The year is 1869, and Law and Order is still a precious and rare commodity on the frontier following the Civil War. Thomas Fletcher had followed in his father's footsteps and joined the cavalry. The horrors of the War drove all the "soldiering" out of young Fletch and he began to drift, first hiring on with Wells Fargo riding shotgun on their stagecoaches. That was where he developed his love of the 12gauge shotgun which became his life's companion. Warren Tate was a hired gun, known for his ability to bring law and order to the frontier towns of Kansas and Missouri. He and Fletch partnered up to help the folks of Lucking Mills, Kansas deal with a threat from marauding guerilla bands. These remnants of William Quantrill's Raiders were still a force to deal with, even years after the War was over. Tate and Fletcher will be called on to use all their courage and ingenuity in dealing with the contingencies. Then, after successfully eliminating one of the notorious criminal bands, the Goddard Gang, Fletcher and Tate were singled out by the governor of the territory. He wants to make them territorial marshals. Local Sheriffs have no territorial recognition, their jurisdiction is limited to the town line. In Texas, the Rangers were developed to deal with these larger, regional problems, in Kansas, it will be Fletcher and Tate.
About the Author: Master storyteller, Robert M. Johnson, offers the reader an adventure into the lawlessness of the post-Civil War era, a time of conflicted allegiances. With is previous series, the Mountain Man, the author has explored the multiple layers of life on the frontier after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The Fletcher and Tate Series opens a new chapter in the history of the young nation, the Reconstruction as it was called. Those in charge of the territories like Kansas and Missouri are faced with countless decisions regarding the political and legal structures of these broad lands. The telegraph and soon the railroad, are bringing considerable changes to the frontier of 1869. Soon the transcontinental railroad will be joining east and west, the Atlantic shore line to the Pacific. Distance will no longer be a concern, and those who defend the law on the frontlines can feel the surge in crime brought on by the war and the rapidly changing frontier. Robert Johnson gives the reader a chance to consider these changes and their impact on our American history. When is a Sheriff a Sheriff and a Marshal, a Marshal. How did nineteenth century leaders decide where the lines were drawn? What were the consequences for those who had to bring law and order to these regions? Fletcher and Tate have some of the answers.