Habbakuk Biddiscombe
From Turtledove
| Habbakuk Biddiscombe | |
| Fictional Character | |
| Atlantis | |
| Appearance(s): | The United States of Atlantis |
| Nationality: | English settler of Atlantis |
| Date of Death: | 1778 |
| Cause of Death: | Execution by Hanging |
| Occupation: | Soldier, Cavalry commander |
| Affiliations: | Army of the Atlantean Assembly, Biddiscombe's Horsed Legion |
Habbakuk Biddiscombe was the chief Atlantean cavalryman in General Victor Radcliff's army during the Atlantean War of Independence. He later gained infamy as a traitor after he defected back to the British
Brave and bold, Biddiscombe was one of General Victor Radcliff's more aggressive soldiers. Biddiscombe came to the fore early in the War, when Radcliff ordered then-Captain Biddiscombe to lead a skirmish against British General William Howe's advance on Weymouth. Biddiscome impressed Radcliff with his rudimentary understanding that speed and urgency were required. Biddiscombe's cavalry succeeded in its task, allowing Radcliff's men to pull the firearms and gunpowder stored in Weymouth out and shift them down to New Hastings.
Biddiscomebe was also ambitious, and often clashed with his superior officer over tactics and general strategy. After a heated argument during the Hanover campaign, Biddiscombe defected to the British and was promoted by General Charles Cornwallis to the rank of colonel. Several broadsheets were issued from the British military headquarters and loyalist printers, boasting of their new colonel and of a "Horsed Legion" he would soon lead.
The Horsed Legion took part in the campaign leading to the Siege of Croydon, and the day before Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army in 1778 Biddiscombe and some his men managed to break out of their lines. They were declared outlaws and eventually run to ground. Biddiscombe and his men were given a court-martial in Croydon and hanged en masse on the Croydon Meadow.
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