Since boyhood Cliff Caldwell has continually cultivated his interest in the history of the American West. After a stint in United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, and a thirty-five year career working for several Fortune 500 corporations Cliff is now retired and is free to pursue his interests as a historian and writer on a full time basis. An avid collector of period firearms, cowboy memorabilia and Old West artifacts, Cliff is recognized as an accomplished historian and researcher on the American West. He is a member of Western Writers of America, Inc. and the Wild West History Association. Cliff has been a frequent guest speaker on The Lincoln County War and the legendary cattleman John Chisum. When not deeply involved in writing Cliff volunteers some of his time doing research for the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation of Texas.
Cliff holds a bachelor of science degree in business and is the author of several books and numerous articles and published works, including Old West Tales – Good Men, Bad Men, Lawmen, Dead Right – The Lincoln County War, Guns of the Lincoln County War and A Days Ride From Here.
He lives with his wife in the Hill Country of Texas, near Mountain Home.
My first book, Old West Tales – Good Men, Bad Men, Lawmen is a collection of short stories that are based largely on authentic but little known old west personalities. It is an interesting and absorbing collection of tales that readers have found delightful.
My fascination with the Lincoln County War began many years ago as an outgrowth of my research work on John Simpson Chisum, Cattle King of The Pecos. In Dead Right: The Lincoln County War the reader will find a concise and historically accurate portrayal of the events and participants of this epic conflict. Well researched and presented, this book has been highly acclaimed by knowledgeable historians as a “must have” for those with an emerging interest in the Lincoln County War and Billy the Kid. You will find no conspiracy theory here…just honest history! The book also contains a helpful chronology of important dates as well as a series of biographies on many of the participants.
In a unique follow up to Dead Right…The Guns of The Lincoln County War…I cover the firearms that were available to the participants of this historic conflict. It is written in such a way that those unfamiliar with firearms can easily gain an understanding of the topic, thereby making their research on the Lincoln County Ware far more interesting and fulfilling. The book contains some very useful reference material in the appendix section. Although scores of books have been written about Billy the Kid and the Lincoln County War no one has tackled this aspect of historical study this far.
The Hill Country of Texas has a rich history that goes well beyond its more recent popularity as the vacation and hunting capitol of Texas. It has been claimed by some that no less than 3,000 badmen were rounded up or brought to their just end in Kerr County before the turn of the last century. In A Days Ride From Here, I provide the reader with a wealth of fascinating stories about people, places and events of the late 1800’s in the Texas Hill Country.
After many years of research I decided to tackle the daunting task of attempting a biography on John Simpson Chisum, Cattle King of The Pecos. John Chisum was perhaps the first “larger than life” personality of the American West who captured my interest. As a youth John Chisum’s exploits, as portrayed by childhood hero John Wayne, drove me to consume every scrap of information I could uncover about this somewhat mysterious and often misrepresented champion of the untamed west. In due course I realized that much of what had been written about Chisum was hopelessly flawed, and that it failed to offer a fuller view of this great man’s character and his significant contributions to the development of large scale cattle ranching along the Pecos River in New Mexico. Moreover, his life story seems to be narrowly defined by many through his association with the notorious outlaw, Billy the Kid.
My most recent work The Cattle King of The Pecos Revisited – John Simpson Chisum is the product of considerable research about Chisum. It incorporates the landmark work of noted historians like Dr. Harwood P. Hinton Jr. and Skipper Steely and is updated to include a great deal of recently uncovered facts about the legendary Cattle King.
Through my volunteer work with the Texas Peace Officers Memorial Foundation I quickly learned that most of the fascinating stories about the hundreds of Texas lawmen who served, and died, during the 1800’s would likely be lost to time but for the efforts of a handful of men and women who have labored to recognize these fallen Texas heroes. The satisfaction derived by those who have labored so diligently on the research work necessary to compile this information comes, in large part, from knowing that the passing of some of these obscure lawmen will now not go unrecognized. With the assistance of coauthor former police officer and founder of the Peace Officers Memorial Foundation Ron DeLord I began to assemble an anthology of Texas lawmen who died during the 1800’s. Aided by the work of Bexar County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Kyle Coleman, retired Dallas County Sheriff’s Assistant Chief Terry Baker, Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Doug Hudson, Fort Worth Police Sergeant Kevin Foster and scores of other volunteers who have worked hard to research the history of these lawmen I am pleased to announce that the completion of this enterprise is now in sight. By the end of 2010 Ron DeLord and I expect to finally publish An Anthology of Texas Lawmen 1836-1899: Good Men, Bad Men, Lawmen.
Clifford Caldwell is the author of
