Douglas C. Jones (1924–1998)

When The Southern Literary Trail (a terrific group here at Goodreads) read Elkhorn Tavern in 2018, I purchased the book with intent to join the read. Something happened (heaven knows what, because I cannot remember) and I wasn’t able to read it...so, I put it on the shelf and thought I would get to it someday. Well, someday is here, and I am riddled with regret that I missed reading this with the brilliant people in the group, because there is much I would love to say to a fellow reader show more about this story.

Ora Hasford, her daughter Calpurnia, and her teenage son, Roman, are trying to survive life alone on a farm in the midst of the Civil War and in the absence of husband and father, Martin. Douglas Jones must have known some strong women in his life, because his characters, Ora and Calpurnia, are exactly that, strong and determined and capable. In many ways they dwarf the men around them, not because they are not feminine but exactly because they are. Where less is expected, much more is forthcoming. They take care of themselves, and often of the men they encounter as well. For Roman, this is almost a coming-of-age story, and I liked that aspect as well.

The cruelty of war is blazoned across the pages in the battle that is fought at Elkhorn Tavern, a North Arkansas town that never expects to be the center of the conflict. The Hasford’s live in the borderland between the North and the South, and the sentiments and loyalties are equally divided. Often neighbors cannot be trusted, and marauding gangs of bushwhackers and jayhawkers sweep down on the population and decimate the farmlands, stealing and killing with impunity. A dangerous time to live, and one that would stretch the reason and resources of most of us.

Douglas Jones does a remarkable job of capturing both the times, the conflict, and his characters. They are full-bodied and real from the beginning, and the fear for them begins almost immediately and never subsides throughout the course of the book. I am now aware that Jones wrote a series of books about these characters over the years, and I will, of course, be hunting them down.

Late to the feast, but thankful to The Trail once more for introducing me to another fantastic Southern writer. My only fear is that I will not have the time left to me to read all the great books that spring from my association with this group, but by-golly, I am going to try. show less

This is a novel that is chock fill of real historic detail, valid suppositions and great storytelling. The author is a military lawyer and so the account of the court-martial is detailed and convincing. The basis of the story is simple; suppose Custer had survived Little Big Horn? The book is not some overblown action story or historical romance. It is, as accurately as the author can surmise, what the subsequent court-martial of Custer would have been like. But it is not a dry supposition; show more Jones does a marvelous job in making his players interesting, memorable but completely in character. His protagonist is the chief prosecutor for the army and we see most of the story through his eyes, but we also are witness to events taking place from out West to the White House.

We listen in rapt attention to the testimony of Generals Terry and Crook, who led the expedition, explain how Custer exceeded his orders, and to Benteen and Reno as they retell the battle. There are other witnesses as well, but much is also going on behind the scenes as the government wrestles with conflicting goals; punish the man who brought such disaster on the army, but also defend the military actions of his superiors and the leaders back in Washington.

Jones also does a fantastic job in setting the scene. The court-martial is held in New York City in the late 1870s and Jones adds authenticity and atmosphere when we leave the courtroom to go to eat at Delmonico's or tour down Fifth Avenue.

I happily recommend this book to those who like their historic fiction with more emphasis on the history and also those who might be interested in learning more about the Battle of Little Bighorn and the political and military actions and discussions leading up to the battle and subsequent to it. show less

The Civil War comes to the Hasford family's home in a secluded Arkansas valley. Father Martin Hasford is off somewhere with the Confederate army, leaving behind wife Ora and a teen-aged daughter and son. Confederate-leaning Ora lives by the philosophy that "when you're decent to folks, it always comes home." That philosophy is tested by the Battle of Pea Ridge, fought around their home, and by armed raids by both bushwhackers and jayhawkers leading up to and following the battle.

The author show more describes in detail the family, their home, the hard work necessary to maintain their subsistence-level farm, the soldiers, the partisans, and the battle, yet these descriptions never slow the pace of the story or the building dread of the inevitable crisis. Since I'm interested in family history and 19th century migration patterns, I liked the way the author incorporated the Hasford's German roots into the story. I was fascinated by the ethnic diversity of the characters, including people from German, Jewish, Native American, and African American backgrounds. It's not a book I'm likely to read again, but I'm very glad I've read it once. Warmly recommended to readers of historical fiction, western fiction, and Civil War aficionados. show less

This historical novel takes place in 1890 in the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory and in Fort Smith, Arkansas, a town on the Arkansas/IT border. The Federal Court with jurisdiction over nontribal people in The Nations was located in Fort Smith and the Marshals Service worked from there.

When word of a murder in Indian Territory is received by the Marshal he assigns Deputy Oscar Schiller to investigate. Schiller is in Fort Smith and he and his posse, two Osage trackers, quickly prepare to show more board the night train to travel into the territory. A fourth person, Eben Pay, a naïve young lawyer from St. Louis temporarily assigned as an assistant to the prosecuting attorney, comes along as well. It was Pay's father, a judge in St. Louis, that thought Eben needed to experience law enforcement to understand all facets of law. When the four disembark from the train at Hatchet Hill IT, they are joined by the chief of the Choctaw police and some of his men. They take Oscar and his posse to the murder scene of Mrs. Eagle John, a Choctaw woman who was traveling in her wagon with a small black boy she was raising. She has been murdered and raped. The boy was able to escape and hide. This turns out to be only the beginning of Schiller's work. A man named Thrasher is found dead in his farmyard along with the two men that worked for him. When Schiller and the posse arrive, they bury the dead and begin to work on a puzzle Schiller would like not to have discovered. Mrs. Thrasher and their teenage daughter are missing.

Published in 1979, Winding Stair is well written with interesting and diverse characters indicative of the time and place.
Doug Jones was very knowledgeable about the history of Indian Territory, the Thrid Districct Federal Court in Fort Smith , and of the law of the time. show less