Legends of the Old West

During and immediately after the Civil War, the Texas frontier suffers from renewed attacks by the Comanche and Kiowa. One of the most notable is the devastating Elm Creek Raid. After the war, Texas briefly reconstitutes the Texas Rangers, but they’re not fully resurrected until the creation of the Frontier Battalion in 1874. Major John B. Jones becomes the commander and leads the battalion into a...

In the spring of 1861, it becomes clear America is headed for civil war. Texas Rangers Ben McCulloch, Henry McCulloch, John S. “Rip” Ford, and Lawrence Sullivan Ross join the Confederate army. They have four vastly different experiences, highlighted by the second major battle of the war, Sherman’s capture of Atlanta, and the final battle of the war.   SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY “The Texas Rangers: Wear...

On Change Agents, find out what it takes to solve some of the world's seemingly impossible problems. In each episode, SEAL Team 6 veteran and "Cleared Hot" podcast host Andy Stumpf interviews a new "agent of change" who is enacting real change to understand the scope of their work, how it can be replicated, and the unimaginable stakes of their everyday lives.  Today’s guest is Academy Award winnin...

An investigation into the Mountain Meadows Massacre takes years, and in meantime, Porter Rockwell continues his roles as lawman and mail carrier. He builds a hotel and becomes a successful businessman, but he remains a figure of controversy. Acts of violence throughout Utah Territory become part of his lore, regardless of whether or not he was involved in them. By the time of his death, he has ach...

In August of 1857, a wagon train of travelers from Missouri and Arkansas rolls into Utah Territory. It’s called the Baker-Fancher party and it’s headed for California. The group camps in a high mountain valley called Mountain Meadows in southern Utah Territory, but Mormon settlers in the area believe the emigrants are more than just travelers. The Mormons believe the Baker-Fancher party is connect...

New church leader Brigham Young declares that the Saints must go west to find a place where they can worship in peace. Porter Rockwell becomes the lead scout for the great exodus to Utah Territory. The Saints build Salt Lake City and navigate tensions with local Native American tribes. Rockwell acts as a guide for U.S. Army troops and helps establish the Brigham Young’s mail route through the terr...

Porter Rockwell is arrested for the attempted murder of Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs, and Rockwell rots in jail for nearly a year. After a perilous journey to his new home in the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo, Illinois, Rockwell is reunited with the head of his church, Joseph Smith. But the reunion doesn’t last long. The LDS church suffers a devastating tragedy that requires a change of leadershi...

In the 1830s, Porter Rockwell and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – commonly known as the Mormons – battle locals and militias in Missouri. Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs is determined to push the Mormons out of his state, and he succeeds at a bloody cost. After the Mormons move to Illinois, Porter Rockwell returns to Missouri to fulfill a prophecy to kill Governor Bogg...

Orrin Porter Rockwell is born into an era of religious fervor in the eastern United States. His family soon becomes close with the Smith family, and Porter becomes the youngest convert to Joseph Smith’s new religious movement, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Saints immediately meet resistance to their ideology and they move west to Ohio and then Missouri. In Missouri, they beg...

In November of 1892, the final showdown arrives. The U.S. Marshals assault Ned Christie’s cabin and end Ned’s resistance. The marshals and the general public believe a murderous outlaw has been brought to justice. But as the years pass, newspapers and historians revisit the saga known as “Ned Christie’s War” and begin to separate fact from fiction. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and binge...

After the raid by Deputy U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas, Ned Christie builds a fortified cabin that is designed to withstand future attacks. He maintains his innocence in the case of the murder of Deputy U.S. Marshal Dan Maples, and he does not intend to surrender. He continues his defiance, but he also starts to believe that the end is near…   Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seaso...

When a deputy U.S. marshal is murdered in the Cherokee capital, a respected Cherokee statesman named Ned Christie becomes the prime suspect. Newspaper stories portray Ned as a ruthless outlaw who commits every crime in the book, but are the stories accurate? As the pressure mounts to bring Ned Christie to justice, legendary Deputy U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas is dispatched to confront the elusive fugi...

After the historic success of the Big Springs robbery, Sam Bass returns to Texas. He builds a new gang and continues his robbery spree. But now that he is a wanted criminal in Texas, he is hunted by the Texas Rangers. The Rangers track him to the town of Round Rock where they engage him in the final confrontation.   Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.support...

