.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: That December, Knapman met the DPP to discuss the progress of the inquests. Green agreed that the first part of the inquest should go ahead—dealing with the causes of death—irrespective of the other investigations of the police and the possibility of later criminal charges. A second part of the inquest—establishing the responsibility of the crash and making safety recommendations—would be discussed at a later stage. When Knapman re-opened the inquest on 23 April 1990, he was critical of the DPP for taking eight months to decide on whether to bring criminal charges against anyone, which meant that a full inquest could not take place in case it prejudiced any future trial. The inquest was, in effect, a series of what the legal scholar Hazel Hartley calls "mini inquests", one each for each of the 51 bodies.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: On 26 April the DPP stepped in to stop the inquest, stating that charges would now be brought against Henderson. Because of his decision to stop the inquest, the information on how the collision occurred, who was to blame or what could be done to ensure it could not be repeated, was not considered. Henderson was charged under the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 for failing to have an effective lookout on the vessel. The case against him opened on 4 April 1991 at the Old Bailey and ran to 14 April. The jury failed to reach a decision; the DPP decided that a retrial would be in the public interest. This took place between 17 and 31 July the same year; it again ended with a hung jury.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: At the end of July 1991 Ivor , the husband of one of the victims, began a private prosecution for manslaughter against four directors of South Coast Shipping Company, the owners of "Bowbelle", and corporate manslaughter against the South Coast Shipping Company. Two weeks later the Transport Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, took the decision to publish the MAIB Report, repeating that because an appropriate body had undertaken an investigation, there was no requirement to have a public inquiry. Families of the victims were angry with the move, pointing out that Rifkind had delayed publication of the report on the basis that publication could prejudice the case against Henderson, but that the publication could now jeopardise private prosecution. The DPP demanded that hand over the papers for the case, stating he would take it over, then drop it; refused to comply, stating that it was out of the remit of the DPP, and that it was for a magistrates' court to decide if the case was adequate. The DPP withdrew and allowed case to proceed. The case was dismissed after the magistrate stated that there was insufficient evidence.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The MAIB report considered that "Marchioness" had altered her course to port, which put her in line with "Bowbelle"s path. The report concluded that:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: 18.3  ... no one in either vessel was aware of the other's presence until very shortly before the collision. No one on the bridge of BOWBELLE was aware of MARCHIONESS until the collision occurred.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The families of the victims criticised the MAIB report. They pointed out that the investigation had not directly interviewed anyone on "Marchioness" or "Bowbelle", but relied on the police interviews; they stated that there were errors in methodology, approach and fact within the report. Toft provided a critique of the MAIB's work and concluded that:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The inconsistencies, contradictions, confusions, conjecture, erroneous conclusions, missing and inappropriate recommendations as well as epistemological, ontological and methodological problems, created by the then current maritime safety culture ... raises serious doubts as to the objectivity of the investigation, the validity of the findings, the judgement of the Department of Transport in holding an inquiry of this type, and as a result whether or not all the appropriate lessons were uncovered during the MAIB's inquiry into this tragedy.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The report was handed to Rifkind, who again declined to open a public inquiry, but commissioned a private one—the Hayes Report, published in July 1992—that looked at health and safety on the Thames, rather than the sinking of "Marchioness".


title: Marchioness disaster

text: In 1992 the families of the victims became aware that the hands had been removed from many of the bodies. In March that year an account in "The Mail on Sunday", "Cover up!", was published; when Knapman met the two journalists to deny the accusation of a cover-up, he advised them not to base reports on what Margaret Lockwood-Croft, the mother of one of the victims, said: he described her as "unhinged". He also showed them photographs of the victims, without discussing the matter with the families. In July, Knapman informed the families that the inquests—suspended since April 1990 because of the case against Henderson—would not be recommenced. The families tried to apply for a judicial review on the basis that "the use of the word 'unhinged' and reference to a number of 'mentally unwell' relatives betrayed an attitude of hostility, however unconscious, towards ... members of the Marchioness Action Group". Initially turned down by High Court, the Court of Appeal then found in favour of the group to allow an appeal. In June 1994 Knapman and his assistant were stood down and replaced by another coroner, John Burton. He was initially dismissive of the concerns of the MAG, accused their solicitor of trying to mislead the Court of Appeal and indicated that he was inclined not to grant any further inquests. Burton was told that another judicial review would be applied for if he refused to hold the inquests, and he subsequently announced that they would go ahead.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The resumed inquest took place in March and April 1995. When questioned about the MAIB report, Captain James de Coverley—one of the report's authors—withdrew the suggestion that "Marchioness" had steered to port in the last moments before the crash, saying it had never been his intention that the text could be understood that way. In summing up, Burton instructed the coroner's jury that a verdict of unlawful killing could not be applied to anyone who had already been cleared by a court. The jury retired for four hours and returned a verdict of unlawful killing. Burton asked them "Did you understand my Direction?", although the decision stood.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Following the 1997 election, which brought the Labour Party to power, the MAG petitioned John Prescott, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and Deputy Prime Minister, to open an inquest. In August 1999 he instructed Lord Justice Clarke to undertake a non-statutory inquiry into safety on the Thames. Clarke reported in February 2000, concluding:


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Prescott accepted the recommendation and the public inquest took place in October and November 2000, with Clarke chairing proceedings; the report was published in March 2001. Clarke concluded that "The basic cause of the collision is clear. It was poor lookout on both vessels. Neither vessel saw the other in time to take action to avoid the collision." The underlying causes on why neither vessel saw the other were that Henderson did not ensure a proper lookout on "Bowbelle"; that Blayney the lookout was not equipped with suitable radio equipment to inform his captain; that Faldo had not set up a lookout system on "Marchioness", nor did he keep a lookout aft himself. Focusing on Henderson, Clarke wrote "We cannot stress too strongly how much we deprecate Captain Henderson's conduct in drinking so much alcohol before returning to his vessel as master"; Clarke added "but we do not think that it is shown on the balance of probabilities that Captain Henderson would have acted differently if he had not consumed the alcohol or had the amount of sleep which he had". The captain was also criticised for his actions after the collision, when he did not broadcast a mayday call and did not deploy either the lifebuoys or life raft, in contravention of section 422 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894. Clarke also found that the owners and managers of the vessels held some blame. For "Bowbelle", the owners "must bear their share of responsibility for the collision for failing properly to instruct their masters and crews and for failing thereafter to monitor them"; the owners of "Marchioness" gave no instructions about all-round lookouts; and failed to adequately instruct, supervise or monitor their boats' captains.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Clarke also allotted blame to the Department of Transport, who, he said, were "well aware of the problems posed by the limited visibility from the steering positions on both types of vessel" yet failed to deal with the problem. The PLA also failed to act in this regard, and should have issued instructions for the placement of lookouts on such vessels. Clarke found that because no individual's actions could be ascertained as the single cause of the collision, a manslaughter charge would be bound to fail.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: English law provides no compensation for fatal accidents, other than for funeral expenses, unless financial dependency at the time of death can be proved. In most cases, the families of the "Marchioness" victims received little more than the cost of the funeral. Louise Christian, the human rights solicitor who acted for the families of the victims, wrote that "When young unmarried people die in circumstances of gross negligence as here, death comes cheap and the boat owners and their insurance companies suffer little in the way of financial penalties".


