Wednesday 17 May 2017

On This Day in History ... 1853

May 17


 
The site of Fort Riley was chosen by surveyors in the fall of 1852 and was first called Camp Center, due to its proximity to the geographical center of the United States. The following spring, three companies of the 6th infantry began the construction of temporary quarters at the camp.

Fort Riley was established by Captain Charles S. Lovell, 6th U.S. Infantry, on a site recommended by Colonel Thomas T. Flauntleroy, 1st U. S. Dragoons.

The fort's initial purpose was to protect the many pioneers and traders who were moving along the Oregon-California and Santa Fe Trails.
 
In the years after the Civil War, Fort Riley served as a major United States Cavalry post and school for cavalry tactics and practice. The post was a base for skirmishes with Native Americans after the Civil War ended in 1865, during which time George Custer was stationed at the fort.

THE DRAGOONS by PATRICK E. ANDREWS



This series consists of four novels of the early U.S. Cavalry and features the adventures, trials and tribulations of the brave men of the U.S. Dragoons. In a land as savage as the Indians who lived on its vast prairies and burning deserts, the U.S. Dragoons were the only law. Short on rations but long on courage, they were the first cavalry soldiers to ride the great western frontier and fight to keep the peace.

The cover art is by Don Stiver who was was an American artist, known for his portrayal of historical and military subjects.

Check out the page

Saturday 13 May 2017

On This Day in History .... 1870

1870, May 13

Colorado Territory- around 9 a.m. an Indian attack on a Kansas Pacific Railroad crew near the town of Kit Carson kills eleven and wounds nineteen 500 head of livestock are driven away.

Patrick E. Andrews' COLORADO CROSSFIRE, Number 15 in the Piccadilly Publishing Western series is an exciting story that tells of a vicious robbery, if there ever was one. A bunch of scummy gunsels had ambushed a Northwest and Canadian Railroad car, and left a pile of bodies in their wake. Detective Jim Bigelow figured it had to be Milo Paxton’s Gang; no other pack of pistoleros was so downright mean – or so dang slippery-footed. The Pinkerton man needed a pair of crack frontiersmen to capture the outlaws – or kill ’em – and bring back the loot. So he hired two hell-raisin’ whippersnappers names of Lefty McNally and the Kiowa Kid ...
Lefty was a U.S. cavalryman’s son and the Kid was half-injun, yet they were closer than natural brothers. Together, they’d set out to find adventure. But hunting down twelve of the meanest men in the west not only put Lefty and the Kid on the deadly trail of hidden treasure, but plunged them into a six-gun war that’d leave gunsmoke and splattered blood on every one-horse town and mining camp from Kansas clear to Colorado!

 


Friday 12 May 2017

On This Day in History ... 1832

1832, May 12

The fur trader William Sublette departed for a rendezvous scheduled to occur that summer at Pierre’s Hole, a valley in the Grand Teton Mountains. Sublette arrived at the rendezvous point in June and he successfully traded his supplies for furs and enjoyed a reunion with his brother Milton. As the rendezvous broke up on July 17, Sublette’s brother left, leading a party of trappers toward the Snake River. They had gone seven miles when they encountered a band of Gros Ventres Indians. Foolishly, one of the trappers shot a Gros Ventres chief, and a battle erupted.

Alerted by a messenger, Sublette and about 200 other trappers soon arrived and joined the battle. Recognizing that the trappers outnumbered the Gros Ventres by about seven to one, Sublette decided the mountain men should attack. The Gros Ventres, however, were well entrenched and were tenacious fighters. By nightfall, they had killed 32 of the trappers and lost 26 of their own men. Sublette was wounded, though not seriously, and during the night, he and the other surviving trappers retreated. When they returned the next day, the Gros Ventres were gone.

If you like this particular era in the Old West, why not try the Wilderness (book series) is the generational saga of a mountain man and his Shoshone wife by American author David Robbins. The series has run for twenty years, making it one of the longest contemporary series written by a single author. We publish both Giant editions and our own Double Editions.
 

 

Monday 8 May 2017

Celebrating our Fifth Birthday

It all began on 9th May 2012 when Bodie 1: Trackdown by Neil Hunter was published and thus launched Piccadilly Publishing. Now, five years down the line, we have published over 250 books. We greatly appreciate all your support over the years. So, raise a shot of whiskey and help us toast this landmark. Here's to the next five years!
 

The book still gets reviews on Amazon such as this FIVE STAR rated latest:

By Jo Walpole on 12 Jan. 2017
        
I was looking for a hard hitting western and I found one. If you want a sanitised version of the Old West, this one won't be for you. If you're looking for a man's man who pulls no punches and makes no apology, buy it now and enjoy.

Wednesday 3 May 2017

Belated Happy Birthday - Calamity Jane


Martha Jane Canary or Cannary, better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman and professional scout, known for her claims of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok and fighting against Native Americans. She was born on May 01, 1852 in Princeton, Missouri.


To mark what would have been her next birthday on May 01, 2018 we will be publishing the J.T. Edson's series featuring the lady herself.  Covers are by the indomitable, Tony Masero.