I am about to embark on a small holiday — by which I mean I will have several days off in a row. That’s a rarity for me, because of the way the newspaper schedule works. For the last edition of the year, we’re putting out a retrospective, which means other than a column and delivery, I have scant duties for a few days. I plan to indulge myself … [Read more...] about A Hero Betrayed?
Norse Frontiersmen
The trailer drop for The Northman got buried in the trapline; Paul McNamee pointed out its sign right after I’d uploaded the post. Brian Murphy’s recent essay at the DMR Books blog gives me a chance to give this piece of epic Norse badassery its proper due. Now, behold... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg8DHWkrCP8 Murphy, who … [Read more...] about Norse Frontiersmen
Working The Trapline — ‘Giving Up Is Not In The Blood’
“Giving up is not in the blood, Sir. It’s not in the blood.” — Nirmal Purja, Nepali climber and absolute badass Frontier Partisan Craig Rullman insisted that I watch 14 Peaks, recently released on Netflix. He was right to do so. A more blood-stirring tale you will never watch unfold. Nims Purja is a combat veteran of the Gurkha Regiment … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — ‘Giving Up Is Not In The Blood’
Frederick Russell Burnham: Seeker Of Fortune
The third part of The Frontier Partisan Podcast series on American scout Frederick Russell Burnham is up. You can find it here or or on Spotify or on other podcasting platforms. This third and final installment covers FRB’s sojourn in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898-99, his services as Chief of Scouts to Lord Roberts in the … [Read more...] about Frederick Russell Burnham: Seeker Of Fortune
Firearms of the Frontier Partisans — Rifles In the French & Indian War
The question as to what degree rifles were in use during the French & Indian War (1755-63) is a perennial point of discussion around the campfires of frontier history buffs. Reenactors are especially interested. Some figure that if someone somewhere used a rifle, they’re justified in carrying one as part of their historical persona. Others … [Read more...] about Firearms of the Frontier Partisans — Rifles In the French & Indian War
The Dangers Of Duck Hunting — Pierre-Esprit Radisson’s Perilous 17th Century
By Rick Schwertfeger Captain, Frontier Partisans Southern Command, Dec. 2021 Note: Pierre-Esprit Radisson lived a 17th century life of remarkable adventure and equally remarkable duplicity. In this article I will not recount his life story. I certainly will refer to many of the events. But Mark Bourrie aimed to contextualize the Radisson epic … [Read more...] about The Dangers Of Duck Hunting — Pierre-Esprit Radisson’s Perilous 17th Century
Yo Ho, Ho-Ho-Ho
“Buccaneers, like other Europeans and European-derived Christian peoples, did observe the holiday, far more often with raucous, inebriated celebration than with religious devotion.” — Benerson Little, Pirate Historian Last Tuesday’s newspaper delivery podcast session started with pirate revels. PARCAST has a new, … [Read more...] about Yo Ho, Ho-Ho-Ho
Firearms Of The Frontier Partisans — Fusil de Chasse
Note: I’ve edited this piece from its original version. My tone was too snarky and harsh and I was a bit unfair to Holton. I think he over-egged the cake in his assertion about native use of rifles at Braddock’s Defeat because he’s trying to foreground the native peoples, but it’s not a willful distortion, which is the impression I gave. Woody … [Read more...] about Firearms Of The Frontier Partisans — Fusil de Chasse
‘Apache Warriors Tell Their Side’
If you’ve got some time Thursday evening, avail yourself of this opportunity: I’m honored to have Lynda Sanchez as a reader here — she’s an ace scholar of the borderlands history of the desert Southwest and Northern Mexico. Her investigation into the fate of the Apache Kid is, as far as I’m concerned, definitive, almost certainly the … [Read more...] about ‘Apache Warriors Tell Their Side’
The Battle For North America
The 1759 British campaign to take Quebec is one of those moments that, in Winston Churchill’s wonderful phrase, acted as a “hinge of fate.” The stakes were enormous — mastery of the North American Continent. The logistical challenges of moving a fleet up the St. Lawrence River and assaulting the fortress city were profound. The gutsy nighttime … [Read more...] about The Battle For North America