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Civil claims for compensation were brought on behalf of the victims' families; the amounts received ranged between £3,000 and £190,000. Eileen Dallaglio, the mother of Francesca Dallaglio, one of the victims, reported that she had been awarded £45,000. After the costs of having to go to the Court of Appeal to obtain damages, and the bills for the memorial and funeral service, she was left with £312.14. According to Irwin Mitchell, the solicitors who represented the families, the amounts were "modest" because many of those killed were young, without dependants and had no established careers. Under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, damages were only paid to certain categories of people, and were based on the economic loss to the victim.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: After recommendations made in the Clarke report relating to the improvement of river safety, the government asked the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the PLA and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to work together to set up a dedicated search and rescue service for the Thames. In January 2001 the RNLI agreed to set up four lifeboat stations—at Gravesend, Tower, Chiswick and Teddington—which were opened in January the following year.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Following the report, Prescott ordered the MCA to conduct a competency review into the actions and behaviour of Henderson. This took place in December 2001. The MCA picked up on something that had been raised during the Clarke inquiry: that Henderson had forged certificates and testimonials of his service from 1985–1986. They stated that they "deplored" the forgeries, which Henderson had used to gain his Master's Licence. The MCA concluded that he should be allowed to keep his master's certificate as he met all the service and medical fitness requirements; they stated that the agency "accepted that events which occurred in 1986 have no practical relevance on his current fitness".


title: Marchioness disaster

text: In 2001 the Royal Humane Society made nineteen bravery awards to people involved in rescuing the victims of the collision, many of whom were passengers on "Hurlingham". Eight policemen on duty that night were given the Metropolitan Police Commissioner's High Commendation.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: Following the Clarke report and a subsequent review of emergency planning procedures, the government introduced the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 that provided a coherent framework and guidance for emergency planning and response. Clarke's recommendations to examine the coroner system were a major factor in the overhaul of the system that resulted in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: The events surrounding the sinking of "Marchioness" have been examined or depicted on television several times, including a documentary on Channel 4's "Dispatches" in December 1994, a drama-documentary in the BBC Two series "Disaster" in March 1999 and a 2009 documentary focusing on Jonathan Phang. A drama about the events surrounding the disaster was scheduled for broadcast on ITV in late 2007. Some of the victims' families requested that the programme should not be broadcast, although some thought it positive that it was going to be shown. Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival that August, the former ITV Director of Drama Nick Elliot confirmed that the drama would not be shown "in its present form"; it has since been shown on French television.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: In September 1989 a black granite memorial stone was uncovered in the nave of Southwark Cathedral, about from the site of the collision. The stone lists the names and ages of those who died. Memorial services have been held at the cathedral on anniversaries of the sinking.


title: Marchioness disaster

text: "Bowbelle" was sold in 1992 to Sealsands Maritime, operating out of Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; she was renamed "Billo". Four years later she was sold to Antonio Pereira & Filhos of Funchal, Madeira, who named the vessel "Bom Rei". She broke in two and sank off Madeira the same year with the loss of one crew member.


title: Ellen Hollman

text: Hollman was born in Detroit, Michigan, the oldest of four siblings. She eventually moved to Troy, Michigan, and was an all-star track runner, holding the Michigan state record for the women's long jump (17.5 ft). Angelica Floyd holds the current Michigan record for the long jump at 19.375 feet, which was set in 2017.


title: Ellen Hollman

text: In 2008, Hollman became the CEO and founder of a non-profit charity called Visual Impact Now. The celebrity hosts for the organization have included stars such as Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, January Jones and Robert Luketic. Her organization has conducted various eye clinics in Los Angeles, providing over 6,000 children with eyeglasses.


title: Ellen Hollman

text: She made her television debut on an episode of "Malcolm in the Middle" in 2005, before going on to appear as Frankie Muniz's fiancee on an episode of Criminal Minds in 2007. In the fourth season of "The O.C." she appeared as young Kirsten Nichol in a flashback. In 2006, Hollman made her film debut in "Road House 2", where she played the role of Beau. Hollman worked on two big-screen projects which debuted in 2008, "Fling" with Brandon Routh, and "Asylum" with Sarah Roemer. She was cast as a new series regular on "" (premiered in January 2012) as Saxa, a Germanic warrior who is an antagonist to Mira (Katrina Law) and love interest for Gannicus (Dustin Clare) but eventually sides with Spartacus during his slave rebellion, and reprised the role in the (premiered on January 25, 2013). She recently recurred on "AMC" "Into The Badlands" as Regent Warrior Zypher.


title: Ellen Hollman

text: Hollman is trained in jiu-jitsu and earned her "Women Empowered" Pink belt as well as "Combatives" Blue Belt from the Gracie Academy, where her "" co-star Eve Torres (wife of Rener Gracie, a chief instructor at the academy) is also a member. In December 2015, Hollman announced she was engaged to her "Spartacus: Vengeance" co-star Stephen Dunlevy, and the two married in August 2016.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Charles William Sweeney (December 27, 1919 – July 16, 2004) was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the pilot who flew "Bockscar" carrying the Fat Man atomic bomb to the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Separating from active duty at the end of World War II, he later became an officer in the Massachusetts Air National Guard as the Army Air Forces transitioned to an independent United States Air Force, eventually rising to the rank of major general.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Sweeney became an instructor in the atomic missions training project, Project Alberta, at Wendover Army Airfield, Utah. Selected to be part of the 509th Composite Group commanded by Colonel Paul Tibbets, he was named commander of the 320th Troop Carrier Squadron on 6 January 1945. Initially his squadron used C-47 Skytrain and C-46 Commando transports on hand to conduct the top secret operations to supply the 509th, but in April 1945 it acquired five C-54 Skymasters, which had the range to deliver personnel and materiel to the western Pacific area.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: On May 4, 1945, Sweeney became commander of the 393d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, the combat element of the 509th, in charge of 15 Silverplate B-29s and their flight and ground crews, 535 men in all. In June and July Sweeney moved his unit to North Field on the island of Tinian in the Marianas.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: In addition to supervising the intensive training of his flight crews during July 1945, Sweeney was slated to command the second atomic bomb mission. He trained with the crew of Captain (Charles D.) Don Albury aboard their B-29 "The Great Artiste", and was aircraft commander on the training mission of July 11. He and the crew flew five of the nine rehearsal test drops of inert Little Boy and Fat Man bomb assemblies in preparation for the missions.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: On 6 August 1945, Sweeney and Albury piloted "The Great Artiste" as the instrumentation and observation support aircraft for the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: On 9 August 1945, Major Sweeney commanded "Bockscar", which carried the atomic bomb "Fat Man" from the island of Tinian to Nagasaki. In addition to "Bockscar", the mission included two observation and instrumentation support B-29s, "The Great Artiste" and "The Big Stink", which would rendezvous with "Bockscar" over Yakushima Island. At the mission pre-briefing, the three planes were ordered to make their rendezvous over Yakushima at due to weather conditions over Iwo Jima (the Hiroshima mission rendezvous). That same morning, on the day of the mission, the ground crew notified Sweeney that a faulty fuel transfer pump made it impossible to utilize some of fuel in the tail, but Sweeney, as aircraft commander, elected to proceed with the mission.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Before takeoff, Tibbets warned Sweeney that he had lost at least 45 minutes of flying time because of the fuel pump problem, and to take no more than fifteen minutes at the rendezvous before proceeding directly to the primary target.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: After takeoff from Tinian, "Bockscar" reached its rendezvous point and after circling for an extended period, found "The Great Artiste", but not "The Big Stink". Climbing to 30,000 feet, the assigned rendezvous altitude, both aircraft slowly circled Yakushima Island. Though Sweeney had been ordered not to wait at the rendezvous for the other aircraft longer than fifteen minutes before proceeding to the primary target, Sweeney continued to wait for "The Big Stink", perhaps at the urging of Commander Frederick Ashworth, the plane's weaponeer. After exceeding the original rendezvous time limit by a half-hour, "Bockscar", accompanied by "The Great Artiste", proceeded to the primary target, Kokura. No fewer than three bomb runs were made, but the delay at the rendezvous had resulted in 7/10ths cloud cover over the primary target, and the bombardier was unable to drop. By the time of the third bomb run, Japanese antiaircraft fire was getting close, and Japanese fighter planes could be seen climbing to intercept "Bockscar".


