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- 1870-1900
Franco Prussian War
The Webmaster for this Time/Area is:
Texas Lawdog (aka Jim Reed)
The Franco-Prussian War - known in Germany as the German-French War and in France as the Franco-German War (Guerre franco-allemande) - was the last of three wars that led to the unification of Germany (the first since the Holy Roman Empire had any political power).
There were multiple causes of the war, including but not limited to, a potential sale of Luxembourg to France, the vacancy of the Spanish throne, and the Prime Minister of Prussia modifying and publishing an insulting telegram- about a meeting of the French Ambassador. For whatever cause, a dangerously under-prepared France declared war on Prussia (and thus the North German Confederation) in July of 1870. These circumstances led to the South German states (Bavaria, Baden, Wuerttemberg) to join the side of the North German Confederation.
The result was a 10-month Curb-Stomp Battle as the Prussians decimated the French in all but three battles (where the French won one at Broney-Colombey and fought to a draw in two others), captured the French Emperor, Napoleon III, and unified Germany.
Another result of the war was Germany's annexation of Elsass-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine), which they held until World War One. Moreover, the French had to leave Rome, indirectly finishing the Unification of Italy.
The defeat of Napoleon III led to the proclamation of the Third French Republic, which continued the war longer than the Germans expected by continually raising new armies even as Paris was besieged. In a bloody epilogue after the signing of the definitive peace treaty French fought French as the forces of the conservative central government put down the Paris Commune.
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Old West/Gunfighter Groups
An outgrowth of the Civil War, the gunfighter-era also spawned a number of outlaws. The term "gunfighter" itself referred to those men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun. With men who had become accustomed to violence and often having lost their lands or fortunes, being quick with a gun was often an easy transition.
The occupations of these gunfighters ranged from lawmen, to cowboys, ranchers, gamblers, farmers, teamsters, bounty hunters, and outlaws. During these violent days, most of the shootings occurred in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, California, Missouri, and Colorado.
Though about a third of the gunman died of "natural causes," many died violently in gunfights, lynchings, or legal executions. The average age of death was about 35. However, of those gunman who used their skills on the side of the law, they would persistently live longer lives than those that lived a life of crime.
Most gunfights are portrayed in films or books as having two men square off, waiting for one to make the first move. This was rarely the case. Often, a gunfight was spur-of-the-moment, with one drawing his pistol, and the other reacting. Often it would develop into a shootout where both men bolted for cover. Other times, one or both were drunk and missed several normally easy shots. Many times the shootout was little more than one taking advantage of the other's looking away at an opportune moment. Regardless of popular folklore, the men who held noteworthy reputations as a gunfighter were not anxious to match up against another gunman with the same reputation. On the contrary, in cases where two men held a similar reputation, both reputable gunmen would avoid confrontation with one another whenever possible. They rarely took undue risks, and usually weighed their options before confronting another well-known gunman. This respect for one another is why most famous gunfights were rarely two or more well-known gunmen matched up against one another, but rather one notable gunman against a lesser known opponent or opponents.
Generally, two well-known gunmen coming into contact with one another would result in either the two keeping a distance but being social, or avoiding one another altogether. In cases where one well-known gunman was a lawman, and another was merely in town, the one that was visiting would avoid problems. He avoided confrontation with the gunman serving lawman.
How famous gunfighters died is as varied as each man. Many well-known gunfighters were so feared by the public because of their reputation that when they were killed, they died as a result of ambush rather than going down in a "blaze of glory". Others died secluded deaths either from old age or illness.
The Old West
In many ways, the "Old West" is a time period many modern folk wish to return to, a time of values, hard work and a simpler way of life. There are many groups who do these impressions and we'll soon have links to them! If you are interested in Old West reenacting, come back real soon and we'll have the goods.
Indian Old West Reenacting
There's a lot of folks who are into this and many do it to honor their ancestors. I'd sure like to showcase any groups that do this--one can never go wrong in my book, by honoring your ancestors.
Coming soon, some good links for Old West and Gunfighter Groups!