Sam Bass and his business partner, Joel Collins, travel to Deadwood to find their fortunes, but their attempts to make legitimate money end in failure. They believe they have choice but to embrace the outlaw life. They assemble a crew and start robbing stagecoaches… only to discover that they’re miserable stagecoach robbers. But when they reach the peak of desperation, they decide to rob a train....

Sam Bass began life as a typical farm boy in the midwestern United States. But as he grew older, and experienced more than his fair share of family tragedy, he dreamed of becoming a Texas cowboy. After a detour through Mississippi, he made it to Texas and started living his dream. He experienced exactly one cattle drive to Kansas before he decided there must be easier ways to make money.   Join Bl...

Join us for two upcoming events in 2024 about Chris’s book, “The Summer of 1876” February 2, 2024 – 2:00-3:00pm presentation 3:00pm Book Signing Scottsdale, Arizona Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West Presentation and Book Signing **FREE to the public March 9-10, 2024 Tucson, Arizona Tucson Festival of Books March 9, 4:00pm - 5:00pm “Into The Sunset” panel discussion *Book signing afte...

Difficult times are ahead for Buffalo Bill Cody in the final years of his life. He helps found the town of Cody, Wyoming, but its creation, and other investments, lead to dire financial trouble. Bill’s marriage falls apart in a public scandal and he experiences more personal tragedy as he also witnesses America’s evolution from the Old West to the Gilded Age. In the end, his impact is incomparable...

Buffalo Bill Cody takes his popular Wild West production to Europe for years of tours and performances for royalty and the average fan alike. But as the production experiences unprecedented success abroad, tension builds at home in America between Native American societies and the U.S. government. The Ghost Dance movement gains momentum and leads to tragedies at Sitting Bull’s home and Wounded Kne...

Buffalo Bill loses his best friend, Texas Jack, but he discovers a path toward resurgence in the entertainment business. A Fourth of July party evolves into the life-changing production that will be called Buffalo Bill’s Wild West. The spectacle’s initial success prompts Bill to hire Annie Oakley and Sitting Bull, and Bill embarks on a 20-year career as the most famous showman in the world. Join B...

Buffalo Bill and Texas Jack quickly become rich and famous actors, but they continue to head west between tours to act as hunting guides and scouts for the Army. In the summer of 1876, the Army enlists the help of both men in the aftermath of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Buffalo Bill survives his soon-to-legendary fight with Cheyenne warrior Yellow Hair, but loses his old friend Wild Bill Hic...

Buffalo Bill Cody and his friend/idol Wild Bill Hickok become scouts for the Army after the Civil War. Cody and the Fifth Cavalry fight Cheyenne chief Tall Bull and his Dog Soldiers. And then Cody meets two men who will change his life: Texas Jack Omohundro and Ned Buntline. Texas Jack saves Bill’s life during a battle with Native American warriors, and then the two friends take the plunge into ac...

William Cody experiences more than his share of grief at a young age: by the time he is 18 years old, he’s lost three family members and has been forced to grow up fast. He sees some of the violence of Bleeding Kansas, then much more in the Civil War, and then marries the love of his life. He finds his calling as a buffalo hunter and earns his world-famous nickname in the process. Join Black Barre...

A father and his daughter go missing in Labette County, Kansas in late 1872. A neighbor searches for them, and he never comes home. His wife sounds the alarm. Search parties descend on the Bender farm. The Benders are long gone, but the victims of their murderous deeds remain. Local authorities hunt for the Bender clan, but justice proves elusive. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingea...

In 1870, a “family” called the Benders moves to Labette County in southern Kansas. There are four people in the group, but no one in the area fully understands the relationship between them. They build a small cabin near a well-used trail and offer the space as an inn for travelers. Before long, strange activities and criminal acts are reported at the Bender cabin. And then, travelers go missing....

WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of cannibalism. The Donner Party experiences the worst case scenario. They’re starving and living in crude shelters. A small group begins the trek over the mountains to find help, but it loses members along the way. The people who remain trapped near Truckee Lake become increasingly desperate. But early in the new year of 1847, rescue parties start to ar...