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Poor bombing visibility and an increasingly critical fuel shortage eventually forced "Bockscar" to divert from Kokura and attack the secondary target, Nagasaki. As they approached Nagasaki, the heart of the city's downtown was covered by dense cloud, and Sweeney and Ashworth, initially decided to bomb Nagasaki using radar. However, a small opening in the clouds allowed "Bockscar's" bombardier to verify the target as Nagasaki. As the crew had been ordered to drop the bomb visually if possible, Sweeney decided to proceed with a visual bomb run. "Bockscar" then dropped "Fat Man", with a blast yield equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT. It exploded 43 seconds later at above the ground, at least northwest of the planned aim point. The failure to drop "Fat Man" at the precise bomb aim point caused the atomic blast to be confined to the Urakami Valley. As a consequence, a major portion of the city was protected by the intervening hills, and only 60% of Nagasaki was destroyed. The bombing also severed the Mitsubishi arms production extensively and killed an estimated 35,000–40,000 people outright, including 23,200–28,200 Japanese industrial workers, 2,000 Korean slave laborers, and 150 Japanese soldiers.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Low on fuel, "Bockscar" barely made it to the runway on Okinawa. With only enough fuel for one landing attempt, Sweeney brought "Bockscar" in fast and hard, ordering every available distress flare on board to be fired as he did so. The number two engine died from fuel starvation as "Bockscar" began its final approach. Touching the runway hard, the heavy B-29 slewed left and towards a row of parked B-24 bombers before the pilots managed to regain control. With both pilots standing on the brakes, Sweeney made a swerving 90-degree turn at the end of the runway to avoid going over the cliff into the ocean. 2nd Lt. Jacob Beser recalled that at this point, two engines had died from fuel exhaustion, while "the centrifugal force resulting from the turn was almost enough to put us through the side of the airplane."


title: Charles Sweeney

text: After "Bockscar" returned to Tinian, Tibbets recorded that he was faced with the dilemma of considering “if any action should be taken against the airplane commander, Charles Sweeney, for failure to command.” After meeting on Guam with Tibbets and Sweeney, General Curtis LeMay, chief of staff for the Strategic Air Forces, confronted Sweeney, stating, "You fucked up, didn't you, Chuck?", to which Sweeney made no reply. LeMay then turned to Tibbets and told him that an investigation into Sweeney's conduct of the mission would serve no useful purpose.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: In November 1945, Sweeney returned with the 509th Composite Group to Roswell Army Air Base in New Mexico to train aircrews for the atomic testing mission, Operation Crossroads.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Sweeney left active duty with the rank of lieutenant colonel on June 28, 1946, but remained active with the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Later promoted to full colonel, on February 21, 1956, Sweeney was named commander of its 102nd Air Defense Wing and shortly after, on April 6, was promoted to brigadier general. During this time, he was activated with the 102nd and served in Europe during the Berlin Crisis from October 1961 to August 1962. Sweeney was made chief of staff in October 1967.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: In the 1960s, Sweeney coordinated civil defense in Boston, serving as the Boston Director of Civil Defense.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: He retired in 1976 as a major general in the Air National Guard. He also appeared in the 1970s television series "The World at War" and was seen explaining the USAAF buildup to the mission raids.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Throughout his life Sweeney remained convinced of the appropriateness and necessity of the bombing. "I saw these beautiful young men who were being slaughtered by an evil, evil military force," he said in 1995. "There's no question in my mind that President Truman made the right decision." At the same time, he said, "As the man who commanded the last atomic mission, I pray that I retain that singular distinction."


title: Charles Sweeney

text: Near the end of his life, Sweeney wrote a controversial and factually disputed memoir of the atomic bombing and the 509th Composite Group, "War's End: An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission". In "War's End", Sweeney defended the decision to drop the atomic bomb in light of subsequent historical questioning. However, it was Sweeney's other assertions regarding the Nagasaki atomic mission, along with various anecdotes regarding the 509th and its crews that drew the most criticism. Tibbets, Major "Dutch" Van Kirk, Colonel Thomas Ferebee and others vigorously disputed Sweeney's account of events. Partly in response to "War's End", Tibbets issued a revised version of his own autobiography in 1998, adding a new section on the Nagasaki attack in which he harshly criticized Sweeney's actions during the mission.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: In his later years Sweeney performed in various air shows doing many maneuvers to awe crowds. Sweeney died at age 84 on July 16, 2004, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.


title: Charles Sweeney

text: A short documentary featuring an audio recording of Sweeney describing the Nagasaki mission preparation and execution called "Nagasaki: The Commander's Voice" was made in 2005. The 2002 audio recording was the last one made before his death.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: Make Believe is the fifth studio album by American rock band Weezer. It was released on May 10, 2005, by Geffen Records. The album was considered to be a return to some of the emotionally vulnerable lyrics of Weezer's previous releases, and due to the strength of the hit single "Beverly Hills", the album was a commercial success, peaking at number two on the US "Billboard" 200 and number eleven on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, "Beverly Hills" also earned Weezer their first Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song. Despite this, "Make Believe" received mixed reviews from critics and fans, although it has remained a consistent seller. The recording process of "Make Believe" began prior to the release of their previous album, "Maladroit"; however, it was prolonged compared to the recording of most of Weezer's previous albums, and lasted for almost three years. Rivers Cuomo's songwriting on "Make Believe" was described as "[a] return to musical, emotional bloodletting", although the lyrics were noticeably simpler than before.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: Beginning in spring 2002, and at random points in late 2002 and early 2003, demos for possible use on Weezer's fifth album would be uploaded to weezer.com's audio/video page. After touring during the summer and returning to S.I.R. Studios for additional sessions, the band ultimately decided to start from scratch with a fresh group of songs. 28 songs in all were uploaded on the website (and can still be found on various fan sites) yet none made the actual album. This batch of songs is commonly referred to as "The A5 Demos" or "Early Album 5" amongst fans. During the recording process, Rivers Cuomo's discovery of meditation due to the influence of producer Rick Rubin was beginning to take on a greater influence on the album's content. For instance, "Pardon Me" was written after a ten-day guided meditation course in which he learned the ancient techniques of vipassana (insight meditation) and metta (lovingkindness) which encourages those who practice to "seek pardon from all those who I have hurt in action, speech or thought." He also claimed the title of the album came to him while meditating.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: "Make Believe" marks a return to Cuomo's more personal songwriting style after taking a more distant approach on the previous two albums. "The Other Way" was written for Cuomo's ex-girlfriend Jennifer Chiba after her then-boyfriend, singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, died by suicide. Cuomo said, "I wanted to console her, but I was confused and skeptical about my own motives for wanting to do so, so I wrote that song about that." "We Are All on Drugs" was inspired by Cuomo hearing party-goers on the Sunset Strip. "Hold Me" was written during a songwriting experiment in which Cuomo fasted for 24 hours and then wrote a song. In addition, early in the recording process, Rubin told Cuomo to "write a Billy Joel or Elton John type of song." The result of Rubin's request was "Haunt You Every Day", which was the first that Cuomo wrote entirely on piano. According to Cuomo, Rubin had made the same request of Tom Petty, who in turn wrote "It's Good to Be King."


