Tombstone Epitaph

01/03/2026

Author and Epitaph contributer Art T. Burton discusses the legendary Bass Reeves and frontier history...

BLACK MUSE is a weekly 30-minute video podcast series exploring the rich genealogy of Black culture. It's where creatives from the worlds of jazz, hip hop, g...

01/02/2026

In the West Gallery, alongside historic photographs of Sharlot Hall’s Orchard Ranch, artists Bob Boze Bell and Thom Ross present Doc Holliday as you’ve never imagined him. This striking collection […]

01/01/2026

We introduce you to Blind Tom--the first Black superstar in the West. His musical gifts were astounding. And he's the cover subject — courtesy of Carolyn Grattan Eichin — in the January 2026 issue off the Tombstone Epitaph.

Also... Roy Young profiles John Duncan Young, a vaquero of the brush country. Samuel K. Dolan explains why so many Arizona hardcases ended up at San Quentin. Benjamin Doss provides us with the story of Oklahoma lawman John Swain. James B. Mills provides readers with a letter written by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during the Vicksburg Campaign.

Subscribe today at www.tombstoneepitaph.com

12/31/2025

There are still spots left—reserve yours today! Join us on January 10th for a special literary and historical event featuring two award-winning, bestselling authors — Paul Andrew Hutton and Paul L. Hedren.

These celebrated historians will take the stage for an engaging conversation about their acclaimed works, offering rich insights into the stories, research, and inspirations behind their writing. Guests will have the opportunity to hear them discuss pivotal moments in American history, their approaches to scholarship, and the fascinating characters who shape their narratives.

Following the discussion, attendees are invited to participate in a book signing session, where you can meet the authors, ask questions, and have your copies personally signed.

Whether you’re a history enthusiast, an avid reader, or simply looking for an inspiring evening, this is an event you won’t want to miss!

Please R.S.V.P. by December 31, 2025.
Email Sharlot Hall Museum at [email protected]

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12/30/2025

December 30, 1905. Former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated by a bomb planted at his front gate. Harry Orchard, an enforcer for the Western Federation of Miners, is tried and convicted. He points the finger at union leaders, seeking revenge for Steunenberg's crackdown on a strike years before. Those men are found not guilty.

12/26/2025

December 26, 1873--around 7pm. Tiburcio Vasquez and about 11 of his men raid the central California town of Kingston. They tie up (and rough up) more than three dozen citizens and rob each building for a total of around $3000. After some time, four locals manage to arm themselves and open fire. One of the bandits is fatally wounded and the others speed out of town.

But Vasquez's time is running short. Rewards reach $8000 for his capture ($6000 for killing him). He is caught less than four months later; he is hanged on March 19, 1875.

Check out John Boessenecker's bio Bandido: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez for the full story of this remarkable outlaw.

12/25/2025

December 25, 1929. The border towns of Nogales, Mexico and Nogales, Arizona. The two are separated by a wide boulevard, which--for about two miles--features a flimsy, two strand barbed wire fence. It was put up just after WWI when violence broke out. It's also a futile attempt to keep thirsty Americans, afflicted by Prohibition, from crossing over into Sonora to get a drink.
The Arizona town has a traditional Christmas gathering at a community Christmas tree. Children are given gifts and everyone has a great time.

But the children in Mexico--about 3000 of them--lack all of those things. That touches the hearts of the Americans, who, after much discussion, move the international border two blocks to the north. The Christmas tree and celebration are now in Mexican territory. And the little children rush to the party.
They are given candy and toys and clothing, and a chance to marvel at the tree and make new friends. After a few hours, they are gently guided back to their homes. The previous border is reestablished.

And all present feel that the true spirit of Christmas is alive and well. It cannot be kept out by wide streets or barbed wire fences or language differences or whatever.

Our thanks to Arizona's official historian Marshall Trimble for reminding us of this story, which is so powerful even today.
May we all know the limitless power and joy of the Spirit. Merry Christmas!

12/24/2025

December 24, 1886. One of the best and most respected Indian lawmen of the West is gunned down.

Sam Sixkiller--Sheriff of the Cherokee Nation, a deputy US marshal, the first captain of the US Indian Police, a railroad detective, and warden of the National Penitentiary. He is 44-years-old and in his prime.

On Christmas Eve, he and his family are in Muskogee, heading to worship. He stops at a drugstore for headache medicine. As he leaves, he is confronted by drunken hardcases Dick Vann and Alf Cunningham (who are brothers-in-law). They've had previous run-ins with Sixkiller, and they hate lawmen in general. They open up on the captain, who is disarmed. He takes five bullets to the chest and face and dies where he falls.

Sixkiller gets one of the largest funerals in the history of the Indian Territory, with condolences coming from all over the country. Posses are sent out after the killers. Vann reportedly dies in a gunfight some time later. Cunningham escapes jail and disappears.

But there is one other Sixkiller legacy. A few months after his death, federal officials make assault against an Indian policeman a federal offense, bringing to bear the resources of the US Marshals Service, which Sam Sixkiller served with pride and distinction.

12/18/2025

Christmas sale...

If not for an unlikely alliance among a bespectacled cowboy, a former Confederate general, and a millionaire newspaper publisher, the Spanish-American War might never have been. How these three outsize characters—Theodore Roosevelt, Joseph “Fighting Joe” Wheeler, and William Randolph Hearst—...

12/17/2025

Christmas sale...

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