Frontier Partisans

The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire

Tales Of The Hunters

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We’re experiencing glorious springlike conditions here on the east slope of the Cascades, and I mean to take full advantage of it — because it’s always just a tease. Before the weather gods laugh cruelly and again bring down the lash of the dreadful wind and rain, I will get in a long day in the woods and then hit the books for a final push to … [Read more...] about Tales Of The Hunters

Heads Will Roll

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The wind was absolutely ripping yesterday — 40+ mph. I prefer to workout outdoors under almost any conditions, but that was just too much, so I moved the kettlebells indoors to the living room. If I have to be inside, I like to watch something meaty and historical (naturally) while I sling the iron, so I fired up the Netflix machine, figuring to … [Read more...] about Heads Will Roll

Four Sixes

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Taylor Sheridan is a damn tornado — spinning off stories of the American West so prolifically that alarm sirens are going off across the prairie. After the recent announcement of a prequel to My Cowboy Soap Opera (aka Yellowstone) comes the news that we’ll be getting a contemporary-era spinoff with a working title of 6666. As in, the Four Sixes … [Read more...] about Four Sixes

The Shock Troops Of The Empire

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The new episode of The Frontier Partisans Podcast series on the Highlanders is up. Access it here. I’m quite pleased with this episode, which covers the Highlanders’ role as soldiers on the frontiers of the British Empire during the French and Indian War and its aftermath.  It’s a fascinating phenomenon — Clansmen who had been crushed by the … [Read more...] about The Shock Troops Of The Empire

A Scottish Tale

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Episode 7 of The Frontier Partisans Podcast is up. It occurred to me as I hit the Glencoe Massacre of 1692 that I was recording on the 329th anniversary of the event itself. The bleak, snowy day outside my window set the mood quite appropriately. A terrible tale, and, as usual, more complicated than the version we usually get. In … [Read more...] about A Scottish Tale

Ain’t Living’ Long Like This

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“Waylon Jennings was the cornerstone of my record collection forever. What appeals to me is what appeals to most people about Waylon — it’s just that very cool sense of self. It just seems like Waylon was an artist that is so important to American music, and I just thought, I can do that. And so, why not?” — Shannon McNally    Shannon … [Read more...] about Ain’t Living’ Long Like This

Skate Like A Ranger

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  We are finally getting some decent winter here in Central Oregon. Real winter temperatures and enough snow to mean something. The conditions led my thoughts down the trail to New England and New York during the French and Indian War. One of the unique aspects of the long-term conflict on the northern frontier in the 18th century … [Read more...] about Skate Like A Ranger

Dead Men Tell A Tale

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Woke up to a stunning piece of news that  shivers me timbers... via the Boston Globe: The investigative team at the Whydah Pirate Museum in West Yarmouth on Wednesday announced what it said was the discovery of the remains of at least six skeletons recently unearthed from the wreck site of the Whydah, a pirate ship that sank in waters off … [Read more...] about Dead Men Tell A Tale

Frontier Partisans Patreon

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Believe it or not — I certainly struggle to conceive it — this year marks a full decade of Frontier Partisans. I launched this blog in June 2011 with a post on Charles Michel de Langlade, a French-Ottawa warrior who has to stand among the all-time Frontier Partisan badasses. Over that decade, I’ve published more than 1,500 posts, and we’ve … [Read more...] about Frontier Partisans Patreon