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Friday, May 3, 2024
My Washington Times 'On Crime' Column On Wild West Bank Robbers, A Notorious Traitor, And A Movie Star & Her Gangster Lover
The Washington Times ran my On Crime column on
three historical true crime books.
You can read the column via the below link or the below text:
I’ve recently read and enjoyed three interesting historical true
crime books. They cover Wild West bank robbers, a notorious traitor, a movie
star and her gangster boyfriend.
Tom Clavin has written excellent books
about Texas Rangers, Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, all of
which I’ve covered here. His latest book, “The Last Outlaws: The Desperate
Final Days of the Dalton Gang,” is about three of the four Dalton brothers and
their gang, who began stealing horses and graduated to robbing banks and
trains.
The Dalton Gang is most famous for the
simultaneous 1892 robberies of two banks in broad daylight in Coffeyville,
Kansas. The gang, consisting of “Grat,” Bob and Emmett Dalton, Bill Power and
Dick Broadwell, was recognized by the townspeople, who armed themselves and
began a shootout with the notorious outlaws as they left the banks. The epic
gunfight left eight men dead, including four of the five members of the Dalton
Gang.
Mr. Clavin, a fine Wild West historian, writes of
the connection and rivalry between the infamous James Gang and the Dalton Gang
and the relentless pursuit of the Dalton Gang by Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill
Tilghman and other lawmen.
There is perhaps no villain more
despicable in American history than Benedict Arnold, who betrayed Gen. George
Washington and went over to the British in the Revolutionary War. As Jack Kelly
notes in his outstanding book about the traitor, “God Save Benedict Arnold: The
True Story of America’s Most Hated Man,” Arnold was a brilliant soldier in
Washington’s Colonial Army, leading victories at Fort Ticonderoga, Quebec and
Saratoga.
Mr. Kelly describes the battles well and
depicts Arnold as a fearless military officer and leader. He covers the life
story of Arnold (1741-1801), describing his life as the son of a merchant
trader and background as a merchant, trader and commercial sea captain prior to
joining the Continental Army.
One can almost sympathize with Arnold
when reading about how poorly the Continental Congress treated the bold and
severely wounded soldier and how others took credit for his military successes.
Mr. Kelly tells us that Arnold had a special relationship with George
Washington, who was impressed with Arnold as a soldier. The general and future
president was deeply hurt when Arnold defected to the British.
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