Paul Colt's Blog, page 54
July 19, 2015
Vain Glory Part III
Terry’s orders to Custer were clear. Link-up with Crook and coordinate the attack. Custer interpreted the assignment as a hunting license. He pushed south by forced march, exhausting his men and their mounts, obsessed by the belief the Indians would run if they learned of their advance. Late on the 24th Custer’s scouts reported sighting a big village.
On the morning of the 25th scouts led Custer to the Crow’s Nest, a rocky summit from which the village could be partially seen some fifteen miles up-river. The scouts pointed out pony herds grazing on the heights above the village. The size of the herds indicated a very large village. Custer saw his prize. He self-justified his next course of action with the imagined belief the tribes were preparing to run.
The Seventh Cavalry comprised eleven companies, approximately 650 men. Custer faced a village of undetermined size, defended by an undetermined force of warriors, later determined to number between 2,500 and 4,000. Custer never wavered from his decision to attack. The column advanced to a position near the river whereupon Custer divided his command. He detached three companies under Captain Benteen to probe territory west of the village. Major Reno was given three companies and ordered to cross the river and initiate an attack on the village from the south. Custer would lead four companies north along a ridge line above the river east of the village in position to support Reno with a second assault. He left one company in the rear to protect the pack train.
Reno commenced his attack at midday. He met strong resistance from Hunkpapa Sioux under the War Chief Gall. Reno ordered his men to dismount. He deployed them in a grove of trees where they fought with some success until overwhelming numbers forced them to withdraw to high ground across the river. They saw no sign of Custer’s promised support throughout the battle and bloody retreat.
Further north, Custer must have observed Reno’s plight; but took no immediate action. He led his command north along the bluffs, intending to cross the river and charge the village. Here he must have better seen the size of the village. He may have scaled back his plan to a smaller sortie with the objective of taking hostages to blunt the threat of Indian attack.
Blue coats descending from the heights mimed Sitting Bull’s vision of pony soldiers falling from the sky. Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors rallied to the fight under Crazy Horse. Custer’s assault was thrown back by a massive counter attack. The blue coats were forced into a labored withdrawal, climbing the bluffs to high ground. Caught in open country, Crazy Horse and his warriors enveloped Custer’s command with overwhelming force and slaughtered them.
Benteen’s command joined Reno the night of the 25th on a bluff south of the village. They defended high ground now known as Reno Hill on the 26th until the Indians withdrew in advance of the Terry and Gibbon column.
Next week: Vain Glory at Little Big Horn
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
On the morning of the 25th scouts led Custer to the Crow’s Nest, a rocky summit from which the village could be partially seen some fifteen miles up-river. The scouts pointed out pony herds grazing on the heights above the village. The size of the herds indicated a very large village. Custer saw his prize. He self-justified his next course of action with the imagined belief the tribes were preparing to run.
The Seventh Cavalry comprised eleven companies, approximately 650 men. Custer faced a village of undetermined size, defended by an undetermined force of warriors, later determined to number between 2,500 and 4,000. Custer never wavered from his decision to attack. The column advanced to a position near the river whereupon Custer divided his command. He detached three companies under Captain Benteen to probe territory west of the village. Major Reno was given three companies and ordered to cross the river and initiate an attack on the village from the south. Custer would lead four companies north along a ridge line above the river east of the village in position to support Reno with a second assault. He left one company in the rear to protect the pack train.
Reno commenced his attack at midday. He met strong resistance from Hunkpapa Sioux under the War Chief Gall. Reno ordered his men to dismount. He deployed them in a grove of trees where they fought with some success until overwhelming numbers forced them to withdraw to high ground across the river. They saw no sign of Custer’s promised support throughout the battle and bloody retreat.
Further north, Custer must have observed Reno’s plight; but took no immediate action. He led his command north along the bluffs, intending to cross the river and charge the village. Here he must have better seen the size of the village. He may have scaled back his plan to a smaller sortie with the objective of taking hostages to blunt the threat of Indian attack.
