Showing results by author "Meredith Isaac Anderson" in All Categories

Established by trappers in the 1830s, but popularized in the years 1846-1869, the Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by over 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, business owners, and their families. The tribes of the great plains made war with each other and against the immigrants moving west. The United States Cavalry was kept very busy trying to control all the waring among the tribes and predation against the settlers.

Zoie turned toward her cousin. “Abigail, do you think it would be all right to tell the boys, Lance and Jinx, I mean, why we’re carrying these guns?” Abigail dropped one of her carrots and pointed out at the moon. “Nenuphars!” she exclaimed. “Yes. That’s exactly why...” Zoie didn’t finish. Her eyes followed Abigail’s finger, and she saw ominous silhouettes against the moon. Large creatures of all descriptions were flying in from the south.

Cotton Cooper had the tree he was sleeping under as an infant struck by lightning. As a result his hair is white (the color of cotton). He is a young man now, but his reflexes are ultra fast. He hears better and sees sharper than the average person. He travels west to visit his brother, Paul, who is a captain in the cavalry at Fort Laramie. While visiting, his brother gets orders to take a company of men and help 600 Pawnee Indians move south to the town of Pawnee in Indian Territory. The Pawnee were hated by the Sioux.

Gabriel Sand is separated from his family who are on their way to Oregon traveling the Oregon Trail. During an Indian attack, his family is wiped out. He rescues a young cavalry officer, Roger Painter, and they become friends. They are both saved by his big Missouri mule, Jack. He then becomes an agent for the Pony Express and acquires a new friend.

The American Civil War, one of the most violent wars ever contested, started in reality in 1850, when the Compromise of 1850 deposed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and made "popular vote", the way by which the decision would be made to designate a state "free" or "slave". Kansas became the test, Northerners and Southerners both pouring into the territory, voting to make that new state what either side preferred.

“Jayhawkers” and “Red Legs” were enlisted into the Union army and praised as heroes of the country while “Partisan Rangers” of the Confederacy were branded “Bushwhackers” and “outlaws.” “Jayhawkers” under General James Lane rode into Osceola and burned it to the ground in 1861. Just one of many Missouri towns to be sacked and burned, but when the “Partisan Rangers” and Confederate Cavalry returned the favor, the whole world heard about it.