The Summer of 1876: Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season That Defined the American West

Wimmer, Chris. The Summer of 1876: Outlaws, Lawmen, and Legends in the Season That Defined the American West. 2023. 320p. ISBN 9781250280893,

The year 1876 was significant in American history for many reasons. It was the centennial of the founding of the United States, and the country was stretching itself to the Pacific Coast. Baseball's National League was holding its inaugural season. Gunslingers and bandits were ruling the west, with Jesse James and his gang terrorizing people, robbing banks, and murdering those in their way. The U.S. Army was also on the war path, looking to suppress Native-American resistance following the discovery of gold in territories assigned as reservations.

Over the summer of 1876, these events combined to provide the average American with the view that the west was not yet settled, that law and order was lacking. Heroes and villains were forged that summer. Jesse James was hunted down for a bank robbery gone wrong in Minnesota. Colonel Custer chased Plains Native-Americans for miles, before being ambushed and killed with his men in what became known as Custer's Last Stand. The last Native-American victory against the U.S. Army made names like Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull known throughout the United States. A legendary gambler and shooter, James Butler Hickok, also known as Wild Bill, was killed during a poker game. Lawman Wyatt Earp had recently moved to Kansas and served as a marshal's deputy, despite his own run-ins with the law. Calamity Jane was already known as a sharpshooter as she cruised the prairies.

These histories became the founding part of the myth of the west and its lawless cowboys, a myth that continues to this day in western movies and in literature. But in 1876, these events were very much shaping the young nation. Fans of history will appreciate how all of these themes work together into a seamless story.

Billy the Kid

 Green, Carl R. and William R. Sanford. Billy the Kid. Part of the Outlaws and Lawmen of the Wild West series. 2009. 48p. ISBN 0-7660-3173-X. Available at B BIL on the library shelves.

The Wild West of the 1880s was populated by bandits and villains, ready to make a quick dollar or spill a man's blood for a perceived insult. One of the most prominent criminals of the time was known as Billy the Kid for his good youthful looks. Henry Atrim was fifteen when he first joined a group of outlaws. Over the next six years, the man who became known as Billy the Kid lived a fast life, rustling cattle, stealing horses, and participating in shout-outs.

Arrested several times and sentenced to hang for murder, Billy managed to escape his jailers and kept on running. He was eventually found in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where he was shot dead at age 21 by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Despite his violent past, Billy the Kid's reputation grew as western dime novels became popular, turning him into a hero of sorts. Today, the truth about Billy the Kid remains clouded by movies that romanticize his life and accomplishments.

Gunslinger Girl

Ely, Lindsay. Gunslinger Girl. 2018. 422p. ISBN 9780316555104. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

Following the Second Civil War and the “Pacific Incident,” the Confederation of North America emerged triumphant. Those who called themselves Patriots ended up on the losing side, and fled West into the deserts and badlands. Serendipity Jones’ mother was one of these. She eventually settled in a small border town commune controlled by CONA and had three kids, two boys and Pity. A sharpshooter, alcohol eventually did her in.

Now seventeen, Pity’s cruel and unforgiving father plans to sell her to another community since she is fertile. Pity had been planning to leave with her mechanic friend, but events cascade out of control. She retrieves the one thing her mother left behind, a pair of unique guns, from her father’s chest, and she flees. Originally planning to head to Columbia, CONA’s capital, they are ambushed and her best friend is killed. Pity ends up in Cessation, the cesspool of the world, but, more importantly, outside CONA’s control.

There she is accepted by Miss Celine, who controls Cessation and owns Halcyon Singh's Theatre Vespertine. Max, who rescued her from the desert, also works at the theatre. Pity’s sensational shooting act quickly becomes part of the performance, but when she’s asked to participate in a finale, where she will be responsible to end a man’s life, Pity is not sure she can do it. It doesn’t help that forces larger than Cessation are gearing up for a fight over the lawless city. With all the cards in the air, will Pity have enough bullets to survive a showdown between CONA and its rebellious neighbor?