Blue coats descending from the heights mimed Sitting Bull’s vision of pony soldiers falling from the sky. Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors rallied to the fight under Crazy Horse. Custer’s assault was thrown back by a massive counter attack. The blue coats were forced into a labored withdrawal, climbing the bluffs to high ground. Caught in open country, Crazy Horse and his warriors enveloped Custer’s command with overwhelming force and slaughtered them.
Benteen’s command joined Reno the night of the 25th on a bluff south of the village. They defended high ground now known as Reno Hill on the 26th until the Indians withdrew in advance of the Terry and Gibbon column.
Next week: Vain Glory at Little Big Horn
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
July 12, 2015
The Custer Contradiction Part II
By 1876 the gold rush on sacred Indian land provided hawks in the War Department all the ‘provocation’ they needed to mount an offensive against the Sioux and their allied tribes. The tribes were known to gather each year in the area of the Big Horn Mountains to celebrate their summer dances. General Sheridan, Commander of the Department of the Missouri, ordered a three pronged campaign against the Sioux under the command of General Alfred H. Terry. Terry would lead one column, which included Custer’s Seventh, west out of Fort Abraham Lincoln. A second column under Colonel John Gibbon would march east out of Fort Ellis. Terry and Gibbon were to rendezvous in the vicinity of the Yellowstone River; and march south to link up with a third column under General George R. Crook, marching north out of Fort Fetterman.
Sitting Bull called the tribes to meet “In the moon of making fat” (June) on the banks of the Little Big Horn River at a place known to the tribes as Greasy Grass. There they would celebrate their summer dances. In preparation for the dances, Sitting Bull prayed the Sun Dance that spring in search of a vision to guide the people in confronting the white incursion into the sacred Paha Sapa (Black Hills). His quest was rewarded with a vision of blue coat soldiers falling from the sky. The vision foretold a great victory. Encouraged by Sitting Bull’s vision, Crazy Horse led a band of Oglala and Cheyenne warriors to meet the blue coats. They engaged Crook’s column on Rosebud Creek and fought to a stand-off. Crazy Horse took it for victory when Crook withdrew his column to resupply.
The Lakota tribes answered Sitting Bull’s call that summer, assembling in the greatest numbers ever seen. The numbers vary depending on whose account you read. Some accounts have as many as ten thousand attending the dances that year. By most accounts the warriors numbered somewhere between twenty-five hundred and perhaps as many as four thousand.
Terry’s offensive seemed star-crossed from the beginning. Delayed by a freak late spring snow-storm he reached the Yellowstone River and met Colonel Gibbon around June 21st. With the fate of Crook’s column unbeknownst to Terry, he dispatched Custer and the Seventh south to link-up with Crook and coordinate their advance. The combined forces would march on the Little Big Horn from the north and south, seeking to discover the Indian camp.
Next week: Vain Glory Part III
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
Sitting Bull called the tribes to meet “In the moon of making fat” (June) on the banks of the Little Big Horn River at a place known to the tribes as Greasy Grass. There they would celebrate their summer dances. In preparation for the dances, Sitting Bull prayed the Sun Dance that spring in search of a vision to guide the people in confronting the white incursion into the sacred Paha Sapa (Black Hills). His quest was rewarded with a vision of blue coat soldiers falling from the sky. The vision foretold a great victory. Encouraged by Sitting Bull’s vision, Crazy Horse led a band of Oglala and Cheyenne warriors to meet the blue coats. They engaged Crook’s column on Rosebud Creek and fought to a stand-off. Crazy Horse took it for victory when Crook withdrew his column to resupply.
The Lakota tribes answered Sitting Bull’s call that summer, assembling in the greatest numbers ever seen. The numbers vary depending on whose account you read. Some accounts have as many as ten thousand attending the dances that year. By most accounts the warriors numbered somewhere between twenty-five hundred and perhaps as many as four thousand.
