Legends of the Old West

Feb 19 2025 257 ep. 33 mins 5.2k

Legends of the Old West Podcast artwork

Wyatt Earp, Jesse James, and Butch and Sundance. Lakota, Comanche and Apache. Wars, gunfights and robberies. This show covers the toughest lawmen, the wildest outlaws, and the deadliest towns — all the people and events that shaped the American West.

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DAKOTA WAR Ep. 6 | “Killdeer Mountain”

Feb 19 2025 37 mins

In the wake of the executions of 38 Dakota warriors, the Dakota are forced to leave Minnesota. As they try to build new lives on a barren reservation in present-day South Dakota, U.S. army columns march west on punitive expeditions against the wider Sioux Nation. General Henry Sibley’s column fights three battles near Bismarck, North Dakota, and then General Alfred Sully’s colu

DAKOTA WAR Ep. 5 | “Judgment Day”

Feb 12 2025 32 mins

The Dakota War is done, but the conflict isn’t finished. Colonel Henry Sibley convenes a military commission to pass judgment on 400 Dakota warriors. The commission performs hasty trials and sentences an historic number of warriors to death. President Abraham Lincoln intervenes on behalf of some of the condemned, but the year 1862 still ends with the largest mass execution in Ame

DAKOTA WAR Ep. 4 | “The Turning Tide”

Feb 05 2025 35 mins

With Fort Ridgely reinforced, Colonel Henry Sibley sends troops on a burial mission that results in a disastrous ambush. Dakota warriors continue to sweep through the western half of Minnesota, and Colonel Sibley leads a column out of Fort Ridgely to confront the warrior army. At the Battle of Wood Lake, Sibley’s force delivers a crushing blow to the Dakota army and turns the tid

DAKOTA WAR Ep. 3 | “Siege of Fort Ridgely”

Jan 29 2025 35 mins

After defenders at Fort Ridgely and New Ulm survive the first Dakota attacks, they re-fortify and brace for the second attacks. Dakota warriors assault both locations in greater numbers and threaten to overrun the two strongest pockets of resistance in southwestern Minnesota. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple

DAKOTA WAR Ep. 2 | “Assault on Lower Sioux Agency”

Jan 22 2025 35 mins

At dawn on August 18, 1862, hundreds of Dakota warriors launch a surprise attack on the Lower Sioux Agency in southwestern Minnesota. The Dakota are starving, and the traders at the agency are hoarding food. After the agency, the Dakota sweep across the landscape and attack homes, farms, and towns. Soldiers at the nearest army outpost, Fort Ridgely, rush to the agency, but they mar

DAKOTA WAR Ep. 1 | “Acton Massacre”

Jan 15 2025 34 mins

On August 17, 1862, four young Dakota men kill five white settlers near the village of Acton Township, Minnesota. The act of violence seems spontaneous, but it is fueled by desperation that had been building for years. That night, the leaders of villages in southwestern Minnesota gather for a heated council meeting. At dawn the next day, bands of the Dakota go to war against the se

ENCORE: NEZ PERCÉ WAR Ep. 6 | “Fight No More Forever”

Jan 08 2025 38 mins

The Nez Percé have performed an extraordinary feat: they have traveled more than 1,300 miles and repelled three American armies in a series of battles and smaller skirmishes. But they are sore and exhausted. They are within reach of the Canadian border and freedom, but another American army joins the hunt and forces the final showdown between the Nez Percé and the United States.

ENCORE: NEZ PERCÉ WAR Ep. 5 | “The Medicine Line”

Jan 01 2025 33 mins

The Nez Percé escape the Battle of Big Hole and move into Yellowstone National Park. Their options are limited and they choose a treacherous path over a mountain range to try to lose their army pursuers. But the army catches the Nez Percé at a narrow canyon and tries to end the conflict before the Nez Percé once again slip away. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bing

ENCORE: NEZ PERCÉ WAR Ep. 4 | “Thunder In The Mountains”

Dec 25 2024 33 mins

The Nez Percé are on the run. They cross the Bitterroot Mountains and arrive in Montana. They believe they have left their troubles behind and can start fresh in a new territory. But they soon learn the truth. They are shunned, and sometimes betrayed, by their friends. A new American army unit joins the hunt from an unexpected direction and it clashes with the Nez Percé in a high

ENCORE: NEZ PERCÉ WAR Ep. 3 | “Battle of Clearwater”

Dec 18 2024 34 mins

A few days after the Battle of White Bird Canyon, an army unit attacks a Nez Percé village. After the fight, the army unit becomes trapped at an abandoned ranch by the advancing Nez Percé column. The smaller fights lead to a two-day battle along the banks of the Clearwater River. The aftermath forces the Nez Percé to make a monumental choice in their pursuit of freedom. Thanks