American Western History

From shootouts on the Upper Frisco, to the Indian Wars and Outlaw hideouts William French experienced it all on his ranch in Western New Mexico. An immigrant from the old country—Ireland—Captain William French reached California in 1883. Nearly penniless he rested his fate and fortune on the flip of a coin; heads California, tails New Mexico. He landed on Alma New Mexico. Little did he know then what fate and fortune held in store for him. Recounting his time on the WS Ranch near Alma New Mexico, Recollections of Western Ranchman reads like a Dime-Store Western, and contains firsthand ...

Jake Rawlins fled to the mountains following the horrific years of the Civil War. He wanted to find peace in the high country where he could live quietly amid the natural beauty of the Rockies. It was not to be. During the building of a cabin where he thought he could find what he was looking for a series of visitors came to turn his world upside down. Jake was engaged in many battles he never wanted to fight. He found love, and loss, and purpose that first long winter. From the icy covered peaks to the depths of a mysterious cave, Jake will have to use all the skills he has learned just to...

This panoramic account of 1776 chronicles the other revolutions unfolding that year across North America, far beyond the British colonies. In 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, the Continental Congress declared independence, and Washington crossed the Delaware. We are familiar with these famous moments in American history, but we know little about the extraordinary events occurring that same year far beyond the British colonies.

Born a slave, Bass Reeves never learned to read or write English, but he spoke six Native American languages and when he became one of the first African American deputy U.S. marshals west of the Mississippi River, he carved out a name for himself as one of the most feared lawmen in Indian Territory. Enjoy volume 3 of more adventures of the man known as the Indomitable Lawman. Fictional but historically accurate tales of a man who in a 30-year career brought in over 3,000 fugitives and despite dozens of gun battles with outlaws was never wounded.

The mythical legends and historical allure of the old west come galloping onward with The Old West Collection: Amazing Legends and Incredible Tales of the American West. This thundering audio compendium celebrates the epic events of America's frontier, whether rediscovering the California gold rush at Sutter's Mill in '49 or recreating the outsize personalities of John Jacob Astor to Belle Starr and Billy the Kid. From racing on horseback for Oklahoma land in '89 to Dodge and Last Chance Gulch.

How the West Was Really Won is no dusty and boring history tome. It’s a raw, unflinching ride through the blood, grit, and glory of the American frontier from 1802 to 1890. Chronicled year by year, this book lays out the bare and honest brutality of the Indian Wars and broken treaties. It unearths bizarre and little-known facts, while peppering the narrative with sharp-witted tall tales, folklore, and quips to keep you entertained. From the Lewis and Clark expedition to the closing of the frontier, every page pulses with vivid stories of triumph, tragedy, and treachery. You'll also learn ...

Written in accessible prose that includes a synthesis of recent scholarship, this edition delves further into the life of an African American soldier in the 19th century. It also explores the experiences of soldiers' families at frontier posts. In a new epilogue, the authors summarize developments in the lives of buffalo soldiers after the Indian Wars and discuss contemporary efforts to memorialize them in film, art, and architecture.

One of the bestselling novelists of the American West brings us a gripping tale of gold, greed, and vengeance.

Harpers Ferry History and Travel Guide: Discover the Stories, Landmarks, and Outdoor Adventures of America’s Most Iconic Nestled at the meeting point of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, Harpers Ferry is one of America’s most captivating historic towns—where breathtaking natural beauty meets some of the nation’s most pivotal moments. This engaging and accessible guide offers a complete look at the rich history and must-see attractions of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. From its early days as a vital trading post to its strategic role in the Civil War and its place in African American...

The cowboy is an iconic figure in American culture. With his hat, boots, and trusty horse, the cowboy rides in at a moment of crisis to intervene against the forces of evil. In the 20th century, the cowboy of the Wild West took center stage in the realm of popular literature.