Terry’s offensive seemed star-crossed from the beginning. Delayed by a freak late spring snow-storm he reached the Yellowstone River and met Colonel Gibbon around June 21st. With the fate of Crook’s column unbeknownst to Terry, he dispatched Custer and the Seventh south to link-up with Crook and coordinate their advance. The combined forces would march on the Little Big Horn from the north and south, seeking to discover the Indian camp.
Next week: Vain Glory Part III
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
July 5, 2015
Vain Glorious Valor: The Custer Contradicition
George Armstrong Custer is a contradiction. He is the dashing boy general of civil war fame. He is the heroic leader, resolute in the face of overwhelming odds, bravely fallen with his entire command in a tragic last stand. His image is burnished by two biographies commissioned by a devoted and loving wife. He comes down to us today through Hollywood history in all his glory; and yet in spite of all the carefully cultivated notoriety, his record dogs him with doubt even in death.
Custer’s career is littered in contradiction. He finished last in his class at West Point. He was court-martialed and convicted twice; the first before leaving the academy, the second while serving in the west following the war. He was commissioned to active duty after the first offense, owing to the demands for an officer corps to fight the war of secession. He served with distinction rising to the rank of major general. He was widely criticized for aggressive, some said reckless, tactics that won victory at the expense of excessive casualties. He was reduced in rank to Lieutenant Colonel in the post war down-sizing of the officer cadre. His ego never recovered. A personal favorite of General Philip “Fighting Phil” Sheridan, he assumed command of his beloved Seventh Cavalry on the western frontier where he continued his pursuit of personal glory. General Sheridan and General in Chief of the Army, Wm Tecumseh Sherman prevailed on President Grant to reinstate him after his second court-martial offense.
The Custer contradiction can best be examined in the events that led up to that fateful Sunday June 25, 1876. The 1874 discovery of Gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota effectively ended the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. The Black Hills, held to be the sacred center of the Sioux Nation, were given to the Sioux by terms of the treaty that ended Red Cloud’s war. In 1874 Custer led a survey party into the Black Hills for purposes of siting a fort to protect Indian lands from illegal incursion by white prospectors, following rumors of gold deposits there. The fort was never sited or built. The Custer expedition’s most notable achievement confirmed the gold discovery. The following year the Black Hills were overrun by white miners. Terms of the treaty were cast aside on the bones of promises already broken. The Black Hills rang with the drum beat of war.
Next Week: The Custer Contradiction Part II
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
Custer’s career is littered in contradiction. He finished last in his class at West Point. He was court-martialed and convicted twice; the first before leaving the academy, the second while serving in the west following the war. He was commissioned to active duty after the first offense, owing to the demands for an officer corps to fight the war of secession. He served with distinction rising to the rank of major general. He was widely criticized for aggressive, some said reckless, tactics that won victory at the expense of excessive casualties. He was reduced in rank to Lieutenant Colonel in the post war down-sizing of the officer cadre. His ego never recovered. A personal favorite of General Philip “Fighting Phil” Sheridan, he assumed command of his beloved Seventh Cavalry on the western frontier where he continued his pursuit of personal glory. General Sheridan and General in Chief of the Army, Wm Tecumseh Sherman prevailed on President Grant to reinstate him after his second court-martial offense.
The Custer contradiction can best be examined in the events that led up to that fateful Sunday June 25, 1876. The 1874 discovery of Gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota effectively ended the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. The Black Hills, held to be the sacred center of the Sioux Nation, were given to the Sioux by terms of the treaty that ended Red Cloud’s war. In 1874 Custer led a survey party into the Black Hills for purposes of siting a fort to protect Indian lands from illegal incursion by white prospectors, following rumors of gold deposits there. The fort was never sited or built. The Custer expedition’s most notable achievement confirmed the gold discovery. The following year the Black Hills were overrun by white miners. Terms of the treaty were cast aside on the bones of promises already broken. The Black Hills rang with the drum beat of war.
Next Week: The Custer Contradiction Part II
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
June 28, 2015
History's Lessons
History teaches us many things. We learn valuable lessons from the pages of those who passed before us. Lessons to help us avoid repeating missteps and misjudgments that confront us in contemporary times. Sometimes those historical lessons mislead us. Over the next several weeks we’ll examine the importance of the records on which those lessons are founded. There is a lesson in simply examining the record. A lesson particularly important today for us and for those who follow us.
