Legio XVII: Roman Legion at War by Thomas A. Timmes Page B

to a man named Quaestor Levi when they returned to Rome.  Manius did not know Levi, but would find him.
    Manius intentionally withheld one of his own observations from the Consuls.  He noticed, as did several of the other Centurions, the deadly effectiveness of the enemy archers.  Yet, Rome did not believe in archers.  They were viewed as cowards.  Sword to sword was the only manly way to fight and win battles, but he was beginning to have second thoughts.  He remembered that early in his career he thought that only men of the Hastati were the real fighters and noted how his thinking changed when he was moved to the Principes .  Maybe archers were warriors also.
    Two days after the battle, the Romans collected their dead, removed salvable uniform parts such as body armor, gladius , and helmets and burned the dead in 10 great funeral pyres.  Gallic prisoners were similarly employed gathering their dead and burying them in long deep trenches, which they dug.  The entire Roman army was totally engaged in this activity either burning their dead or guarding the prisoners while they buried theirs.  It was a distasteful, but necessary duty.  Great piles of Gallic iron weaponry grew at several points around the battlefield as teams of prisoners collected them for resmelting and reuse as Roman helmets, swords, and body armor.
    After the battlefield was cleaned up, Papus had one more task to complete. The next day, he announced his intention to lead his five Legions east across the Central Apennines and conduct a punitive expedition against the Boii in northeast Italy for their participation in this attack on Roman territory.  He would later use the spoils taken from the Boii for his triumph in Rome three-months later.
    When Manius heard about the punitive expedition against the Boii , he had mixed emotions.  He agreed it was necessary as a future deterrent, but he did not like it.  It was not fighting for Rome; it was not honorable; it was not worthy of a Legionaire.  He knew that all the villages would be burnt; livestock killed; woman raped and the men killed or taken as slaves.  It repelled him.  And worst of all, he knew it would cause widespread resentment and hatred of Rome and only lead to further wars with the Boii .  It was bad policy.
    With so many Boii and I nsubres men lying dead on the battlefield, their families back home were already doomed to a miserable existence.  Who now would do the planting and harvesting or tend to the animals?  Rather than punish them, Manius was beginning to think that Rome should treat them with kindness in their defeat.  Nonetheless, he trusted his Commander’s judgment and was prepared to participate in the slaughter ~ still it greatly troubled him.
    Of the 10,000 Gallic prisoners taken in the battle, 2000 were to remain in Rome for construction projects and the rest were sent to work the Roman mines that harvested iron, copper, tin, lead, and the precious metals of gold and silver.  It was a death sentence.
    The day before the Legions were to break camp and march north, Manius’ Legate summoned him.  Papus wanted Manius to go back to Rome immediately to brief Levi and begin the process of applying the lesson learned in this campaign before Rome was faced with yet another war and more unnecessary casualties.  He was told to depart immediately.  Manius felt an immense weight lifted off his shoulders.  He bade farewell to his Maniple, mounted his horse, and began the journey back to Rome.
    As he rode away from the camp, Manius was relieved that he would not have to participate in the upcoming Boii campaign, but saddened that he would not be with his troops.  He would miss their good natured banter, the shared hardships, the complaints about the food and weather, the talk around the camp fires, but he had to let it go for now and focus on his new mission.  He was a soldier.  His brother’s helmet was safely stored in his personal wagon with the rest of his gear