March 20, 1868. A group of robbers—which would evolve into the James-Younger Gang—hit the Nimrod Long Bank in Russellville, Kentucky. Bank...
A Coincidence Of Crime Nimrod Long ran into the James family twice.
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True West Blog
Unworthy Jesse James quit the church as his outlaw career took off.
Jesse James was the son of a Baptist minister, but he obviously took a wrong path. In September 1869, Jesse basically accepted that his faith was...
The Tombstone Reporter Clara Brown told the world about The Town Too Tough To Die.
Clara Spalding Brown is one of the most important chroniclers of Tombstone during its heyday. She and her husband moved to town in 1880, and almost...
A Man Of Many Hats Frank Reid was a teacher, engineer, bartender—and gunfighter.
Frank Reid had a varied life and career. A Union soldier during the Civil War, he was trained as an engineer before becoming a teacher in Oregon. ...
Shot Himself In The Foot Clay Allison’s marksmanship was a little off…
Clay Allison built a big reputation as a dangerous gunman. But there were times when he was strictly out of control and didn’t hit the intended...
Why Don’t People Remember Virgil Earp? Why do you suppose he doesn’t get the credit he deserves?
Why is Wyatt Earp a western household name and his older brother Virgil, who was the real “Frontier Marshal” of the two, so little-known? Don Chaput...
The Long Drive The Long Drive from the Texas brasada country south of San Antonio up to Abilene was about eight hundred miles and could take as long as two months...
The Long Drive from the Texas brasada country south of San Antonio up to Abilene was about eight hundred miles and could take as long as two months....
A Day In The Life Of A Chuckwagon Cook The cook didn’t just cook; he was also the barber, doctor, veterinarian, banker, arbitrator, letter writer, and father-confessor.
The most important man on a trail drive was the chuckwagon cook. That’s why next to the boss he was the highest paid hand. He was usually older and...
The Battle Of San Pasqual San Pasqual is a hilly, rugged area about 35 miles from San Diego. It was a rainy morning that December 6th when the two opposing forces faced each other across an open plain...
As General Stephen Watts Kearny and his Army of the West headed down the Rio Grande on their way to California they had a fateful meeting around...
The Wigwam Was The Place To Be The Winslow, Arizona saloon was pretty lively.
The Wigwam Saloon in Winslow, Arizona proved to be good and bad for a local lawman. In April 1905, Navajo County Deputy Pete Pemberton took out...
The Army Of The West The “golden prize” for the United States was California and that was the primary mission of General Stephen Watts Kearny’s Army of the West...
The Plains Indians called him the “Horse-chief of the Long Knives,” and the whites have called him, the “Father of the U.S. Cavalry.” The war...
Murphy Wagons Under Spanish rule any French or American trader who ventured into Santa Fe or Taos would be arrested and marched on foot to Chihuahua or even Mexico City and imprisoned. All that was about to change...
The storied Santa Fe Trail opened for business in 1821, a year that coincided with the birth of the Mexican Republic. The Mexican Revolution ...