Wyatt Earp on Film

Wyatt Earp has been the subject of 13 major feature films…and has appeared in dozens of television shows.  Which portrayals stand up to the scrutiny of history? James Garner– Hour of the Gun :   Dark, torn, repressed…Earp at his most troubled.  Garner is the real deal in this John Sturges classic. Kurt Russell- Tombstone : 

Infamy in Tombstone

Wyatt Earp fired the most important shot…during the gunfight at the OK Corral.  Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday enjoyed the name recognition, but the most dangerous man on the streets of Tombstone that day was Frank McLaury.  McLaury was known throughout the Arizona territory as a dangerous gunman; but, he was also a notorious cattle

Eye-witness Account

Originally posted on Pacific Paratrooper:
Jack Wilde, WWII Jack Wilde woke up covered in blood. The gore gushed down his leg. His head pounded. The second lieutenant had been hunched over in the cramped tail section of the B-25, so he didn’t really know what had happened. He remembered the plane banking and suddenly starting…

The 25 Book Challenge

Originally posted on Amy's Scrap Bag: A Blog About Libraries, Archives, and History:
In September, I received a Facebook challenge from a friend and mentor. It was to post for 25 consecutive days covers of books I love or that for some reason occupy a special place in my personal library. Those who participate…

Presidential Campaign Scandals in History

John Quincy Adams was in trouble… in his reelection bid in 1828.  Andrew Jackson built a nationwide network of support during Adams’ term in office.  Jackson’s campaign structure was the first of its kind and by 1828 there were pro-Jackson committees in every state.  All property requirements for voting had been removed, drastically increasing the electorate. 

Eavesdrop on Voices from the Past at the Burgwin-Wright House

Originally posted on M.A. Kleen:
Remnants of a Colonial-Era jail where prisoners were held in appalling conditions make this centuries-old home ripe for ghostly tales. Click to expand photos. In its early days as a British colony, North Carolina was perceived as a backwoods territory full of crime, indentured servants, pirates, and other rough…

Theodore Roosevelt and the Judge: 1904

Originally posted on Presidential History Blog:
Theodore Roosevelt ran for President in 1904… The Big Surprise …but the big surprise was that he was already President. He had planned to run for POTUS in ’04 some years back. He may have dreamed about running in ’04 a dozen years earlier when he was too young…

Burnside Bridge too Far

General George McClellan ordered the Union IX Corps…. across the Antietam creek as early as 9am on September 17, 1862.  As the battle raged to the North, General Ambrose Burnside’s men stumbled about the East side of the creek searching for an easy ford.  The Rohrbach bridge was defended by Confederates protected in rifle pits.  The proper

Duel at the Sunken Road

Lee’s army was under pressure the morning of…. September 17, 1862.  The flow of reinforcements from the southern end of his line to the maelstrom in the Cornfield created weaknesses in the Confederate positions.  Fresh troops crossing the Antietam extended the Union front to the south- and the exposed Confederate line.  The center of Lee’s line was

Through the Cornfield

Before dawn on September 17, 1862…. Maj. General Joseph Hooker’s men waited pensively in the woods North of Sharpsburg, Maryland.  Neither Hooker nor his troops knew what awaited them on the other side of the Miller cornfield.  Through the pre-dawn mist, Hooker could barely make out a small white building, that would be their target.  Hooker