BOZEMAN PAYMASTER

A Tale of the Fetterman Massacre

By Robert Lee Murphy

Five Star Publishing, June 2022

Fighting to defend their favourite buffalo hunting grounds following the Civil War, Lakota Chief Red Cloud’s coalition of Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapahos drove the military forces out of the Powder River country.

On a bone-chilling day in December 1866, Captain William Fetterman led eighty men into the army’s worst defeat at the hands of the Indians until Custer’s Last Stand a decade later. 

Despite the turmoil of virtually constant Indian attacks at Fort Phil Kearny, a youthful paymaster clerk and a beautiful young schoolteacher fall in love. Their future is torn asunder when in the aftermath of the Fetterman Massacre the United States abandons the forts protecting the Bozeman Trail, closing the shortest route used by immigrants to reach Montana’s goldfields.

Red Cloud’s War was the only war the American Indians won fighting the U.S. Army.

Having enjoyed Robert Lee Murphy’s Iron Horse Chronicles trilogy about the building of the transcontinental railroad I was eager to see how he told the story of the Fetterman Massacre. The vast majority of characters that appear in this book are real. Into this meticulously researched and well told tale the reader will follow the events that led up to the massacre, the loss of Fetterman and his men, and the aftermath. 

Into this historical struggle, Robert Lee Murphy places a small number of fictional characters. It’s around Zach Wakefield, the paymaster’s clerk, that the fictional elements revolve as he falls in love with Katy O’Toole. Katy, though, is engaged. Then there is Duggan McGuire who is also interested in the young schoolteacher. 

The story is told in the first person, through Zach, so there are certain events that can only be told by describing what he sees after they’ve happened, such as the massacre of Fetterman and his men. Zach only gets to witness the results as he helps gather the dead. The brutalities of war are graphic in their descriptions, especially when describing how people died. 

Murphy easily held my interest as the historical events played out and he seamlessly blends his fictional storyline into them. The constant Indian raids means there’s plenty of action. There’s also the very cold winter weather to deal with, and a long ride in these sub-zero conditions to survive. Murphy also includes lots of detail about army life and their out-dated weapons they have to use. How Fort Phil Kearny was built is another fascinating aspect of this tale.

The book ends with an historical afterword which tells of what happened to many of the surviving characters.

If you have an interest in the Fetterman Massacre, or like stories that are based around historical events, then this book should be on your reading list. Equally, if you just enjoy well told tales, then this is a book that I think most western fans will enjoy. 

Golden Spike

THE IRON HORSE CHRONICLES #3

By Robert Lee Murphy

Five Star, July 2017

The driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit in Utah on May 10, 1869, almost didn’t happen. None of the history books mention this crucial event. Only five people were aware of the incident. Will Braddock knew. He was one of those five.

Paddy O’Hannigan is still seeking revenge and kidnaps Jenny McNabb in an attempt to lure Will to his gun and also to fill his pockets with dollars. The kidnapping doesn’t work out as intended and Will escapes with Jenny and O’Hannigan is broke again.

A desperate O’Hannigan sees an opportunity to get rich by stealing the Golden Spike and does so, stabbing Will’s friend Homer in the process and races away on Will’s horse. Will must pursue O’Hannigan again and regain the spike before the railroad officials discover it missing. If he fails, Jenny, Homer, and Will stand to be accused of being the thieves.

Golden Spike is the concluding book in Robert Lee Murphy’s Iron Horse Chronicles trilogy and thus ties up all the loose ends that have continued from book to book. As the fictional parts of the series take place during real events there are many people who lived at this time included in the stories and Murphy mixes both truth and fiction with believable ease.

As well as dealing with O’Hannigan, Will and his friends, face uncertainty with their futures as the building of the transcontinental railroad is completed. What will they do next? Will must also examine his feelings for Jenny, and she for him.

Like the previous books this is a very fast moving story full of deadly situations that make for some gripping scenes. Most of the characters, both real and imagined, that have survived the first two tales, have roles to play in this monumental part of American history.

Robert Lee Murphy brings everything to a satisfying conclusion and closes the book with some historical notes that make fascinating reading in their own right.

