“I carry in my right hand war, and peace in my left... Here is a bloody belt and a white one. Take which you please.” — Lt. Col. George Rogers Clark to assembled chiefs at Cahokia, Illinois, 1778 * Clark’s big reveal of the mission of his tiny force did not go particularly well. A score of his men deserted that night and attempted to make … [Read more...] about ‘A Few Men Well Conducted’ — The Battles Of The Long Knife — Part II
The Battles Of The Long Knife — Part I
He was the frontier warrior the Indians most feared — The Long Knife: a killer, a conqueror, a burner of cornfields. George Rogers Clark was, with the possible exception of Benedict Arnold and Daniel Morgan, the most effective military commander the Americans fielded during the Revolutionary War. And, like Arnold, Clark was ill-treated by a … [Read more...] about The Battles Of The Long Knife — Part I
Spontoon
As my moccasins pound down the warpath in the Mohawk Valley c. 1775-1882, I continually cut sign of a medieval implement that remained an effective weapon through the era of the muzzleloading musket and rifle. Talking about the Spontoon. That’s a fancy term for a military spear. Officially, it’s a half-pike. The pike — a spear ranging anywhere … [Read more...] about Spontoon
The Iceman Cometh
Perhaps the oldest Frontier Partisans tale of them all is unfolding on screen this month. An Alpine backpacker later named Ötzi was stalked and killed by an arrow in the Italian Alps more than 5,000 years ago. His assailant: unknown. Motive: undetermined (though intact kit tends to rule out robbery). Ötzi may have been the victim of a mountain … [Read more...] about The Iceman Cometh
Ballads Of The Frontier Partisans — There’s Whiskey In The Jar
Me and my mates are rehearsing for a St. Paddy’s gig, so naturally we’re polishing up a set of Celtic-flavored songs. My own Shoot Straight You Bastards. Steve Earle’s Galway Girl. Charlie Robison’s John O’Reilly. Dropkick Murphys’ Rose Tattoo. Gaelic Storm’s magnificent privateer epic Lover’s Wreck. And Whiskey in the Jar. Popularized by The … [Read more...] about Ballads Of The Frontier Partisans — There’s Whiskey In The Jar
‘A Bit Of A Tit’
“Well you are a bit of a tit, aren’t you?” — Col. Hiram Huncks to Balthasar de St. Michel * I am, betimes, a foolish fellow. When Christopher Buckley’s The Judge Hunter came out a few months ago, I grabbed it up off the new arrivals table at the bookstore, because I will always pick up a book with a tomahawk, a flintlock, and goose-quill … [Read more...] about ‘A Bit Of A Tit’
Roosevelt, Rondon, and Tarzan: The Brazilian Frontier
By Captain Paul McNamee Frontier Partisans New England Ranging Company (Editor’s Note: Captain McNamee has a particular interest in the wilds of South America. His report on the Roosevelt-Rondon expedition has been recovered from a chest full of documents that was dredged from the River of Lost Souls after a dugout overturned during the … [Read more...] about Roosevelt, Rondon, and Tarzan: The Brazilian Frontier
Getting A Kick Out Of An 18th Century Rifle
A few days back, John H. Bryan, Attorney at Law, posted on Facebook some wonderful pictures of a rare surviving mid-18th Century flintlock rifle of the Virginia school. Without getting too pedantic about it, Pennsylvania rifles tended to have a little more Germanic cast to them, while the Virginia rifles looked a little bit more like English … [Read more...] about Getting A Kick Out Of An 18th Century Rifle
Savage Civil War in New Jersey During the American Revolution
By Rick Schwertfeger, Captain, Frontier Partisans Southern Command This is Rick Schwertfeger’s seventh article on backcountry, irregular and militia partisans in the American Revolution. * As 5,000 British Redcoats marched down Schraalenburgh’s New Bridge Road on November 21, 1776, a day behind the retreating, disheveled American … [Read more...] about Savage Civil War in New Jersey During the American Revolution
Drawing ‘Last Blood’
John Rambo rides again. Sly Stallone is saddling up — literally — for a coda to the Rambo movie franchise that will now span 37 years. According to Variety, Rambo: Last Blood (get it?)… “…centers on Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo crossing into Mexico and taking on a violent cartel when the daughter of one of his friends is kidnapped. … [Read more...] about Drawing ‘Last Blood’