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: As the band was working on the album, a deal was struck to have "My Best Friend" be included in the film "Shrek 2", but this deal was scrapped when the makers of the film didn't think it fit to the timings of the visuals. The Counting Crows song "Accidentally in Love" took the place of "My Best Friend." However, in late 2010, "My Best Friend" was included on the soundtrack to the film "Yogi Bear" and can be heard during the end credits.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: Hundreds of songs were demoed during the three-year period of making the album. Despite the abundance of releasable material, this album did not feature any B-side releases. Of the notable unreleased material, partial rough versions of "You're the One" and "Love Is the Answer" can be heard on the "Making of "Make Believe"" special feature on the disc's Enhanced CD feature. A cover of Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart" was in consideration for the album and later for a soundtrack, although it would only see release five years later on the "Death to False Metal" album. Six other "Make Believe" era outtakes, including three which were contenders for the final album, would also see release on "Death to False Metal".


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: While deciding on the name of the album, one of the title suggestions given by Patrick Wilson was "One Thousand Soviet Children Marching Towards the Sun". Another suggestion was "Either Way I'm Fine", something Cuomo often said during the sessions when discussing changing elements of a song or sound.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: Much of the album's art direction was handled by Francesca Restrepo, with photography from Karl Koch and Sean Murphy. The album cover was styled in a similar manner to both the band's debut album ("The Blue Album") and the band's 2001 album ("The Green Album"). It featured Wilson, Cuomo, Scott Shriner and Brian Bell standing left-to-right in front of a black backdrop, with illustrations by Carson Ellis.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: The liner notes feature a monologue from William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest". The monologue is taken from Act 5, Scene 1 of the play, in which Prospero gives up his magic. This had prompted many fans to speculate that "Make Believe" would be the band's final album. The monologue is as follows:


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: The album debuted on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart at number two, selling 193,000 copies its first week. By April 2006, the album had sold over 1,125,000 copies. To date, it remains Weezer's highest charting album.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: According to Metacritic, "Make Believe" has received mixed reviews, with a score of 52 out of 100, based on 25 reviews. Some publications like AllMusic and "Rolling Stone" lauded the album, comparing it to the band's earlier release "Pinkerton" in terms of its songwriting, sound and initial critical reaction. However, years later, AllMusic downgraded its rating of the album from 4 stars to 3 stars. IGN gave it a 9.3 out of 10, declaring that "The Weezer you've been missing is back", calling it the band's third great album.


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: Other reviewers panned the album. "Pitchfork"s Rob Mitchum awarded the album a 0.4 out of 10, stating, "Sometimes an album is just awful. "Make Believe" is one of those albums." Adam Downer of Sputnikmusic gave the album a 1.5 out of 5, calling it "a whirlwind of mediocrity and self deprecating lyrics." Sal Cinquemani of "Slant Magazine" gave the album 2.5 out 5 stars, saying, "The truth is that any Weezer copycat band could have made this record. Our protagonist, Rivers Cuomo, is once again subtly self-deprecating and slightly defeated, but his power-chord-laden pop lacks the conviction of The Blue Album, "Pinkerton", and, to a lesser extent, even The Green Album and "Maladroit"."


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: The UK and Japan versions of the album came with two additional bonus tracks: live versions of "Butterfly" and "Island in the Sun", whose original recordings appeared on "Pinkerton" and "Weezer" (2001), respectively. The Japanese version also featured a live version of the song "Burndt Jamb", which had appeared on "Maladroit".


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: The wrong version of "We Are All on Drugs" appears on the first CD release and all vinyl releases of "Make Believe". It was later replaced with the correct version on subsequent CD releases. The two versions of the song are sonically identical, but two lines of lyrics are different. The incorrect lyrics on the first CD release and the vinyl releases are: "I want to confiscate your drugs, I don't think I can get enough", whereas the correct lyrics on subsequent CD releases are "I want to reach a higher plane, where things will never be the same."


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: Shedding light on the many versions of the album that were released, Weezer archivist Karl Koch posted the following at Weezer.com on June 20, 2007:


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: Originally, the album was released (May 11, 2005, contrary to what iTunes says) and that was that. But then it was discovered that there were 2 problems. The wrong version of 'We Are All on Drugs" was included, and there was a minor audio problem in "This Is Such a Pity". (Both of these things were things that the band could hear, but if you hadn't heard the song before, you wouldn't know what was 'wrong'.)


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: So, early on, a second version of the album was issued with the 'Drugs' and 'Pity' corrected. It's not known if any of the original copies were returned and destroyed at that point. There's likely plenty of both of these first two versions out there, as "Make Believe" sold half a million copies in a matter of weeks (and is currently well over 1 million sold).


title: Make Believe (Weezer album)

text: But then, when it came time for a 3rd single, the band made some changes to "Perfect Situation", changing the "whoa oh" melody and adding the "Perfect Situation" background vocals near the end of the song. This became known as the 'single version' or the 'video version', but the band decided it was better than the original and wanted all further pressings of the album to have this new version instead. So, therefore, a 3rd version of the album was made, and that's the version that's currently on iTunes and in stores (unless they still have very old stock of the CD).


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: The Liga Pro Betcris, simply known as the Liga Pro, or the Serie A, is a professional football league in Ecuador. At the top of the Ecuadorian football league system, it is the country's premier football competition. Contested by sixteen clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Serie B, the lower level of the Primera Categoría. The season runs from February to December and is usually contested in multiple stages. The main sponsor is Betcris and it is known as Liga Pro Betcris.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: While initially not a league, the Serie A has its roots in the national championship between the top teams of Ecuador's two regional leagues. For the first nine editions, teams from Guayaquil and Quito qualified to the competition through their professional regional leagues. It abandoned the qualification format to form a proper league in 1967. Since the first edition in 1957, the tournament has been held annually (except 1958 and 1959); the 2005 season had two champions. It was ranked by IFFHS as the 18th strongest football league in the world for 2021, and the 5th strongest league in South America.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: Eleven clubs have been crowned Ecuadorian champions, but four teams have a combined total of 54 championships. The most successful club is Barcelona with sixteen titles. Aucas are the defending champions.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: The format for the Serie A national championship changes consistently. The most common format is a two-stage tournament, in which teams qualify to a mini-league () to determine the champion. The current format was introduced for the 2010 season and consists of three stages. The First and Second Stages each follow the double round-robin format. The winners of each stage play against each other in the Third Stage for the championship. A third-place match also takes place in the Third Stage between the next two-best teams in the aggregate table. If the same team wins both the First and Second Stage, they are automatically the champion. In this case, the second and third best teams in the aggregate table play against each other for runner-up.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: Relegation takes place after the Second Stage and is determined using an aggregate table of the first two stages. As well as playing to win the championship and avoid relegation teams also compete for places in the following season's Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: All football in Ecuador was played at amateur level until 1950 when the Guayas Football Association () turned professional and held its first professional tournament for affiliated clubs (for clubs in Guayaquil). The Professional Football Championship of Guayaquil () was first held in 1951 and was won by Río Guayas. In 1954, the football association in Pichincha (current the "Asociación de Fútbol No Amatur de Pichincha [AFNA]") decided to turn professional and hold a professional tournament of their own for their affiliated clubs (for clubs in Quito & Ambato). The first Inter-Andean Professional Championship () was held in 1954 and was won by LDU Quito.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: The two tournaments were the top-level football leagues in Ecuador, but the champion of each could not claim to be the national champion. That changed in 1957 when a national football tournament was organized for the winners the two leagues. The first Ecuadorian Football Championship was contested between the champion and runner-up of the 1957 Campeonato Professional de Fútbol de Guayaquil of (Emelec & Barcelona, respectively) and the champion and runner-up of the 1957 Campeonato Professional Interandino (Deportivo Quito and Aucas, respectively). Emelec won the tournament and became the first national champions of football in Ecuador.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: No championship was held in 1958 and 1959. The tournament returned in 1960 using the same format as in 1957. This time the field grew from four teams to eight teams. This format continued until 1967 when a number of changes occurred: 1) the regional tournaments were discontinued after the 1967 season; 2) teams contesting the national championship from 1968 onwards were now part of the Primera Categoría; and 3) a second level of Ecuadorian football (Segunda Categoría) was put into play and a system of relegation and promotion began in 1967.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: In 1971, the Primera Categoría was divided into two Series: Serie A & Serie B. Serie A was to be the top level of club football, while Serie B was the second, and Segunda the third. Between, 1983–1988, Serie B was merged into the Segunda, but the Serie A continued. Serie B was brought back in 1989, and has stayed as the second level since.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: In 2005, the Campeonato Ecuatoriano was divided into two tournaments to crown two champions in one year. The two tournaments were called Apertura and Clausura. The tournament returned to its year-long format in 2006.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: A total of 55 clubs have competed in the Serie A since the first season in 1957. Although Barcelona is the only club to have never been relegated, no club has ever played in every season. This anomaly is due to the fact that for the 1964 competition, teams from Guayaquil (including Barcelona and Emelec) declined to participate in the national championship.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: Barcelona has won 16 championships, followed by Emelec with 14 titles, El Nacional with 13, LDU Quito with 11 titles, Deportivo Quito with 5 titles, and Deportivo Cuenca, Olmedo, Delfin, Everest and Independiente del Valle with one title each. All the clubs that have won multiple titles have won back-to-back titles at least once. El Nacional and Emelec are the only two clubs to have won three titles in a row, El Nacional has done twice from 1976–1978 and 1982–1984, and C.S. Emelec from 2013-2015.