They say history is written by the winners. In truth it’s written by whoever holds the pen. Nowhere is that more true than in the nineteenth century. The power of the printed word may have reached its zenith in that century. Print was the first and only mass media of that time. Today, words printed in the eighteen hundreds come down to us with the cachet fact; but are they? Close examination sometimes reveals:
A prismatic lens through which we view the past as seen by those who record it.
Nineteenth century history is filled with examples.
Libbie Custer’s idyllic biographical portrayals of her husband secured his heroic legend in the annals of history. Was he a hero; or a recklessly ambitious ego maniac who exposed his men to needless risk?
The historical legacy of the Grant administration is portrayed as scandal ridden and hopelessly corrupt. Was it; or might that record be overly harsh? You have to look a little deeper to answer the question. You have to examine the record, that pesky printed word.
Imagine my suspicions when I read John Poe’s memoir on the death of Billy the Kid and discovered it didn’t agree with the historical record as established by Pat Garrett’s 1882 book, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid.
It may be wise to critically examine the records that make for historical controversies. Over the next several weeks we’ll take a deeper look through all three of these prismatic histories to see if we can make some sense of that elusive grail, truth. In some cases the record becomes pretty clear. In others, judgement becomes subjective or subject to controversy. We’ll leave all those subtleties for you to decide. I’m minded of the classic line from the John Ford film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
They say history is written by the winners. In truth it’s written by whoever holds the pen. Nowhere is that more true than in the nineteenth century. The power of the printed word may have reached its zenith in that century. Print was the first and only mass media of that time. Today, words printed in the eighteen hundreds come down to us with the cachet fact; but are they? Close examination sometimes reveals:
A prismatic lens through which we view the past as seen by those who record it.
Nineteenth century history is filled with examples.
Libbie Custer’s idyllic biographical portrayals of her husband secured his heroic legend in the annals of history. Was he a hero; or a recklessly ambitious ego maniac who exposed his men to needless risk?
The historical legacy of the Grant administration is portrayed as scandal ridden and hopelessly corrupt. Was it; or might that record be overly harsh? You have to look a little deeper to answer the question. You have to examine the record, that pesky printed word.
Imagine my suspicions when I read John Poe’s memoir on the death of Billy the Kid and discovered it didn’t agree with the historical record as established by Pat Garrett’s 1882 book, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid.
It may be wise to critically examine the records that make for historical controversies. Over the next several weeks we’ll take a deeper look through all three of these prismatic histories to see if we can make some sense of that elusive grail, truth. In some cases the record becomes pretty clear. In others, judgement becomes subjective or subject to controversy. We’ll leave all those subtleties for you to decide. I’m minded of the classic line from the John Ford film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
June 21, 2015
Zane Grey Anyone? . . . Louis L'Amour Anyone? . . . Anyone?
Now that I’ve got your attention . . . You’re out there. We know it. You read and reread those classic westerns along with traditional westerns written by other great authors on the dark side of the sod. Walmart stocks them because you buy them. Publishers print them because that’s what Walmart buys- and you thought Amazon dominated book sales. Well, they do too. Here’s a news flash: western literature didn’t end with those classics. Western literature is alive and well. It just takes a little lookin’ to find it.
This post comes to you from Lubbock Texas. We’re here attending the Western Writers of America Convention. Yup there are enough of us alive and kicking to actually have an annual meeting. We get together each year to learn about our craft, western history and the publishing business. We network with fellow writers, agents, editors and publishers; and yes we’ve been known to party some. We’ll share some convention highlights on these pages in coming weeks. For now, let’s shine a little light on the state of western literature.
Try to find a western title in a book store in the east, northeast or Midwest these days. You might find a few classics; but anything more? It’s tough. If you know what you’re looking for, bookstores will order it for you, but most often you won’t find it on the shelves. You can find a few western titles in the bottom rows of some supermarket paperback racks, but the selection is limited. The aforementioned Walmart has a bigger selection, but they stock what they think you will buy; and you keep buying- well you know who.
