I’ve spent some time recently in the company of the Revolutionary War Seneca war leader Cornplanter. The son of a Dutch trader and a Seneca woman, Cornplanter was a highly effective partisan in the savage fighting in the Mohawk Valley of New York during the American Revolution. After the war, he resigned himself — and led his people — to … [Read more...] about Repatriating A Tomahawk
The Great Captain Of The Irish Frontier
(The following is a guest post from Captain of the Great Plains Deuce Richardson): Today marks the one thousand and fifth anniversary of the death of Brian Boru at the Battle of Clontarf. I was there, five years ago on the beach of Clontarf, to celebrate the millennial anniversary of that battle and to mourn the death of Ireland's greatest … [Read more...] about The Great Captain Of The Irish Frontier
Return Of ‘The Son’
The Son returns on AMC Saturday, April 27. The Texas tale based on the novel by Phillip Meyer is a good ’un. This’ll be it for the series, which had to be limited if it was going to be faithful to the source material. According to AMC, the narrative of the final season will unfold in three alternating timelines: “Eli McCullough (Pierce Brosnan) … [Read more...] about Return Of ‘The Son’
King Of California
Dave Alvin is a hero to me. He’s a genuine modern-day troubadour, a road warrior and a fellow history buff. I’ve learned so much from him — about songwriting, about performance, about making the most of a limited but compelling baritone voice. He’s been a part of the family for decades. When my now-20-year-old daughter was a colicy infant, … [Read more...] about King Of California
Searching For ‘The Searchers’
Kevin Smith over at The National Review took a swipe at an iconic American movie on Monday: The greatest Western of all time . . . isn’t. Though The Searchers is regularly hailed as the finest exemplar of its genre and one of the best movies of any kind (seventh-best of all time, according to the decennial Sight & Sound poll), John Ford’s 1956 … [Read more...] about Searching For ‘The Searchers’
Stuff That Works — I Got Me A Kephart Knife
“It was made by a country blacksmith, and is one of the homeliest things I ever saw; but it has outlived in my affections the score of other knives that I have used in competition with it, and has done more work than all of them put together.” — Horace Kephart This was bound to happen. Marilyn and Ceili and I went to a huge tattoo expo at … [Read more...] about Stuff That Works — I Got Me A Kephart Knife
Last of the Mohicans Coming To TV
Barry McKnight scouted up this interesting piece of intel: Paramount TV is developing a Last of the Mohicans TV series. From Deadline: Written by Cary Joji Fukunaga and Nicholas Osborne and directed by Kassell, The Last of the Mohicans series will be a retelling of Cooper’s French and Indian War novel that re-centers the classic tale on the … [Read more...] about Last of the Mohicans Coming To TV
Preston Thompson Has Gone Up The Trail
A remarkable craftsman has gone on up the trail. A block down Main Avenue from my newspaper office, Preston Thompson Guitars produces some of the most highly regarded guitars in the world, recreating the sound of golden age Martin Guitars. After nearly a year of battling serious illness and severe complications from a major surgery, Preston … [Read more...] about Preston Thompson Has Gone Up The Trail
Beyond The Alabama River
* Ace scout Deuce Richardson kicked up an epic from the Creek War, featuring one of the great Frontier Partisans — Sam Dale. Often called “the Daniel Boone of Alabama,” he is more properly seen as a peer of Simon Kenton or Captain Sam Brady: a Ranger of exceptional fortitude and prowess. The Canoe Fight is one of the classic engagements in … [Read more...] about Beyond The Alabama River
A Paradise Of Blood
The frontier of the Old Southwest has been something of a blank spot on the Frontier Partisans map. That’s something I intend to rectify in WoW2, because the Creek Nation Civil War and the fight over the rich black soil of the Deep South stirs up tales every bit as compelling as those that sprang from Kaintuck or the Mohawk Valley of New … [Read more...] about A Paradise Of Blood