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Great Links for the 1870-1900 Period
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Old West/Gunfighters
Indian Wars
- National Museum of the American Indian
- United States Army Military History Institute
- United States Army Center for Military History
- Trevilian Station Battlefield Foundation
- The Oglala Lakota Nation
- The Cheyenne River Lakota Nation
- The Northern Cheyenne Nation
- The Crow Nation
- The Arikara Nation
- Big Horn Country Museum
- Take a Stand for History-Custers Last Stand
- Spanish American War
General Span-Am Links
- The Library of Congress Detroit Photo collection (Great photos of all-related subjects!)
- The Library of Congress Documentation site on the Spanish-American War
- Cuban Battlefields of the Spanish-Cuban-American War
- The Treaty of Paris
- Motion Pictures and the War (The Library of Congress)
- Film Studies and the Spanish American War
- The Age of Imperialism
- The World of 1898
- US Naval Historical Center - The Spanish-American War
- Medal of Honor Recipients in the Spanish-American War
- Women in the Spanish-American War
- Harvard in the Spanish American War
- Jews Who Served with Honor in the Spanish American War
- Fort Macon (North Carolina) in the Spanish American War
- Stories of the Ohio Battleflags
- Spanish American War Forts and Camps
Cuba Links
- Spain in the Americas-Human Rights and Guerrilla War
- An account of San Juan Hill by Sgt. Major Frank Pullen, an African American
- Info. on Spanish American War and its Cuban Backgrounds by an Authentic Cuban
- Regiments of the Cuban Army of Liberation (1895-1898)
War in the Philippines Links
- Irregular Warfare in the Philippines
- Philippine-AmericanWar1899-1902
- Troops Embarking for the Phillipines Thomas Edison film clip available on line!
Personalities of the Spanish American War
- Theodore Roosevelt, his Ethic and The Battle of San Juan Hill
- William McKinley Birthplace Memorial
- Major General Frederick Funston
- Major Walter Reed
- Alexander Oswald Brodie ("Rough Riders")
- John Jay "Jack" Humbert, 20th Kansas
- Benjamin Franklin Stewart, 1st DC Volunteer Infantry
- Newman Potts Jones, 1st North Carolina Volunteer Infantry
- The Halburnt Brothers who served in the Spanish American War
- George Percival Scriven and his diary
- Library of Congress Recording Archive: Hear the voice of General Leonard Wood talking about Theodore Roosevelt!
- Admiral Segismundo Bermejo y Merelo, Spanish Minister of the Navy
- Basilio August�n y D�¡vila, Governor-General of the Philippines
- Pr�¡xedes Mateo Sagasta, Prime Minister of Spain
- Enrique Dupuy de L�´me, Spanish Minister to the U.S.
- Ellen May Tower - Contract Nurse
Ships
- The Naval Historical Center's Spanish American War Ship Photo Page
- Independence Seaport Museum The Home of USS Olympia
- Yahoo on-line discussion group for the United States Navy of 1898
- The American Merchant Marine in the Spanish American War
Other Span Am Links
Anglo-Zulu Wars
Anglo-Boer War
1870-1900 Reading List/StoreBooks... most reenactors have huge libraries and this period deserves no less... We try for books that are directly useful to the reenactor, not having so much emphasis on rusted bits of metal and their interpretation as others do. Scholarly works are fine, but not always the best for the reenactor. Do we succeed? -- Not always... your recommendations will help! Note: If you don't see a book listed here that you feel we need to have for sale, then PLEASE recommend it to us so that we can add it here!
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Attention: You might see this ugly graphic, instead of the book cover which we have so carefully chosen for you to see. Alas, it means the book is not in print or Amazon is out of it NEW or something. It doesn't mean you cannot get it used, and often for CHEAPER... We will be going through and adding direct links to the book title itself, thus allowing you to get to the book's actual page and possibly even find it used. (I like used books!)
1870-1900 Sutlers/Vendors
On this page you will find sutlers/vendors that we recommend. If you have a business that sells items for these time periods, and would like your ad link here, please contact us. You may view our rates and information on our ad page.