This is a history of the famous old post erected deep within Apache country in Arizona where anyone stepping into the territory met with vicious, horrendous attack. The post served courageously to protect an ever-increasing influx of settlers into a wild and fearsome territory. With the Spanish reach for empire, colonization, and usurpation of Indian lands, the Apaches retaliated in the only way they knew how, by vicious and sustained attack upon anyone violating Apache territory. Emigrants, lone travelers, overland-mail riders and itinerant merchants were gunned down, slaughtered, mutilated and roasted alive. If the white man wanted the gold and silver hiding in the hills the he would have to win access to the precious metals the hard way. This is the reason of Fort Huachuca's existence. One of the most savage contests of arms between dedicated and able frontier army soldiers and implacable Indian braves. This confrontation culminated in the inevitable reduction of the primitive by the technologically advanced. This was not brought on so much by the introduction of equipment and machines, however, as by persistence and the sheer weight of numbers. Fort Huachuca saw it all. It began in a primitive setting from cavalry charge and marathon infantrymen to being equipped with the most modern equipment of real bugles and crackling loud-speakers. That shows how long the ugly battle continued.
Is mass murder a historically new phenomenon that emerged in the 1960s? How has it changed over time? And what causes a person to commit multiple murders in a matter of hours or even minutes? This book explores these questions by examining 909 mass murders that took place in the United States between 1900 and 1999. By far the largest study on the topic to date, it begins with a look at the patterns and prevalence of mass murders by presenting rates from 1900-1999 and by describing the characteristics of mass killers. Placing the phenomenon within the broader social, political, and economic context of the twentieth century, the work examines the factors that have influenced trends in the prevalence of mass murder. It also discusses more than 100 case studies within three distinct periods of mass murder activity (1900-1939, 1940-1965, and 1966-1999) to illustrate more clearly the motives of mass murderers and the circumstances surrounding their crimes. The final chapters take a look at media coverage and the role it has played in the social construction of mass murder. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
Newtown, Connecticut. Aurora, Colorado. Both have entered our collective memory as sites of unimaginable heartbreak and mass slaughter perpetrated by lone gunmen. Meanwhile, cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C., are dealing with the painful, everyday reality of record rates of gun-related deaths. By any account, gun violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. A widely respected activist and policy analyst—as well as a former gun enthusiast and an ex-member of the National Rifle Association—Tom Diaz presents a chilling, up-to-date survey of the changed landscape of gun manufacturing and marketing. The Last Gun explores how the gun industry and the nature of gun violence have changed, including the disturbing rise in military-grade gun models. But Diaz also argues that the once formidable gun lobby has become a "paper tiger," marshaling a range of evidence and case studies to make the case that now is the time for a renewed political effort to attack gun violence at its source—the guns themselves. In the aftermath of Newtown, a challenging national conversation lies ahead. The Last Gun is an indispensable guide to this debate, and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we can finally rid America's streets, schools, and homes of gun violence and prevent future Newtowns.
World War II came to Arizona via two significant avenues: prisoner-of-war camps and military training bases. Notorious for its prisoners' attempted escape through the Faustball Tunnel, Papago POW Camp also had a dark reputation of violence among its prisoners. An unfortunate casualty was Werner Drechsler, who supplied German secrets to U.S. Navy authorities after his capture in 1943. Nazis held there labeled him a traitor and hanged him from a bathroom rafter. Controversy erupted over whether the killing was an act of war or murder, as well as the lack of protection Drechsler received for aiding in espionage. Ultimately, seven POWs were hanged for the crime. Author Jane Eppinga examines the tangled details and implications of America's last mass execution.
They were two men driven by implacable hatred: Lieutenant Ranald Neal of the U.S. Cavalry, seeking his place in the roll-call of history, as the man who ended the Indian Wars, and Sombra the Apache war chief, bent on revenge. The two deadly enemies fought each other across the savage wilderness of the border country. They met for the last time in The Place of Bones, forbidden ground in the shadow of Ghost Mountain. Caught in the middle, as this genocidal war reached its bloody climax, was the white woman who had been the Apaches captive and whose yellow hair gave Sombra luck in battle. Then, too, there was the formidable Calvin Taylor, Indian scout, hired gun and man killer. Could he, against all the odds, succeed in his deadly mission?
The author covers conflicts from 1837 through 1886 in Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Important chiefs covered include Mangas Coloradas, Cochise, Victorio, Geronimo, and Captain Jack. Army officers covered include George Crook and Nelson Miles.