


Texas Tough: The Rough and Ready William “Howdy” Martin
William “Howdy” Martin exemplified the officers who kept rough hewn soldiers ready to fight

Excerpt from ‘A Shot in the Moonlight’ by Ben Montgomery
"A Shot in the Moonlight" by Ben Montgomery is the true story of George Dinning, a freed slave, who in 1899 joined forces with a Confederate war hero in search of justice in the Jim Crow South.

American History Review: Tecumseh and the Prophet
Charismatic Shawnee brothers lead Indian resistance to American expansion in early years of the republic

February 2021 Readers’ Letters
Readers share dispatches about Billy the Kid's colorized tintype, Custer subordinate Frederick Benteen, transcontinental railroads, the Dakotas and horses

American Outpost at Japan’s Front Door
Remote Pacific Islands attracted settlers who dreamed of annexation

Why Martinsburg Remained Blue in Red Virginia
Martinsburg's Unionist passion was so unshakable, Confederates resorted to calling the key western Virginia town 'little Massachusetts.'

From Hair to Opportunity
Rochester working girl builds an empire of businesswomen and changed the salon experience

How a New York Dentist Developed a Unique “Volley Gun”
The Billinghurst Requa Battery, a breechloading gun, consisted of 25 horizontally arrayed barrels and required a crew of three to work it.

Battle of the Mounts: Two of the Civil War’s Fiercest Cavalry Commanders Face Off
In June 1864 two of the Civil War’s fiercest cavalry commanders faced off at Trevilian Station, Virginia.

Book Review: True Grit
Colorado's Ridgway Western Heritage Society offers John Wayne fans a wide-format, photo-laden 50th anniversary look at the filming of True Grit

Skeletons in Buckskin at the Alamo
The murky fate of the Texian dead grows murkier after human remains turn up inside the famed San Antonio mission chapel

Letter From Wild West — February 2021
Wayne Brazel confessed to having killed Pat Garrett, the onetime New Mexico sheriff forever known as the man who shot Billy the Kid

America’s Political Divide Has Roots in Clash Over Enlightenment
Philosophers who argue that reason defines truth face resistance from those who value tradition, culture, and faith

Soldiers in the Capitol: Then and Now
One observer wrote in 1861, "it almost broke my heart to see the soldiers bring armfuls of bacon and hams and throw them down upon the floor of the marble room."

Finny Industry Sends Island Up in Flames
Inferno transforms Nantucket from whaling mecca to seaside resort