title: Ecuadorian Serie A

text: Ecuadorian Ermen Benítez is the league's all-time top-scorer, having scored 191 goals over 15 season. He is also holds the record for scoring the most goals for one team. The top active goalscorer is Ebelio Ordóñez.


title: EasyJet Europe

text: EasyJet Europe Airline GmbH, trading as easyJet, is a European low-cost airline founded in 2017 and based in Vienna, Austria. It operates scheduled flights across Europe and is a subsidiary of EasyJet plc.


title: EasyJet Europe

text: The airline was established on 18 July 2017 and started operations on 20 July 2017, with the first flight being an Airbus A320 (re-registered as OE-IVA, previously G-EZPA) flying from London Luton Airport to Vienna Airport. The airline was established following the UK referendum vote to leave the European Union and the airline's decision to obtain an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) in another EU member state in order to continue operating flights across and within European countries after the UK leaves the EU.


title: EasyJet Europe

text: Many aircraft currently registered to EasyJet UK will be reregistered to EasyJet Europe, and those staff employed by EasyJet UK but based elsewhere in the European Union will be transferred to EasyJet Europe. EasyJet has announced that it is planning to re-register 110 aircraft to fly under the new AOC of EasyJet Europe by March 2019.


title: EasyJet Europe

text: EasyJet is thus a pan-European airline group with three airlines based in the UK, Austria and Switzerland (EasyJet UK, EasyJet Europe, and EasyJet Switzerland), all owned or part-owned by EasyJet plc, based in the UK and listed on the London Stock Exchange.


title: EasyJet Europe

text: On 30 March 2019, flights became operated by EasyJet Europe under their own flight numbers and callsign.


title: Bloomery

text: A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called a bloom. The mix of slag and iron in the bloom, termed "sponge iron", is usually consolidated and further forged into wrought iron. Blast furnaces, which produce pig iron, have largely superseded bloomeries.


title: Bloomery

text: A bloomery consists of a pit or chimney with heat-resistant walls made of earth, clay, or stone. Near the bottom, one or more pipes (made of clay or metal) enter through the side walls. These pipes, called "tuyeres", allow air to enter the furnace, either by natural draught or forced with bellows or a trompe. An opening at the bottom of the bloomery may be used to remove the bloom, or the bloomery can be tipped over and the bloom removed from the top.


title: Bloomery

text: The first step taken before the bloomery can be used is the preparation of the charcoal and the iron ore. Charcoal is nearly pure carbon which, when burned, both produces the high temperature needed for the smelting process and provides the carbon monoxide needed for reduction of the metal.


title: Bloomery

text: The ore is broken into small pieces and usually roasted in a fire, to make rock based ores easier to break up, bake out some impurities, and (to a lesser extent) to remove any moisture in the ore. Any large impurities (as silica) in the ore can be removed as it is crushed. The desired particle size depends primarily on which of several ore types may be available, which will also have a relationship to the layout and operation of the furnace, of which there are a number of regional, historic/traditional forms. Natural iron ores can vary considerably in oxide form (Fe2O3 / Fe3O4 / FeO(OH) ), and importantly in relative iron content. Since slag from previous blooms may have a high iron content, it can also be broken up and may be recycled into the bloomery with the new ore.


title: Bloomery

text: In operation, after the bloomery is preheated typically with a wood fire, shifting to burning pre-sized charcoal, iron ore and additional charcoal are introduced through the top. Again, 'traditional' methods vary, but normally smaller charges of ore are added at the start of the main smelting sequence, increasing to larger amounts as the smelt progresses. Overall a typical ratio of total charcoal to ore added will in a roughly one-to-one ratio. Inside the furnace, carbon monoxide from the incomplete combustion of the charcoal reduces the iron oxides in the ore to metallic iron without melting the ore; this allows the bloomery to operate at lower temperatures than the melting temperature of the ore. As the desired product of a bloomery is iron which is easily forgeable, it requires a low carbon content. The temperature and ratio of charcoal to iron ore must be carefully controlled to keep the iron from absorbing too much carbon and thus becoming unforgeable. Cast iron occurs when the iron absorbs 2% to 4% carbon. Because the bloomery is self-fluxing, the addition of limestone is not required to form a slag.


title: Bloomery

text: The small particles of iron produced in this way fall to the bottom of the furnace, where they combine with molten slag, often consisting of fayalite, a compound of silicon, oxygen and iron mixed with other impurities from the ore. The hot liquid slag, running to the bottom of the furnace, cools against the base and lower side walls of the furnace, effectively forming a bowl still containing fluid slag. As the individual iron particles form, they fall into this bowl and sinter together under their own weight, forming a spongy mass referred to as the bloom. Because the bloom is typically porous, and its open spaces can be full of slag, the extracted mass must beaten with heavy hammers to both compress voids and drive out any molten slag remaining. This process may require several additional heating and compaction cycles, working at high 'welding' temperatures. Iron treated this way is said to be "wrought" (worked), and the resulting iron, with reduced amounts of slag, is called "wrought iron" or bar iron. Because of the creation process, individual blooms can often have differing carbon contents between the original top and bottom surfaces, differences that will also be somewhat blended together through the flattening, folding and hammer welding sequences. It is also possible to produce blooms coated in steel (higher carbon) by manipulating the charge of and air flow to the bloomery.


title: Bloomery

text: As the era of modern commercial steelmaking began, the word "bloom" was extended to another sense referring to an intermediate-stage piece of steel, of a size comparable to many traditional iron blooms, that was ready to be further worked into billet.


title: Bloomery

text: The onset of the Iron Age in most parts of the world coincides with the first widespread use of the bloomery. While earlier examples of iron are found, their high nickel content indicates that this is meteoric iron. Other early samples of iron may have been produced by accidental introduction of iron ore in copper smelting operations. Iron appears to have been smelted in the Middle East as early as 3000 BC, but copper smiths, not being familiar with iron, did not put it to use until much later. In the West, iron began to be used around 1200 BC.


