James A. Crutchfield
James A. Crutchfield is the author of fifty books, including volumes on various aspects of American history, biography, and general interest subjects. He conceived and was lead editor of the two-volume encyclopedia The Settlement of America: Encyclopedia of Westward Expansion from Jamestown to the Closing of the Frontier. He is the 2011 recipient of the Western Writers of America (WWA) Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement in Western Literature and is in the Western Writers Hall of Fame. Over the years he has also received a Spur Award, three Stirrup Awards, and the Branding Iron Award from WWA, as well as two commendation awards from the American Association for State and Local History. He is a Tennessee native where he lives in Franklin
Latest from James A. Crutchfield
The American West: Gateway To The West – St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri, the legendary “Gateway to the West,” has a long and important history in the story of America’s westward movement. Once owned by France and then by Spain, it it fell under the jurisdiction of the United States in 1803.
James A. CrutchfieldJanuary 09, 2025
The American West: A Tale of Two Fur Men
John Jacob Astor's employees experienced many adventures and opportunities in the wilderness of the great Northwest before Astor had to pull out of the Pacific fur trade altogether. Two of them, Ross Cox and Alexander Ross, left written accounts of their adventures.
James A. CrutchfieldJanuary 03, 2025
The American West: Statehood for Texas
Few issues in American history have generated more political controversy than the annexation of Texas. The decade following its independence from Mexico was filled with debate about the wisdom of allowing the new republic to enter the Union.
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 29, 2024
The American West: Chuck Wagons and Cattle Brands
Two enduring features of the heritage and lore of the American West are the development and use of the chuck wagon and the evolution and utilization of branding to denote ownership of cattle.
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 20, 2024
The American West: “Is Not This the Red River?”
Zebulon Pike, James Wilkinson, and the quest for the far southwest
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 14, 2024
The American West: Edward Curtis and His Legacy
Edward Curtis was convinced that he must photographically document the life and lifestyles of American Indians before they became more displaced and marginalized than they already were. With the enthusiasm of a zealot, he embarked on his monumental project.
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 07, 2024
The American West: Henry Rowe Schoolcraft And His Search For The Mississippi
Henry Schoolcraft mounted a small expedition to search for the headwaters of the Mississippi River, hoping to succeed where several explorers before him had failed. With additional orders to visit as many tribes as he could, he set out on a journey that would forever link his name with the river.
James A. CrutchfieldDecember 01, 2024
The American West: What Ever Happened to the Real Jeremiah Johnston?
So, with the help of their teacher, a group of 7th graders mounted a campaign to have Jeremiah Johnston’s remains moved from California to his old stomping grounds in Wyoming.
James A. CrutchfieldNovember 17, 2024
The American West: David Jackson - Entrepreneur of the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade
Jackson Hole is named for David E. Jackson, one of the most brilliant, yet elusive, players in the vast drama of the Rocky Mountain fur trade.
James A. CrutchfieldNovember 08, 2024
The American West: Women on the Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was the oldest of several overland highways that linked the easternmost section of the Trans-Mississippi West with the Pacific coast. It was a long, tortuous, dangerous journey, but in the end, these hardy women persevered to bring American culture and lifestyles to the remote villages and towns of New Mexico.
James A. CrutchfieldNovember 02, 2024
The American West: Cumberland Gap - Gateway to the West
Daniel Boone, with 30 axmen to assist him, blazed a trail through Cumberland Gap – the Gateway to the West. His route became known as the Wilderness Road and opened the nation to westward expansion.
James A. CrutchfieldOctober 30, 2024
The American West: The Bloody Adventures of Harry Tracy
In 1896, Harry Tracy - who was wanted for murder in Utah - joined Butch Cassidy’s notorious “Wild Bunch’’ at their hideout in Wyoming. Although his life of crime was short-lived, its brevity was punctuated by dishonesty, murder, and terror.
James A. CrutchfieldOctober 19, 2024
The American West: A Remarkable Shot at Adobe Walls
Two legends were born when Billy Dixon grabbed his friend's .50-caliber Sharps rifle and picked off an Indian nearly a mile away at the Second Battle of Adobe Walls. First, his marksmanship. Second, the accuracy and killing power of the Sharps rifle.
James A. CrutchfieldOctober 13, 2024
The American West: Meriwether Lewis’s Last Journey
When Meriwether Lewis left St. Louis in late summer, 1809, on a trip to the nation’s capital, Tennessee was the furthest thing from his mind. But Lewis never arrived in Washington, and his violent death on the Natchez Trace remains a mystery to this day.
James A. CrutchfieldOctober 06, 2024
The American West: The Great Yacolt Fire
The fires of 1902 caused an estimated $13 million [nearly one-half billion dollars in today’s economy] worth of property damage alone, not counting the loss of human and animal life and the billions of board-feet of prime timber.
James A. CrutchfieldSeptember 28, 2024
The American West: The Art of David Wright
There are big goings-on these days at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale. It all started this past May when the museum presented one of the largest collections of original contemporary art of the mountain men. It is titled “One with the Land: The Mountain Man’s Journey into the Unknown” and includes 72 pieces of artwork from 38 individuals, including David Wright.
James A. CrutchfieldSeptember 22, 2024
The American West: George Catlin Helped Inspire Exploration With His Indian Art
Early America’s obsession with the West was inspired in part by early 1830s artists like George Catlin. His paintings and drawings of American Indians, including his famous tour of the Pipestone Quarry, sparked a young nation’s imagination.
James A. CrutchfieldSeptember 14, 2024
The American West: The Great Santee Sioux Uprising of 1862
By the summer of 1862, residents of the Santee Sioux villages situated along the middle Minnesota River, a tributary of the Mississippi, were weary of the constant influx of German settlers in the area and frustrated from seeing their government annuity payments stolen by unscrupulous traders.
James A. CrutchfieldSeptember 08, 2024
The American West: The Battles Of Tohotonimme, Four Lakes And Spokane Plains
The U.S. Army's Indian battles in Washington Territory in 1858 set the stage for more settlers. First was a demoralizing loss for Lt. Col. Williams Steptoe in the Battle of Tohotonimme. The Army retaliated at the Battles of Four Lakes and Spokane Plains.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 31, 2024
The American West: The Saga of Sarah Ann Horn
For nearly five centuries, these thrilling, yet oftentimes horrific, narratives of confrontations between primarily settlers -- many of them women and children -- and the native tribes of North America have provided exciting literary fodder for generations of readers.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 26, 2024
The American West: The Legend of Baby Doe
In March 1935, an emaciated corpse was found frozen to the rough-planked floor of a tool shack at the Matchless Mine in Leadville, Colorado. The winter’s intense cold had preserved her body so that even her facial features could still be discerned.
James A. CrutchfieldAugust 18, 2024