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Contrary to Hollywood myth, most townspeople didn't walk the streets of their frontier communities packing a gun. As civilization spread west, 'taming' towns in its path, citizens turned their attention [...]

He saved us, said Dr. Henry Regnaldo Porter, the only surviving surgeon of the three under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer's command at the Little Bighorn in June 1876. And [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Justice was often a matter of self-help for settlers in the Old West. Take this small mid- 1880s happening out in No Man's Land, the hardscrabble country that […]

Law enforcement in the Frontier West was a many-splintered thing. Along with the town marshals and county sheriffs, a wide variety of official and ad hoc lawmen operated in the [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 'A new kind of state" is what The Saturday Evening Post called Oklahoma on the eve of statehood 100 years ago. Oklahoma, with its wild and woolly history, […]

Bob Dalton didn't take kindly to anybody fooling around with his girlfriend, Minnie. And that, according to one of the West's durable stories of lust, betrayal and vengeance, was why […]

The terrain of Dak To in the Central Highlands of Vietnam is made of steep limestone ridges covered with double or triple-canopy jungle. The nightmare encountered by four North Vietnamese Army's regular infantry regiments while capturing Dak To is discussed.

Colonel Robert Barr Smith, during the 1968 Tet Offensive served as executive officer of the Judge Advocate section of the 4th Infantry Division. He reveals about the incident during 1968 Tet Offensive where America had suffered a catastrophic military defeat.

North Vietnam's General Vo Nguyen Giap's new divisions trained in China in 1950, especially the 308th division, were almost invincible and France's defeat in the south is partly due to them. The 308th Division was called the Iron Division and a French writer referred to them as the 'insect battalions'.

The hardship faced by the women and children who followed Wellington's Army in its battles against Napoleon's forces in Spain and Portugal are recounted. However, the difficult life as a camp follower was better than being left behind in England with no support.

THE NEED FOR SALT DOWN ON THE BORDER STIRRED UP SOME NOT UNCOMMON INGREDIENTS OF FRONTIER LIFE. GREED, NASTY POLITICS, ANGRY MOBS, VIOLENCE, POOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND WANTON KILLINGS--ALL WERE […]

SHE WAS BIG, very big; a buxom behemoth anywhere from 6 to 7 feet tall, depending on whose account you read. And she was tough. Not a man on the […]

"This is King Fisher's Road," the sign said. "Take the Other One." And most men did. That was the way of it in the 1870s, down in the Eagle Pass […]

The outnumbered French Legionnaires were determined to hold the Tuyen Quang fort in the face of hard-fighting Chinese Black Flag attackers. Crusty General Francois de Negrier had put it bluntly: [...]

AFTER ELMER McCURDY'S DAYS AS A BADMAN, HE--OR AT LEAST HIS CORPSE--HAD A FINE SECOND CAREER. WITH A FEW NOTABLE exceptions, the hard cases of the Old West were no […]

UNTIL THE LAST DECADE OF THE 19TH CENTURY, THE LONG, NARROW STRIP THAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS THE OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE HAD NO GOVERNMENT AND PLENTY OF MEN WHO DIDN'T MIND […]

The article discusses British Army private Henry Tandey sparing the life of wounded German Army soldier Adolf Hitler during World War I. The article discusses Tandey's military service, including his winning of the British medal the Victoria Cross (VC). It also discusses his depiction in the painting "Holding the Menin Cross Roads" by Italian artist Fortunino Matania. According to the article, Hitler owned a copy of the painting and discussed it with British prime minister Neville Chamberlain.

The article discusses British and American military chaplains active during World War I and II. A history of the chaplaincy in Great Britain and the United States is discussed. Many chaplains received high military commendations such as the U.S. Medal of Honor and the British Victoria Cross. The various military actions of certain chaplains, many leading to death, are discussed.

The article assesses the heroism of Captain Frederick Benteen in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana Territory. Throughout his years with the Seventh Cavalry, evidence shows that Benteen remained a professional and his relations with Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and Major Marcus Albert Reno were militarily proper. Historical account also shows the reservations of Benteen about splitting the Seventh Cavalry. Writers also admired Benteen's courage and leadership ability. INSET: What Could Custer Have Done?.

The article discusses the lack of law and disorder among settlers in the Wild West. Oklahoma resident Ira Norton killed settler Bill Williams and his companion known as Big Jim using pieces from his broken cast-iron teapot in self-defense after the two shot his property. It is said that citizens had to enforce justice on their own because law officers were inept, lazy and crooked. Marshals and deputies in towns focused their arrest on drunks rather than criminals. INSET: code of the west.

This article looks at the history of the state of Oklahoma. It used to be called Indian Territory, and then with the rush of white settlers, it was divided into two territories. In November 1907, it became the 46th state in the union. Oklahoma was a land of equal parts closely held old values and raw energy. Violence was endemic throughout the territory. As Indian Territory grew in commercial potential, the railroads began to push in from all directions. INSET: Oklahoma Commemorates.

The article highlights the fall of criminal Sam McWilliams also known as Verdigris Kid at a gun battle in Braggs, Oklahoma while trying to rob a store. His criminal career started after he stole three cows from a settler. He also joined with the Cook Gang in terrorizing the state. McWilliams died from a gun shot in his chest during the battle.

The article focuses on the operation on the Cook Gang in Oklahoma. The gang was named after their leader, law offender William Tuttle Cook. Lon Gordon and Jim French are among its members. The robberies initiated by the Cook Gang are highlighted including those in several train depots and the Lincoln County Bank in Chandler.

Discusses the efforts of Royal Navy Captain Robert St. Vincent Sherbrooke to escort the JW.51B convoy to Murmansk, Russia in December 1942. Background of Sherbrooke; Overview of the escort; Details of an attack by Vice Admiral Oskar Kummetz on the convoy on December 31.

Recounts the gunfight at the murder trial of Mexican Ezekial Proctor. Reasons Proctor was angry with Jim Kesterson, who was either the husband or lover of Aunt Polly Beck Hildebrand, who was killed by Proctor; Details of how Surry Beck may have killed Johnson Proctor, Ezekial's brother; Information on how Beck and Proctor made peace with each other.