title: Bloomery

text: China has long been considered the exception to the general use of bloomeries. It was thought that the Chinese skipped the bloomery process completely, starting with the blast furnace and the finery forge to produce wrought iron: by the 5th century BC, metalworkers in the southern state of Wu had invented the blast furnace and the means to both cast iron and to decarburize the carbon-rich pig iron produced in a blast furnace to a low-carbon, wrought iron-like material. Recent evidence, however, shows that bloomeries were used earlier in ancient China, migrating in from the west as early as 800 BC, before being supplanted by the locally developed blast furnace. Supporting this theory was the discovery of 'more than ten' iron digging implements found in the tomb of Duke Jing of Qin (d. 537 BCE), whose tomb is located in Fengxiang County, Shaanxi (a museum exists on the site today).


title: Bloomery

text: All traditional sub-Saharan African iron smelting processes are variants of the bloomery process. There is considerable discussion about the origins of iron metallurgy in Africa. Smelting in bloomery type furnaces in West Africa and forging of tools appeared in the Nok culture of central Nigeria by at least 550 BC and possibly several centuries earlier. There is also evidence of iron smelting with bloomery style furnaces dated to 750 BC in Opi (Augustin Holl 2009) and Lejja dated to 2,000 BC (Pamela Eze-Uzomaka 2009), both sites in the Nsukka region of southeast Nigeria in what is now Igboland. The site of Gbabiri, in the Central African Republic, has also yielded evidence of iron metallurgy, from a reduction furnace and blacksmith workshop; with earliest dates of 896-773 BC and 907-796 BC respectively. The earliest records of bloomery-type furnaces in East Africa are discoveries of smelted iron and carbon in Nubia in ancient Sudan dated at least to the 7th to the 6th century BC. The ancient bloomeries that produced metal tools for the Nubians and Kushites produced a surplus for sale.


title: Bloomery

text: During a hydro plant project, in the southern foothills of the Central Highlands, Samanalawewa, in Sri Lanka, a wind-driven furnace was found in an excavation site. These furnace were powered by the monsoon winds and have been dated to 300 B.C. using radiocarbon dating techniques. These ancient Lankan furnaces might have produced the best quality steel for legendary Damascus swords as referred in earlier Syrian records. Field trials using replica furnaces confirmed that this furnace type uses a wind-based air-supply principle that is distinct from either forced or natural draught, and show also that it is capable of producing high-carbon steel.


title: Bloomery

text: Wrought iron was used in the construction of monuments like the Iron pillar of Delhi, built in the 3rd century AD during the Gupta Empire. The latter was built using a towering series of disc-shaped iron blooms. Similar to China, high-carbon steel was eventually used in India, although cast iron was not used for architecture until modern times.


title: Bloomery

text: Early European bloomeries were relatively small, primarily due to the mechanical limits of human powered bellows and the amount of force possible to apply with hand driven sledge hammers. Those known archaeologically from the pre-Roman Iron Age tend to be in the 2 kg range, produced in low shaft furnaces. Roman era production often used furnaces tall enough to create a natural draft effect (into the range of 200 cm tall), and increasing bloom sizes into the range of 10 – 15 kg. Contemporary experimenters had routinely made blooms using Northern European derived 'short shaft' furnaces with blown air supplies in the 5 – 10 kg range The use of waterwheel, spreading around the turn of the first millennium and used to power more massive bellows allowed the bloomery to become larger and hotter, with associated trip hammers allowing the consolidation forging of the larger blooms created. Progressively larger bloomeries were constructed in the late 14th century, with a capacity of about 15 kg on average, though exceptions did exist. European average bloom sizes quickly rose to 300 kg, where they levelled off until the demise of the bloomery.


title: Bloomery

text: As a bloomery's size is increased, the iron ore is exposed to burning charcoal for a longer time. When combined with the strong air blast required to penetrate the large ore and charcoal stack, this may cause part of the iron to melt and become saturated with carbon in the process, producing unforgeable pig iron which requires oxidation to be reduced into cast iron, steel, and iron. This pig iron was considered a waste product detracting from the largest bloomeries' yield, and it was not until the 14th century that early blast furnaces, identical in construction but dedicated to the production of molten iron, were built.


title: Bloomery

text: Bloomery type furnaces typically produced a range of iron products from very low carbon iron to steel containing approximately 0.2% to 1.5% carbon. The master smith had to select pieces of low carbon iron, carburize them, and pattern-weld them together to make steel sheets. Even when applied to a non-carburized bloom, this pound, fold and weld process resulted in a more homogeneous product and removed much of the slag. The process had to be repeated up to 15 times when high quality steel was needed, as for a sword. The alternative was to carburize the surface of a finished product. Each welding's heat oxidises some carbon, so the master smith had to make sure there was enough carbon in the starting mixture.


title: Bloomery

text: In England and Wales, despite the arrival of the blast furnace in the Weald in about 1491, bloomery forges, probably using water-power for the hammer as well as the bellows, were operating in the West Midlands region beyond 1580. In Furness and Cumberland, they operated into the early 17th century and the last one in England (near Garstang) did not close until about 1770.


title: Bloomery

text: One of the oldest known blast furnaces in Europe has been found in Lapphyttan in Sweden, carbon-14 dated to be from the 12th century. The oldest bloomery in Sweden, also found in the same area, has been carbon-14 dated to 700 BCE.


title: Bloomery

text: Bloomeries survived in Spain and southern France as Catalan forges into the mid-19th century, and in Austria as the to 1775.


title: Bloomery

text: Excavations at L'Anse aux Meadows Newfoundland have found considerable evidence for the processing of bog iron and the production of iron in a bloomery by the Norse. The cluster of Viking Age (c 1000 - 1022 AD) at L'Anse aux Meadows are situated on a raised marine terrace, between a sedge peat bog and the ocean. Estimates from the smaller amount of slag recovered archaeologically suggest 15 kg of slag was produced during what appears to have been a single smelting attempt. By comparing the iron content of the primary bog iron ore found in the purpose built 'furnace hut' with the iron remaining in that slag, an estimated 3 kg iron bloom was produced. At a yield of at best 20% from what is a good iron rich ore, this suggests the workers processing the ore had not been particularly skilled. This supports the idea that iron processing knowledge was widespread and not restricted to major centers of trade and commerce. 98 nail, and importantly, ship rivet fragments, were also found at the site as well as considerable evidence for woodworking - which points to boat or possibly ship repairs being undertaken at the site. (An important consideration remains that a potential 3 kg raw bloom most certainly does not make enough refined bar to manufacture the 3 kg of recovered nails and rivets!)


title: Bloomery

text: In the Spanish colonization of the Americas, bloomeries or "Catalan forges" were part of 'self sufficiency' at some of the , "encomiendas", and "pueblos". As part of the Franciscan Spanish missions in Alta California, the "Catalan forges" at Mission San Juan Capistrano from the 1790s are the oldest existing facilities of their kind in the present day state of California. The bloomeries' sign proclaims the site as being "...part of Orange County's first industrial complex."


title: Bloomery

text: The archaeology at Jamestown Virginia (circa 1610–15, citation needed), had recoved the remains of a simple short shaft bloomery furnace, likely intended as yet another 'resource test' like the one in Vinland much earlier. The English settlers of the 13 colonies were prevented by law from manufacture; for a time, the British sought to situate most of the skilled artisanry at domestic locations. In fact, this was one of the problems which led to the revolution. The Falling Creek Ironworks was the first in the United States. The Neabsco Iron Works is an example of the early Virginian effort to form a workable American industry.