One place you can look is Amazon. If you go there and search ‘western books’ you’ll find hundreds of titles. Zane Grey? Louis L’Amour? Sure. But there’s more- a lot more. You’ll find accomplished, award winning western authors who still reside on this side of the sod, regularly engaged in breathing. And they’re not just writing traditional westerns, though you can find plenty of those. You’ll also find contemporary westerns, westerns with cross overs in romance and young adult themes, historical fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more. Saturday night Western Writers of America will recognize Spur Award winners and finalists in seventeen categories. Dozens of award winning titles selected from hundreds of new 2014 releases.
If you enjoy Zane and Louis, chances are you’ll appreciate Dusty Richards, Matt Braun, Johnny D. Boggs, Lauren Estleman, Max McCoy and some lesser known comers like yours truly. We’re all out there, writing page turners stitched in saddle leather and scented in gun smoke. It’s no boys club either, there are bright award winning women writing the west and writing it well. Lucia St. Clair Robson, Chris Enss, Nancy Plain, Andrea Downing, Karen Casey Fitzjerrall to name a few and the list goes on.
If you enjoy classic westerns, you’re missing great-plains of possibility if you’re not sampling some of the fine western writers who keep the genre vibrant today. You may have to do a little lookin’ to find ‘em, but you’ll be rewarded for the effort.
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
This post comes to you from Lubbock Texas. We’re here attending the Western Writers of America Convention. Yup there are enough of us alive and kicking to actually have an annual meeting. We get together each year to learn about our craft, western history and the publishing business. We network with fellow writers, agents, editors and publishers; and yes we’ve been known to party some. We’ll share some convention highlights on these pages in coming weeks. For now, let’s shine a little light on the state of western literature.
Try to find a western title in a book store in the east, northeast or Midwest these days. You might find a few classics; but anything more? It’s tough. If you know what you’re looking for, bookstores will order it for you, but most often you won’t find it on the shelves. You can find a few western titles in the bottom rows of some supermarket paperback racks, but the selection is limited. The aforementioned Walmart has a bigger selection, but they stock what they think you will buy; and you keep buying- well you know who.
One place you can look is Amazon. If you go there and search ‘western books’ you’ll find hundreds of titles. Zane Grey? Louis L’Amour? Sure. But there’s more- a lot more. You’ll find accomplished, award winning western authors who still reside on this side of the sod, regularly engaged in breathing. And they’re not just writing traditional westerns, though you can find plenty of those. You’ll also find contemporary westerns, westerns with cross overs in romance and young adult themes, historical fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more. Saturday night Western Writers of America will recognize Spur Award winners and finalists in seventeen categories. Dozens of award winning titles selected from hundreds of new 2014 releases.
If you enjoy Zane and Louis, chances are you’ll appreciate Dusty Richards, Matt Braun, Johnny D. Boggs, Lauren Estleman, Max McCoy and some lesser known comers like yours truly. We’re all out there, writing page turners stitched in saddle leather and scented in gun smoke. It’s no boys club either, there are bright award winning women writing the west and writing it well. Lucia St. Clair Robson, Chris Enss, Nancy Plain, Andrea Downing, Karen Casey Fitzjerrall to name a few and the list goes on.
If you enjoy classic westerns, you’re missing great-plains of possibility if you’re not sampling some of the fine western writers who keep the genre vibrant today. You may have to do a little lookin’ to find ‘em, but you’ll be rewarded for the effort.
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
June 14, 2015
Combat Metal
In March 1916 Pancho Villa raids Columbus New Mexico. President Wilson orders a Punitive Expedition to bring the revolutionary bandit to justice. Pershing is given command. He prepares to lead the Seventh, Tenth, Eleventh and Thirteenth cavalry regiments into Mexico on the last United States Cavalry campaign in the Americas. Patton and the Eighth will stand rear guard. Patton refuses to be left behind. He boldly argues his way onto Pershing’s staff.
