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.

*

The Undiscovered Country, Paul Andrew Hutton’s magnum opus, is now available in paperback.

I consider this a mandatory volume for any Frontier Partisans library. If I was to hand a neophyte one book to give him or her a clear picture of the triumph and tragedy, the glory and the sorrow of the American frontier story, this would be it. And a seasoned student of this rich history will find it worthy and revelatory, too.

*

We are approaching the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks — and they still echo. This Wall Street Journal doco digs into one of the elements of fallout: the ugly, shambolic collapse of our presence in Afghanistan.

The Path to Zero is an unflinching account of America’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, told by the people who lived it. Structured around President Biden’s 2021decision to draw down to “zero” troops, the film traces how one choice cascaded into a chaotic, deadly ending—the closure of Bagram, the collapse of the Afghan army, and a frantic evacuation through three Kabul airport gates, culminating in the tragic Abbey Gate suicide bombing attack. Through candid interviews with the diplomats, generals, and soldiers who were there, the film tells the riveting story of the unfolding tragedy—and gives voice to the moral injury many young Marines who manned the gates still carry.

*

Maybe tomahawk-wielding ex-Navy SEAL poacher-punisher James Reece needs to book a trip back to Mozambique in a ** professional capacity.**

Per CNN:

Americans are being warned to avoid parts of an African safari destination where terrorists have targeted upscale lodges frequented by international big-game hunters. Mozambique, a southeastern African country across from the island of Madagascar, is the subject of an Aug. 21 updated “Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution” advisory from the U.S. State Department. Officials have also designated multiple areas “Level 4: Do Not Travel” — citing heightened terrorism risks.

A Brit foreign correspondent refers to the small ISIS contingent in the country as “spectacularly nasty.”

Here’s the plan: Smoke those assholes — all of ’em — and get the place back to the magical, romantic land Dylan sang of in 1976…

 

*

Well, y’all know that I have a very high opinion of Ethan Becker’s knives, as distributed by KA-BAR. A while back, knife-maker David C. Andersen announced that he..

… is joining forces with Becker Knife & Tool to collaborate with the legendary Ethan Becker on future designs. The first is the BK25 Outpost, a frontier-style Bowie knife that can handle everything at base camp, on the front lines, and even at the camp kitchen

Crom is pleased. This is one good-lookin’ knife. Many plews, but mighty tempting.

The USA-made Outpost measures 10.918″ overall and features a 6.125″ bowie blade.  The handle is made from G10 and the Kydex  sheath is made in America. 

*

The Season 2 trailer for Blood Of My Blood has dropped. The advent of autumn is a good time to re-enter the world of Outlander. This is a prequel story, which takes place around the Jacobite Uprising of 1715.

Synchronicity. The mighty Dash Rendar has weighed in on the viability of archery in the era of the blackpowder firearm. Dash Rendar serves up most entertaining YouTube videos around medieval/medieval fantasy weapons use — particularly the war bow. He’s built himself into an impressive tactical athlete and he’s quite proficient. Drawing a 160# war bow is no joke, and shooting accurately with it… well, that’s part of the story, ain’t it?

He’s keeping all of this fun, including some collaborations with Administrative Results (some footage from this is in this video).

*

A newly dropped clip from Ken Burns’ The American Revolution introduces the Mohawk War Captain Thayendanegea — Joseph Brant — who is ever-present in our exploration of the Revolutionary War on the frontier in the Frontier Partisans Podcast.

*

There are several reasons why The Troubles in Northern Ireland c. 1969-1998 are of interest to Frontier Partisans. Paramilitary organizations and insurgency and counter-insurgency are obviously primary focuses and reflect a remarkable degree of Continuity & Persistence.

The Northern Ireland conflict is of particular interest because the people and history of Ulster are tied directly to the history and people of the American Frontier. The Protestant Loyalist population of the Six Counties that made up Northern Ireland are blood relatives of the Scots-Irish who formed the cultural backbone of the early frontier, and carried their culture west with the early expansion of the United States.

Tim Murphy, who will figure prominently in the next episode of the American Revolution on the Frontier podcast, came from a Donegal family — a county that was part of Ulster, but kept out of Northern Ireland when Ireland was partitioned in 1921, because it had more Catholics than were wanted in the new political entity.

Was Murphy of Protestant or Catholic heritage? Orange or Green? Historians can’t be sure. Most early histories assume he was a Scots-Irish Presbyterian, like his backcountry peers. But the Ancient Order of Hibernians ain’t having it. They claim him for a Catholic Gael:

As a sniper, Murphy killed Sir Francis Clerke and General Simon Fraser, throwing the British into disarray at a decisive moment [allegedly during the Battle of Saratoga; FP has an analysis]. His parents were from Donegal—then, as now, overwhelmingly Catholic and Gaelic. Even his name is telling: Timothy comes from Tadhg, a name so associated with Irish Catholics that Ulster Scots Protestants used it as a slur for their Catholic neighbors. Even today [in] some sections of Northern Ireland and Scotland an Irish Catholic is called a “Tim.”

Yet 19th-century writers confidently rebranded Murphy as “Scots-Irish.” Why? Because there are no Catholic parish records for his family. But Catholic priests and parishes were outlawed in colonial New York, so baptismal and marriage records were often never kept. Later historians twisted this silence into “proof” that Murphy couldn’t have been Catholic.

This is the double standard: when records are silent, Protestant identity is assumed; Catholic identity requires extraordinary documentation. Apply the same rule consistently, and Murphy’s Donegal origins, Catholic name, and historical context make him far more likely Catholic Irish than Protestant.

Something to fight over.

Anyways… The Rest is History is two episodes in on multi-part podcast on how The Troubles ignited and turned into a low-level civil war that blighted two generations. As always, first rate:

*

One of the oddest of Sergio Leone’s Westerns features James Coburn as an Irish Republican Brotherhood bomber in Mexico during the Revolution. Duck, You Sucker (aka A Fistful of Dynamite, aka Once Upon a Time… The Revolution) was released in 1971/72, just as The Troubles were kicking off in earnest, and around the world there was music in the cafés at night and revolution in the air.