title: Bloomery

text: In the Adirondacks, New York, new bloomeries using the hot blast technique were built in the 19th century.


title: Overland Campaign

text: The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and other forces against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Although Grant suffered severe losses during the campaign, it was a strategic Union victory. It inflicted proportionately higher losses on Lee's army and maneuvered it into a siege at Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, in just over eight weeks.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Crossing the Rapidan River on May 4, 1864, Grant sought to defeat Lee's army by quickly placing his forces between Lee and Richmond and inviting an open battle. Lee surprised Grant by attacking the larger Union army in the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5–7), resulting in many casualties on both sides. Unlike his predecessors in the Eastern Theater, Grant did not withdraw his army following this setback but instead maneuvered to the southeast, resuming his attempt to interpose his forces between Lee and Richmond. Lee's army was able to get into position to block this movement. At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House (May 8–21), Grant repeatedly attacked segments of the Confederate defensive line, hoping for a breakthrough but the only results were again many losses for both sides.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Grant maneuvered again, meeting Lee at the North Anna River (Battle of North Anna, May 23–26). Here, Lee held clever defensive positions that provided an opportunity to defeat portions of Grant's army but illness prevented Lee from attacking in time to trap Grant. The final major battle of the campaign was waged at Cold Harbor (May 31 – June 12), in which Grant gambled that Lee's army was exhausted and ordered a massive assault against strong defensive positions, resulting in disproportionately heavy Union casualties. Resorting to maneuver a final time, Grant surprised Lee by stealthily crossing the James River, threatening to capture the city of Petersburg, the loss of which would doom the Confederate capital. The resulting siege of Petersburg (June 1864 – March 1865) led to the eventual surrender of Lee's army in April 1865 and the end of the Civil War.


title: Overland Campaign

text: The campaign included two long-range raids by Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan. In a raid toward Richmond, Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern (May 11). In a raid attempting to destroy the Virginia Central Railroad to the west, Sheridan was thwarted by Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton at the Battle of Trevilian Station (June 11–12), the largest cavalry battle of the war.


title: Overland Campaign

text: In March 1864, Grant was summoned from the Western Theater, promoted to lieutenant general, and given command of all Union armies. He chose to make his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac, although Meade retained formal command of that army. Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman succeeded Grant in command of most of the western armies. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln devised a coordinated strategy that would strike at the heart of the Confederacy from multiple directions: Grant, Meade, and Benjamin Butler against Lee near Richmond, Virginia; Franz Sigel in the Shenandoah Valley; Sherman to invade Georgia, defeat Joseph E. Johnston, and capture Atlanta; George Crook and William W. Averell to operate against railroad supply lines in West Virginia; and Nathaniel Banks to capture Mobile, Alabama. This was the first time the Union armies would have a coordinated offensive strategy across a number of theaters.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Although previous Union campaigns in Virginia targeted the Confederate capital of Richmond as their primary objective, this time the goal was to capture Richmond by aiming for the destruction of Lee's army. Lincoln had long advocated this strategy for his generals, recognizing that the city would certainly fall after the loss of its principal defensive army. Grant ordered Meade, "Wherever Lee goes, there you will go also." Although he hoped for a quick, decisive battle, Grant was prepared to fight a war of attrition. He meant to "hammer continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his resources until by mere attrition, if in no other way, there should be nothing left to him but an equal submission with the loyal section of our common country to the constitution and laws of the land." Both Union and Confederate casualties could be high, but the Union had greater resources to replace lost soldiers and equipment.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Despite Grant's superior numbers, he had manpower challenges. Following their severe beating at the Battle of Gettysburg the previous year, the I Corps and the III Corps had been disbanded and their survivors reallocated to other corps, which damaged unit cohesion and morale. Because he was operating on the offensive in enemy territory, Grant had to defend his bases of supply and the lines extending from them to his army in the field; it was principally for this reason that Grant chose to maneuver repeatedly around Lee's right flank during the campaign, relying on waterborne supply lines instead of the railroads, such as the Orange and Alexandria, in Virginia's interior. Furthermore, since many of his soldiers' three-year enlistments were about to expire, they were naturally reluctant to participate in dangerous assaults. To deal with these challenges, Grant supplemented his forces by reassigning soldiers manning the heavy artillery batteries around Washington, D.C., to infantry regiments.


title: Overland Campaign

text: The Overland Campaign began as Grant's forces crossed the Rapidan River on May 4, 1864. Grant's objective was to force an engagement with Lee, outside of his Mine Run fortifications, by either drawing his forces out or turning them. Lee, displaying the audacity that characterized his generalship, moved out as Grant desired, but more quickly than Grant anticipated; Union forces had insufficient time to clear the area known as the Wilderness, a tangle of scrub brush and undergrowth in which part of the Battle of Chancellorsville had been fought the previous year. By forcing a fight here, Lee effectively neutralized the Union's advantage in artillery. He ordered Ewell's Corps to advance on the Orange Turnpike, A.P. Hill's in parallel on the Orange Plank Road, and James Longstreet's from the distant Gordonsville.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Early on May 5, Warren's V Corps was advancing south toward the Plank Road when Ewell's Corps appeared in the west on the Turnpike. Meade halted his army and directed Warren to attack if the Confederates were a small, isolated group. Ewell's men erected earthworks on the western end of the clearing known as Saunders Field. Warren requested a delay from Meade so that Sedgwick's VI Corps could be brought in on his right and extend his line. By 1 p.m., Meade was frustrated by the delay and ordered Warren to attack before Sedgwick could arrive. The brigade of Brig. Gen. Romeyn B. Ayres had to take cover in a gully to avoid enfilading fire. The brigade of Brig. Gen. Joseph J. Bartlett made better progress to Ayres's left and overran the position of Brig. Gen. John M. Jones, who was killed. However, since Ayres's men were unable to advance, Bartlett's right flank was now exposed to attack, and his brigade was forced to flee back across the clearing.


title: Overland Campaign

text: To the left of Bartlett, the Iron Brigade, commanded by Brig. Gen. Lysander Cutler, struck a brigade of Alabamians commanded by Brig. Gen. Cullen A. Battle. Although initially pushed back, the Confederates counterattacked with the brigade of Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon, tearing through the line and forcing the Iron Brigade to flee. Near the Higgerson farm, the brigades of Col. Roy Stone and Brig. Gen. James C. Rice attacked the brigades of Brig. Gen. George P. Doles's Georgians and Brig. Gen. Junius Daniel's North Carolinians. Both attacks failed under heavy fire, and Crawford ordered his men to pull back. Warren ordered an artillery section into Saunders Field to support his attack, but it was captured by Confederate soldiers, who were pinned down and prevented by rifle fire from moving the guns until darkness. In the midst of hand-to-hand combat at the guns, the field caught fire and men from both sides were shocked as their wounded comrades burned to death. The lead elements of Sedgwick's VI Corps reached Saunders Field at 3 p.m., by which time Warren's men had ceased fighting. Sedgwick attacked Ewell's line in the woods north of the Turnpike and both sides traded attacks and counterattacks that lasted about an hour before each disengaged to erect earthworks.


title: Overland Campaign

text: A.P. Hill's approach on the Plank Road that afternoon was detected, and Meade ordered the VI Corps division of Brig. Gen. George W. Getty to defend the important intersection with the Brock Road. Getty's men arrived just before Hill's and the two forces skirmished briefly, ending with Hill's men withdrawing a few hundred yards west of the intersection. Meade sent orders to Hancock directing him to move his II Corps north to come to Getty's assistance. As the Union men approached the position of Maj. Gen. Henry Heth, they were pinned down by fire from a shallow ridge to their front. As each II Corps division arrived, Hancock sent it forward to assist, bringing enough combat power to bear that Lee was forced to commit his reserves, the division commanded by Maj. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox. Fierce fighting continued until nightfall with neither side gaining an advantage.


