Fort Atkinson on the Santa Fe Trail was in operation from 1850 to 1854, and was a part of the rapidly expanding American military frontier in the Far West following the Mexican War.
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Soon after a prospector’s pick struck pay dirt in some remote, rocky crag, a town was sure to spring up nearby. A host of new arrivals would be on hand to help separate some poor sucker from his poke sack.…
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“Three Fingered Jack” Dunlop was the most famous member of the Alvord-Stiles Gang at the end of the 1800s. They were train robbers.
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The Alvord-Stiles Gang consisted of Albert “Bert” Alvord, William “Billy” Stiles and “Three Fingered Jack” Dunlop, along with George and Louis Owens, Bravo Juan Yoas, and Bob Brown. They were train robbers. The gang was active from 1899 to 1903.
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Here is a list of commonly used reenactor terminology and what it means. Booshway – The person in charge at a Frontier Period reenactment. Buckskinning – Historical reenactment of the dress and lifestyle of a mountain man.
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The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and those First Nations in British North America. At that time of its establishment it was a wing…
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Here is a map of the frontier forts of the 1860s.
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Billy the Kid was an outlaw who became a legend in the Wild West. While his real name was actually Henry McCarty, at different times he was known by aliases such as Billy Antrim, Henry Antrim, Kid Antrim, Billy Bonney,…
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William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was born just west of the Mississippi River near LeClaire, Iowa, on February 26, 1846. By the end of his life, he had come to symbolize the American frontier itself.
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Coursers are commonly believed to be named for their running gait, (from Old French cours, meaning ‘to run’.). However, the word possibly derived from the Italian corsiero, meaning ‘battle horse.’
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