Pershing mounts an aggressive campaign to apprehend Villa under difficult mountainous conditions. Patton confronts twentieth century warfare first hand. Reconnaissance and communications, traditional cavalry missions, are usurped by the Army’s fledgling air service and the marvel promise of wireless communications. Automobiles and truck replace horses and mule drawn wagons. Modern ballistics render the cavalry obsolete as a fighting force. Mexican federal forces repeatedly crush Villa’s signature cavalry charge with machine guns and precision artillery. Patton’s beloved saber is useless against such firepower. He views these developments with a wary eye that sees no place for his training in this twentieth century military.
Pershing recognizes the young man’s frustration. He knows the army is ill-prepared for the coming conflict in Europe. It will need officers of young Patton’s stripe. The General extends a mentor’s hand to encourage the young officer. He assures Patton ‘Time and invention’ will lead him to new purpose.
On a routine supply mission, Patton sees an opportunity to search a suspected Villa hideout. He turns his supply operation into a mechanized assault that flushes elements of Villa’s elite Dorado guard. In the firefight that follows he has the opportunity to test himself in combat. He is pleased by the result and takes comfort in knowing he has the metal for field command.
Next Week: End of an Era a Curtain Comes Down
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
Pershing mounts an aggressive campaign to apprehend Villa under difficult mountainous conditions. Patton confronts twentieth century warfare first hand. Reconnaissance and communications, traditional cavalry missions, are usurped by the Army’s fledgling air service and the marvel promise of wireless communications. Automobiles and truck replace horses and mule drawn wagons. Modern ballistics render the cavalry obsolete as a fighting force. Mexican federal forces repeatedly crush Villa’s signature cavalry charge with machine guns and precision artillery. Patton’s beloved saber is useless against such firepower. He views these developments with a wary eye that sees no place for his training in this twentieth century military.
Pershing recognizes the young man’s frustration. He knows the army is ill-prepared for the coming conflict in Europe. It will need officers of young Patton’s stripe. The General extends a mentor’s hand to encourage the young officer. He assures Patton ‘Time and invention’ will lead him to new purpose.
On a routine supply mission, Patton sees an opportunity to search a suspected Villa hideout. He turns his supply operation into a mechanized assault that flushes elements of Villa’s elite Dorado guard. In the firefight that follows he has the opportunity to test himself in combat. He is pleased by the result and takes comfort in knowing he has the metal for field command.
Next Week: End of an Era a Curtain Comes Down
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
June 7, 2015
Career Crisis
In 1913 George Patton is a thirty year old cavalry officer. He is a West Point graduate and the Army’s first Saber Master. He is a nineteenth century warrior, facing the emerging realities of twentieth century warfare. He has served long past his junior officer time-in-grade, yet he remains the lowly Second Lieutenant he was commissioned out of the academy. A man of action, he is shuffled from one staff job to another with no line assignment to give chance for promotion. His vision of a glorious military career is fading with each passing year.
Patton married his adolescent sweetheart. Beatrice Ayer Patton is the love of his life, yet the life he gives her as a junior officer’s wife is a hard one. They move from one remote post to the next, subsisting on low wages and bare essential living conditions. A girl accustomed to privilege, ‘Beat’ bears all of it with little complaint, yet she sees her husband’s growing frustration and wonders where all of this leads.
The outbreak of war in Europe deepens Patton’s frustration. President Woodrow Wilson proclaims America neutral. The president stands passively by in the face of German aggression. Patton receives something of a reprieve when he is assigned to the Eighth Cavalry at Fort Bliss, El Paso Texas. The Eighth is one of five cavalry regiments under command of Brigadier General John J. Pershing deployed to secure the border against the threat of Mexican revolutionary hostilities spilling across the border.
El Paso is another dusty disappointment for Beatrice. The dreary reality of military life is punctuated by long periods of separation that weigh on the young couple. Increasingly reason leads to the conclusion that the glorious career George envisions is slipping away. The only prudent course is to resign his commission in favor of some civilian pursuit.
