Let's Fire Up Those Neurons!

Gauri: just saw your invitation to reveal so here goes:

Clue #1: As square as his head was round,

also known as a Roundhead,

Clue #2: Beheaded, but -
Of natural causes brought down,

Died of sickness and age then later his body was dug up, exhibited at Tyburn and beheaded: --->> Lord Oliver Cromwell (who had headed a section in British Rump Parliament known as Roundheads. )

Remaining clues:
#3:Lord General: a General, and Lord Protector --->> Oliver Cromwell
#4: Had a ship named after him, posthumously since he never rode it,: the HMS Oliver Cromwell was used in the American Revolutionary war more than a century later.
My addl clue: Because of his war on the Irish catholics, a traditional Irish curse still says: 'May the curse of Cromwell be on ye!'

 

Very good, that's right, you got Cromwell!

Sandhya!
Almost, but not quite the right vessel!
Look carefully at the image of that ship - is it the HMS Cromwell or HMS anything?
As Poirot might say: "Hastings, mon ami, you see but you do not observe!"

Do the honors Gauri?

 

Not taking a look at that thread, yet know laks fascination....for Argentina!

PS: Gauri and Aria...summons answered Thank you wonderful ladies. I have to be honest I am loving it, loving it and loving it yet need to enter with more confidence!

 

Sandhya:

You could almost, almost, almost have been right, but the clue I thought you missed was not the clue that's useful. I was referring to the American flag at the stern of the ship I posted, suggesting that it cannot be Her Majesty's Ship. However, I just found out that there was indeed an "Oliver Cromwell" built in Connecticut in 1776! Named so for his strong parliamentary, anti-monarchy credentials no doubt, hence seen as an implicit supporter of the American cause, although dead and beheaded! This got very interesting!!!! Thanks!

However, re: the puzzle, the last clue is: the nom de guerre! The USS Cromwell does not fit the bill there!

 

Wow! The ingenuity of this thread is not in the 'Qs and As' but for Soka it is how to arrange the clues —doggerel , rectilinear, Chinese doll (who incidentally knows all answers even before he finishes reading the question) and or others how to slope from that obliquity.

 

Yea, that's right!

As square as his head was round,
Cromwell was a puritan, hence a ‘square’ (in the slang sense), not quite sympatico with the hipsters at the royal court.

His followers were called “roundheads” because they cropped their hair close on their heads, with a forehead fringe. Surprisingly Cromwell himself seems to have sported long hair despite his puritanism.

Beheaded, but -
Of natural causes brought down,
Cromwell died a natural death, but after the restoration of the monarchy, his body was disinterred and ‘beheaded’ - apparently this sort of ‘posthumous execution’ was a thing! Cromwell’s head was placed on a spike, as a warning, for many years. Detatched from his body, it went on many an adventure on its own!

Ne’er on that vessel
Was this Lord General found,
The ship of course is the USS Constitution, the oldest ship in the United States navy, still on ‘active’ duty. This is an American ship, built after Cromwell’s time, so he never set foot on it, obviously. If you look carefully, you can see the stars and stripes on the ship. That should have been an easy clue for the observant, to add ‘USS’ / ‘US Navy’ / ‘Old American ship’ and so on to their search terms!

And Yet -
Well joined is he to her,
By their nom de guerre!
Cromwell’s nickname was “Old Ironsides”, and the USS Constitution is also affectionately called “Old Ironsides”, so they share that nom de guerre. There is a famous poem about the ship, with that title, by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (poet father of the famous justice), that is credited with saving the ship from being scuttled.

 

Who is posting next?

 

If you are ever in Boston, do go and see Old Ironsides. Cromwell never set foot on it, but you can!

It is docked in the Navy Yard in Charlestown. It has been beautifully restored. This ship saw a lot of action, was victorious in many a sea battle (Horatio Hornblower anyone?) and sailed around the world. The gun deck below is only few feet high – they used to employ little boys to work there as ‘powder boys’ since they could run swiftly in that cramped space, without having to crouch and shuffle along as adults would have to do. Trust me, the kids will love it!