title: Overland Campaign

text: On May 6, Hancock's II Corps attacked Hill at 5 a.m., overwhelming the Third Corps with the divisions of Wadsworth, Birney, and Mott; Getty and Gibbon were in support. Lee had assured Hill that Longstreet's Corps would arrive to reinforce Hill before dawn, but moving cross-country in the dark, they made slow progress and lost their way at times. Ewell's men on the Turnpike had attacked first, at 4:45 a.m., but continued to be pinned down by attacks from Sedgwick's and Warren's corps and could not be relied upon for assistance. Before a total collapse, however, reinforcements arrived at 6 a.m., Brig. Gen. John Gregg's 800-man Texas Brigade, the vanguard of Longstreet's column. General Lee, caught up in the excitement, began to move forward with the advancing brigade. As the Texans realized this, they halted, refusing to move forward unless Lee remained in the rear.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Longstreet counterattacked with the divisions of Maj. Gen. Charles W. Field and Brig. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw. The Union troops fell a few hundred yards back from the Widow Tapp farm. At 10 a.m., Longstreet's chief engineer reported that he had explored an unfinished railroad bed south of the Plank Road and that it offered easy access to the Union left flank. Longstreet's aide, Lt. Col. Moxley Sorrel, and the senior brigade commander, Brig. Gen. William Mahone, struck at 11 a.m. with four brigades. At the same time, Longstreet resumed his main attack, driving Hancock's men back to the Brock Road, but the momentum was lost when Longstreet was wounded by his own men, putting him out of action until October.


title: Overland Campaign

text: At the Turnpike, inconclusive fighting continued for most of the day. Early in the morning, Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon scouted the Union line and recommended to his division commander, Jubal Early, that he conduct a flanking attack, but Early dismissed the venture as too risky and did not approve it until that evening. Gordon's attack made good progress against inexperienced New York troops, but eventually the darkness and the dense foliage took their toll as the Union flank received reinforcements and recovered.


title: Overland Campaign

text: On the morning of May 7, Grant chose maneuver instead of further attacks. By moving south on the Brock Road, he hoped to reach the crossroads at Spotsylvania Court House, which would interpose his army between Lee and Richmond, forcing Lee to fight on ground more advantageous to the Union army. He ordered preparations for a night march on May 7 that would reach Spotsylvania, to the southeast, by the morning of May 8. Unfortunately for Grant, inadequate cavalry screening allowed Lee's army to reach the crossroads before sufficient Union troops arrived to contest it.


title: Overland Campaign

text: At dawn on May 8, Fitzhugh Lee's cavalrymen staked out a defensive line on a low ridge that they dubbed "Laurel Hill." Reinforcements from Anderson arrived just as Warren's men pulled up within 100 yards to the north. Assuming only cavalry blocked his path, Warren ordered an immediate attack. Multiple attacks by the divisions of the V Corps were repulsed with heavy casualties. In the afternoon, Sedgwick's VI Corps arrived near Laurel Hill and extended Warren's line to the east. By 7 p.m., both corps began a coordinated assault but were repulsed by heavy fire. They attempted to move around Anderson's right flank, but were surprised to find that divisions from Ewell's Second Corps had arrived in that sector to repulse them again.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Generals Meade and Sheridan had quarreled about the cavalry's performance throughout the campaign and their failures May 7–8 brought Meade's notorious temper to a boil. Sheridan told Meade that he could "whip Stuart" if Meade let him. Meade reported the conversation to Grant, who replied, "Well, he generally knows what he is talking about. Let him start right out and do it." Meade deferred to Grant's judgment and issued orders to Sheridan to "proceed against the enemy's cavalry." Sheridan's entire command of 10,000 cavalrymen departed the following day. They engaged with (and mortally wounded) Stuart at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 11, threatened the outskirts of Richmond, refitted near the James River, and did not return to the army until May 24. Grant and Meade were left without cavalry resources during the critical days of the battle to come.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Over the night of May 8–9, the Confederates erected a series of earthworks more than long, highlighted by an exposed salient known as the "Mule Shoe" extending more than a mile (1.6 km) in front of the main trench line. At about 9 a.m., Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick was inspecting his VI Corps line when he was shot through the head by a Confederate sharpshooter's bullet, dying instantly. He was replaced by Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Grant ordered Hancock to cross the Po River and attack the Confederates' left flank, driving them back toward Burnside's position near the Ni River, while the rest of his command, in the center, watched for an opening to attack there as well. Hancock's II Corps advanced across the Po, but he delayed his attack until the morning. This error was fatal to Grant's plan. That night, Lee moved two divisions of Jubal Early's corps from Spotsylvania Court House into position against Hancock. On the morning of May 10, Grant ordered Hancock to withdraw north of the Po, leaving a single division in place to occupy the Confederates in that sector, while the rest of his army was to attack at 5 p.m. across the entire Confederate line. At 2 p.m., Jubal Early decided to attack the division, which retreated across the Po without being captured, destroying the bridges behind them.


title: Overland Campaign

text: While Hancock was in the Po sector, Warren requested permission from Meade to attack Laurel Hill at 4 p.m., uncoordinated with the rest of Grant's attack. Again the Laurel Hill line repulsed the Union troops with heavy losses. Grant was forced to postpone his 5 p.m. coordinated assault until Warren could get his troops reformed. Not informed of the delay, Brig. Gen. Gershom Mott of the II Corps moved his division forward at 5 p.m. toward the tip of the Mule Shoe. When his men reached the open field, Confederate artillery ripped them to shreds, and they retreated. At around 6 p.m., Col. Emory Upton led a group of 12 hand-picked regiments, about 5,000 men in four battle lines, against an identified weak point on the west side of the Mule Shoe. The plan was for Upton's men to rush across the open field without pausing to fire and reload, reaching the earthworks before the Confederates could fire more than a couple of shots. The plan worked well initially, but Generals Lee and Ewell were quick to organize a vigorous counterattack with brigades from all sectors of the Mule Shoe. No Union supporting units arrived. Upton's men were driven out of the Confederate works, and he reluctantly ordered them to retreat.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Despite his reverses on May 10, Grant had reason for optimism because of the partial success of Upton's innovative assault. He planned to use the same tactics with Hancock's entire corps. On the Confederate side, Lee received some intelligence reports that made him believe Grant was planning to withdraw toward Fredericksburg. If this happened, he wanted to follow up with an immediate attack. Concerned about the mobility of his artillery to support the potential attack, he ordered that the guns be withdrawn from Allegheny Johnson's division in the Mule Shoe to be ready for a movement to the right. He was completely unaware, of course, that this was exactly the place Grant intended to attack. Johnson requested to Ewell that his artillery be returned, but somehow the order did not reach the artillery units until 3:30 a.m. on May 12, 30 minutes before Hancock's assault was planned to start.


title: Overland Campaign

text: Hancock's assault started at 4:35 a.m. on May 12 and easily crashed through the Confederate works. Despite the initial success at obliterating much of the Mule Shoe salient, there was a flaw in the Union plan—no one had considered how to capitalize on the breakthrough. The 15,000 infantrymen of Hancock's II Corps had crowded into a narrow front about a half mile wide and soon lost all unit cohesion, becoming little more than an armed mob. Following the initial shock, the Confederate leadership at all levels began to react well to the Union onslaught and reinforcements were rushed in to stem the tide.