Next Week: Combat Metal
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
Patton married his adolescent sweetheart. Beatrice Ayer Patton is the love of his life, yet the life he gives her as a junior officer’s wife is a hard one. They move from one remote post to the next, subsisting on low wages and bare essential living conditions. A girl accustomed to privilege, ‘Beat’ bears all of it with little complaint, yet she sees her husband’s growing frustration and wonders where all of this leads.
The outbreak of war in Europe deepens Patton’s frustration. President Woodrow Wilson proclaims America neutral. The president stands passively by in the face of German aggression. Patton receives something of a reprieve when he is assigned to the Eighth Cavalry at Fort Bliss, El Paso Texas. The Eighth is one of five cavalry regiments under command of Brigadier General John J. Pershing deployed to secure the border against the threat of Mexican revolutionary hostilities spilling across the border.
El Paso is another dusty disappointment for Beatrice. The dreary reality of military life is punctuated by long periods of separation that weigh on the young couple. Increasingly reason leads to the conclusion that the glorious career George envisions is slipping away. The only prudent course is to resign his commission in favor of some civilian pursuit.
Next Week: Combat Metal
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
June 1, 2015
A Call to Glory
As I’ve observed in these pages in the past, once in a while historical research can uncover a little known circumstance or event lost in our conscious recollection. I call it unexpected history. That may be an oxymoron but I love that premise for a book. You know the synopsis conversation you have at a cocktail party that elicits the response: ‘I had no idea.’ One of those discoveries gave rise to the book I call Boots and Saddles: A Call to Glory.
I stumbled on it reading Jeff Shaara’s book on the Normandy invasion, Steel Wave. In his book, Shaara made a background reference to George Patton having served under John J. Pershing in his pursuit of Pancho Villa. I remembered reading something about Pershing and Villa, but I was surprised to learn Patton played a part in it. We have this iconic image of Patton as famously portrayed by George C. Scott. The Shaara line suggested a young George Patton, unknown before he became that icon. You had Patton, Pershing and Villa, three compelling characters, together in a dusty corner of history. I had to take a deeper dive.
What I discovered was a fascinating story, two stories really. The first is the turning-point that saved young Patton’s military career. We very nearly lost one of our most consequential World War II military leaders to the frustrations of a mid-career crisis. The second story is nothing less than the end of an era, the last United States Cavalry campaign. What a wonderful combination. It’s a story that had to be told.
Next week: Career Crisis
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
I stumbled on it reading Jeff Shaara’s book on the Normandy invasion, Steel Wave. In his book, Shaara made a background reference to George Patton having served under John J. Pershing in his pursuit of Pancho Villa. I remembered reading something about Pershing and Villa, but I was surprised to learn Patton played a part in it. We have this iconic image of Patton as famously portrayed by George C. Scott. The Shaara line suggested a young George Patton, unknown before he became that icon. You had Patton, Pershing and Villa, three compelling characters, together in a dusty corner of history. I had to take a deeper dive.
What I discovered was a fascinating story, two stories really. The first is the turning-point that saved young Patton’s military career. We very nearly lost one of our most consequential World War II military leaders to the frustrations of a mid-career crisis. The second story is nothing less than the end of an era, the last United States Cavalry campaign. What a wonderful combination. It’s a story that had to be told.
Next week: Career Crisis
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
May 29, 2015
Memorial Day Post Script
Those of you who read my Memorial Day tribute to Sgt. Richard T. Jackson, know that we have been trying to locate his family since 2013 when the book I dedicated to him was released. In the post we posed the possibility that some one among our readers might know how to contact Dick’s younger sister. We thought we might get lucky with that six-degrees of separation thing.
This Post Script is just to let you know we did. The post reached almost twenty-five thousand folk, many of whom offered suggestions and ideas. One person came up with Dick’s sister’s married name. That was all it took. We connected on Memorial Day. She got a chance to see Dick’s memorial on these pages and we got to send her a copy of the book we so wanted her to have.
