Category Archives: History

U.S. Marshal C. P. Dake

Posted on October 12, 2020 by

All we know about this man’s family is that (a) they were Canadian, (b) they moved to New York when their son was still a child, and (c) they demonstrated one heck of an imagination when they named their son … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona Territory, History, U.S. Marshals | 4 Comments

Old West vs. Hollywood West

Posted on October 5, 2020 by

What most of us learned about the Old West, as kids, was what we saw at the cinema and on early black and white television.  It was great fun.  In my day, we all looked forward to the Saturday matinees … Continue reading →

Posted in American Southwest, Gunfights and such, History, Kansas, New Mexico, Westward Expansion | 1 Comment

The Hyde Park Gunfight

Posted on September 21, 2020 by

Historian Eduardo Obregón Pagán’s book Valley of the Guns: The Pleasant Valley War and the Trauma of Violence emphasizes the post-traumatic stress among survivors of old west gunfights, hostile Indian attacks, and lawmen who were quick on the trigger.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Gunfights and such, History, Kansas, Texas | Leave a comment

Cherokee Blood Bath

Posted on September 14, 2020 by

Some Background On 28 May 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law.  The Act authorized the President of the United States to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi River in exchange for Indian lands within … Continue reading →

Posted in American Indians, Cherokee Nation, History, Indian Territory | 1 Comment

The Acadians

Posted on September 7, 2020 by

Les Acadiens Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485-1528) was a Florentine explorer of North America who, at the time, was in the service of the King of France (one that hardly anyone has ever heard about: Francis I[1]).  Verrazzano’s sixteenth-century map of … Continue reading →

Posted in Colonial America, History | 6 Comments

The American Frontier

Posted on August 24, 2020 by

Some background Human migration could be the most important factor in understanding the development of North America.  While it is true that the story of humankind is one of migration, our American story began when people decided to risk their … Continue reading →

Posted in American Frontier, Colonial America, History, New France, New Spain, Pioneers, Society, Westward Expansion | 5 Comments

The Ambushers

Posted on August 17, 2020 by

An ambush (also, ambuscade) is a long-established military tactic in which combatants take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemies from concealed positions, i.e., from dense underbrush, from wooded areas, or from behind hilltops.  Another … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Civil War, History, Little Dixie | 3 Comments

Mexican California and the Bear Flag Revolt

Posted on August 10, 2020 by

No one can fully understand the relationship between Mexico and the United States without also understanding the history of Spain, of New Spain, its transition to the Republic of Mexico, and of course the concomitant relationships between the American colonies … Continue reading →

Posted in Antebellum Period, California, History, Mexican American War, Westward Expansion | 2 Comments

Mysterious Johnny …

Posted on August 3, 2020 by

Except for San Francisco, California, there was not much opulence in the Old West.  In place of lavishness most of the old west towns offered an abundance of saloons, gambling houses, and brothels.  With one saloon or gambling house after … Continue reading →

Posted in History | 4 Comments

Murderous Rage

Posted on July 27, 2020 by

The Confederacy was already dead by early April 1865.  With Robert E. Lee’s defeat at Sailor’s Creek, fighting in the Eastern Theater came to an end.  Fighting did continue in Alabama with Nathan Bedford Forrest struggling against James Wilson’s cavalry, … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War, History, Justice, Texas, Uncategorized | 2 Comments