The Iron Horse Chronicles is a trilogy that should be on everyone’s reading list that enjoys stories set against the backdrop of the building of the transcontinental railroad, books that combine fiction and truth, or just those who seek fast-paced action-packed tales set in the American West.

As you’ll see from the publishing date above this book has not been released yet but it is now available for pre-order.

Bear Claws

THE IRON HORSE CHRONICLES #2

By Robert Lee Murphy

Five Star, 2015

Will Braddock, fifteen years old, continues as a hunter for his uncle’s survey team, as the transcontinental railroad builds across Wyoming in 1868. Paddy O’Hannigan, whose vendetta to kill Will, his uncle, and the former black slave Homer Garcon, grows more sinister and involves the theft of nitro-glycerine and an attempt to blow up presidential candidate Ulysses S. Grant.

Will remains fascinated with Jenny McNabb but it’s her sister Elspeth who will cause the biggest trouble for him as she becomes a part of a plot to steal from a German aristocrat whom Will is guiding on a hunting expedition.

After a vicious bear attack Elspeth falls into the clutches of Paddy O’Hannigan and Will must attempt to free her. Can he save Elspeth and perhaps rid the world of O’Hannigan at the same time?

This story begins shortly after the events of the first book in this trilogy, Eagle Talons. All the characters that survived that first tale are back and Robert Lee Murphy introduces us to more, another neat mix of fictional and real people. Like the previous book, Murphy seamlessly blends historical fact and fiction into a fast paced read that will keep you wanting to turn the pages.

The book is a series of different adventures linked by the people and the quest to build the transcontinental railroad. As well as edge-of-seat action scenes there are also lighter moment too, such as the growing teenage romance between Will and Jenny. And it’s not just Will who could be finding love, his friend Lone Eagle succumbs too, bringing some happiness into his life after the heartache of losing his father, Bullfrog Charlie Munro.

The final part of the story, which sees Will guiding Count von Schroeder in a quest to kill a white buffalo presents a dangerous set of problems for Will, for the shooting of this animal will bring the wrath of the Shoshone down on them and creates some tense reading.

Robert Lee Murphy brings everything to an exciting conclusion that leaves some openings for certain storylines to be continued in the third book, one I am very much looking forward to reading in the future.

Bear Claws is set to be released in November but can be pre-ordered now. 

Eagle Talons

THE IRON HORSE CHRONICLES #1

By Robert Lee Murphy

Five Star, October 2014

Will Braddock doesn’t want some old judge dictating his future. The newly orphaned fourteen-year-old embarks upon a quest to determine his own destiny. He needs to convince his uncle to not sign the judge’s papers sentencing him to a life as a blacksmith’s apprentice. His uncle is a surveyor on the first transcontinental railroad and Will wants to be a part of the excitement of building the Union Pacific Railroad.

Will must prove to his uncle he possesses the gumption to make his own way in the dangerous west. Soon Will finds himself the target of a young Irish thug, who harbors a vendetta against his family and is determined to kill him. He also saves a mixed-blood Cheyenne youth from quicksand and receives two eagle talons in thanks and is convinced they bring luck to him.

When a feisty girl is kidnapped and the Army refuses to send troops to rescue the young lady, Will decides to disobey his uncle and risk his future in an effort to free her.

Set in 1867 this story seamlessly blends fiction with true historical events and features a number of real people.

Will Braddock is a very likeable youngster and a number of those he’ll become involved with fall into the same age group. So, in some ways, this is a coming of age tale, but Will has to grow up fast if he’s to achieve his goals.

Robert Lee Murphy mixes a number of sub-plots in with the real timeline of the building of the railroad and all provide twists and turns that held my attention well. His characters are engaging and I soon found hooked into their lives and found the book difficult to put down as I wanted to see what troubles would befall them next.

Murphy’s descriptions paint vivid pictures in the mind, place you right in the thick of the various exciting action scenes. Most of the story follows Braddock but Murphy occasionally switches to one or two of his other characters so the reader will begin to wonder how Braddock will deal with the troubles that are heading his way.

With such young leads this book should appeal to a wide age range of readers and should be enjoyed by all who love westerns.

This book is the first in a trilogy and I am already looking forward to the next.

Eagle Talons is to be published on October 22nd but can be pre-ordered now from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.