From the best-selling author of Riders of the Purple Sage, comes another classic Western tale. In the spirit and glory of a classic Western, and published exactly as the author originally intended, Knights of the Range, is one of Zane Grey's swiftest and most exciting novels.

From one of the most beloved Western authors comes an epic historical tale of adventure and romance in the great wilderness. Against the epic backdrop of the building of the Union Pacific Railroad across plains and deserts and through the mountains to meet up with the Southern Pacific in Utah comes a sprawling, historical tale. Warren Neale is a brilliant civil engineer who is constantly confronted with construction problems. He is sided by Larry Red King, a Texas gunfighter and friend.

A classic story of imperiled love on the western frontiers of 19th-century America. While a battle rages between two outlaw gangs in a remote Utah canyon, Jim Wales struggles to rescue Helen Herrick, who has been captured and held for ransom. Robbers' Roost tells the story of their personal struggle to escape the clutches of the murderous outlaws while simultaneously safeguarding their passion, one that is not likely to survive the beautiful, yet deadly, terrain and people of the old American West.

The bloody two-day battle of Shiloh changed the course of the American Civil War. The conflagration at Shiloh had its roots in the strong Union advance that resulted in the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. The offensive collapsed General Albert S. Johnston's advanced line in Kentucky and forced him to withdraw to northern Mississippi. Anxious to attack the enemy, Johnston began concentrating Southern forces at Corinth, a major railroad center just below the Tennessee border.

If you were black in America at the start of the Revolutionary War, whom would you want to win? In response to a declaration by the last governor of Virginia that any rebel-owned slave who escaped and served the King would be emancpated, tens of thousands of blacks voted with feet, escaping to fight beside the British. Originally designed to break the plantations of the American South, this military strategy instead unleashed one of the great exoduses in American history.

Bryce Andrews was raised to do no harm. The son of a pacifist and conscientious objector, he moved from Seattle to Montana to tend livestock and the land as a cowboy. For a decade, he was happy. Yet, when Andrews inherited his grandfather’s Smith & Wesson revolver, he felt the weight of the violence braided into his chosen life. Other white men who’d come before him had turned firearms like this one against wildlife, wilderness, and the Indigenous peoples who had lived in these landscapes for millennia. This was how the West was “won.”

From one of the bestselling western novelists of all time, comes another classic story. Templeton Lambeth had so desperately wanted a son - an heir to ride by his side through the vast, wild ranges just west of the Pecos River. But to his disappointment, his wife bore a girl. His hopes crushed and in denial, he decides to raise his daughter as if she were a boy. In honor of Lambeth's more successful brother, they named her: Terrill.

A gang of train-robbing brothers. A vigilante army with hemp ropes. And a second act of violence that shocked the nation. In Civil War–era Indiana, the infamous Reno brothers turned rebellion into an art form. From petty cons to the nation’s first moving train robbery, they built a criminal empire fueled by bounty-jumping scams, counterfeit money, and fear. But when the justice system failed, a group of masked vigilantes took matters into their own hands, executing ten members of the gang in three midnight lynchings that blurred the line between justice and murder, and creating an ...

Paul Jennings was born into slavery on the plantation of James and Dolley Madison in Virginia, later becoming part of the Madison household staff at the White House. Once finally emancipated by Senator Daniel Webster later in life, he would give an aged and impoverished Dolley Madison, his former owner, money from his own pocket, write the first White House memoir, and see his sons fight with the Union Army in the Civil War.

TORN BETWEEN TWO WORLDS…TWO LOVES. Republic of Texas, 1843 As Fire Blossom, a free-spirited Comanche princess, rides back to her camp after meeting her beloved Lone Wolf in their secret hideaway, she discovers a posse of settlers slaughtering her tribe. She's captured, beaten, and left for dead at a remote farm. Revenge is foremost on her mind when she awakens, but she can barely breathe let alone move and keeps a mistrusting eye on Colton, the Texas Ranger who rescued her. Colton hasn't felt anything except revenge for the past two years, and he's anxious to hunt down the warrior who ...