Good things happen when you give good people a chance to pitch-in. Thanks to all of you. It’s a Memorial Day to remember.
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
This Post Script is just to let you know we did. The post reached almost twenty-five thousand folk, many of whom offered suggestions and ideas. One person came up with Dick’s sister’s married name. That was all it took. We connected on Memorial Day. She got a chance to see Dick’s memorial on these pages and we got to send her a copy of the book we so wanted her to have.
Good things happen when you give good people a chance to pitch-in. Thanks to all of you. It’s a Memorial Day to remember.
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Ride easy,
Paul
May 24, 2015
Memorial Day
This is a week we remember those who have given their service to preserve our freedom. We thank those of you who served and we remember all those who served before us. Each of us has been touched by our service members. One of them is never vary far from my thoughts.
Sergeant Richard Thomas Jackson was a close friend in high school. We attended Premontre High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We played ball, double dated, drank a beer or two and did all the things good buddies do in those happy days. Dick was killed in Vietnam in January 1968 while aiding one of his team. ‘Jack’, as I called him, was that kind of guy.
I remember returning home from his funeral on a bright cold afternoon in February. I opened the mailbox on the front porch and found his last letter. From its condition, he must have had it with him at the end. I dedicated my book Boots and Saddles: A Call to Glory to him. I’d like to share the inscription with you on this week we remember.
For Jack
For duty, honor and sacrifice for another. For the letter in the mailbox the day we laid you to rest. The canceled ‘stamp,’ written in your hand reads, “Free.” I have it. I’ll not forget. For you and all those whose names are etched on that black marble wall; and for all those who have or will defend our freedom; your courage and sacrifice preserve us. We remember. We owe you no less.
When the book was released in 2013 we started searching for Dick’s family. We’d like them to know he’s remembered. As best we can determine, he is survived by one younger sister, Judy and his mother Jean. Our attempts to locate them have been unsuccessful. We believe his sister moved to the Seattle area and married. We don’t know her married name which surely accounts for our lack of success in locating her. Jean Jackson moved to Seattle following Dick’s dad’s death. We got a disconnect message on the last phone number known to a Green Bay acquaintance.
It’s a long shot any of you may know Judy or her mom; but on a day we remember, why not? If there’s anything to that six degrees of separation thing, maybe we get lucky. Either way, say a little prayer for our veterans today. We owe them no less.
Ride easy,
Paul
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
Sergeant Richard Thomas Jackson was a close friend in high school. We attended Premontre High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We played ball, double dated, drank a beer or two and did all the things good buddies do in those happy days. Dick was killed in Vietnam in January 1968 while aiding one of his team. ‘Jack’, as I called him, was that kind of guy.
I remember returning home from his funeral on a bright cold afternoon in February. I opened the mailbox on the front porch and found his last letter. From its condition, he must have had it with him at the end. I dedicated my book Boots and Saddles: A Call to Glory to him. I’d like to share the inscription with you on this week we remember.
For Jack
For duty, honor and sacrifice for another. For the letter in the mailbox the day we laid you to rest. The canceled ‘stamp,’ written in your hand reads, “Free.” I have it. I’ll not forget. For you and all those whose names are etched on that black marble wall; and for all those who have or will defend our freedom; your courage and sacrifice preserve us. We remember. We owe you no less.
When the book was released in 2013 we started searching for Dick’s family. We’d like them to know he’s remembered. As best we can determine, he is survived by one younger sister, Judy and his mother Jean. Our attempts to locate them have been unsuccessful. We believe his sister moved to the Seattle area and married. We don’t know her married name which surely accounts for our lack of success in locating her. Jean Jackson moved to Seattle following Dick’s dad’s death. We got a disconnect message on the last phone number known to a Green Bay acquaintance.
It’s a long shot any of you may know Judy or her mom; but on a day we remember, why not? If there’s anything to that six degrees of separation thing, maybe we get lucky. Either way, say a little prayer for our veterans today. We owe them no less.
Ride easy,
Paul
https://www.amazon.com/author/paulcolt
