Benjamin Martin was a Frontier Partisan. Mel Gibson’s character in The Patriot (2000) was a composite of several historical figures, including South Carolina partisan leader Francis Marion aka The Swamp Fox. His background fighting the Cherokee in the Carolina backcountry in the 1760s is a key element of his character — and his loadout — once he … [Read more...] about Firearms Of The Frontier Partisans — A Patriot Rifle & Pulpy Goodness
Phoenix Rising
The Phoenix Program — to the extent that anybody has even heard of it anymore — is perhaps the most controversial and most misunderstood operation of the Vietnam War. It is usually portrayed as a covert assassination program that featured Green Berets leading indigenous teams out into the Vietnamese countryside to slaughter Viet Cong cadre in … [Read more...] about Phoenix Rising
The Rush
Over deserts hot and mountains cold I traveled the Indian country Whispering your name under lonesome skies Your memory my only company But my darling dear, please have no fear For I think that it’s fair to warn you That I’ll return to claim your hand As the King of California — Dave Alvin, King of California * The vision of a … [Read more...] about The Rush
‘This Does Not Bode Well…’
I’m one of those people who starts the Spooky Season on September 1. It runs through Hogmanay, too. I love everything about it — the crispness in the air, the shift toward autumnal light, the lingering of Indian Summer... the pumpkin spice (judge me if you must, I care not). Most of all, I revel in the close proximity of Fennario, that American … [Read more...] about ‘This Does Not Bode Well…’
Working The Trapline — Mozambique; Afghanistan; Northern Ireland & Mexico
The early-modern military history channel SandRhoman History just dropped another video in their series on “Staggering Sieges” — this one focused around the Siege of Detroit during Pontiac’s War. I always enjoy their work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9heCNkIP9w * The Undiscovered Country, Paul Andrew Hutton’s magnum opus, is now available … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Mozambique; Afghanistan; Northern Ireland & Mexico
A Spanish Adventurer — The Wild Life Of Captain Alonso de Contreras — Part I
“...In those parts it was wiser to travel ... well-armed and with a crew who all slept with one eye open and who understood each other like brothers.” — Captain Alonso de Contreras * I have never really given the Spaniards their due. Blame Anglophile tendencies. From tales of the Armada to Sir Henry Morgan’s exploits in Panama in 1671, up … [Read more...] about A Spanish Adventurer — The Wild Life Of Captain Alonso de Contreras — Part I
The Ranger Archetype
The Ranger Archetype is a load-bearing timber of the Frontier Partisans lodge. His is the quintessential Frontier Partisan role — a paramilitary scout, guide, and raider who stalks both the historical record and literary and mythic landscapes. He is the centerpiece of a deferred but by no means abandoned special project of Frontier Partisans. The … [Read more...] about The Ranger Archetype
In A Frontier Landscape…
This is ... intriguing... A parable of Frontier Partisan warfare and revenge, set in an unnamed country, clearly in the early decades of the 20th Century.... Without Blood is based on an Italian novella, directed by Angelina Jolie, and stars Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir. Per the Toronto Film Festival: In a frontier landscape at the … [Read more...] about In A Frontier Landscape…
Working The Trapline — Mine Wars, Mighty Muskets, True Believer, Rumors Of War
We’re getting a glimpse from Paramount of Season 2 of The Terminal List, set for release on Amazon on October 21. The season is built on the second book in the James Reece series, True Believer — one that I particularly enjoyed, not least because Reece spends some time on a game reserve in Mozambique with the Old Rhodesian Hastings family. … [Read more...] about Working The Trapline — Mine Wars, Mighty Muskets, True Believer, Rumors Of War
Britain’s Hard Man — Banastre Tarleton At War
Two British officers earned especially dark reputations during the American War of Independence. Thayendanegea — Joseph Brant — the Mohawk War Captain earned the name Monster Brant through his role in the brutal, bloody raids that devastated the Mohawk Valley and pushed the frontier back nearly to the Hudson River. In fact, Brant was far from … [Read more...] about Britain’s Hard Man — Banastre Tarleton At War
