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Matthew Kerns — Author
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National Biographer's Day
I started typing this blog post and was a good paragraph in before it hit me—today is National Biographer’s Day , and somehow I almost...

Matthew Kerns
May 16, 20254 min read


Defending Real History in the Age of AI
AI Nonsense This post from the “90’s History” Facebook group might look convincing at first glance, but let’s call it what it is: a...

Matthew Kerns
May 11, 20255 min read


Eight Generations
Left to right: Me holding my granddaughter Celene (2025), my grandmother Ruth with my father and me (1979 or 1980), Richard Jeffreys with...

Matthew Kerns
May 10, 20253 min read


The Day Will Rogers Became The Cherokee Kid
The Cherokee Kid Will Rogers and Texas Jack Junior in South Africa Will Rogers didn’t leave his home on Cherokee land in the Indian...

Matthew Kerns
May 8, 20255 min read


Ena of the Plains
In Savannah, Georgia, in the final days of 1868 and through the long summer of 1869, Ena Palmer’s life looked like something out of a...

Matthew Kerns
May 4, 202510 min read


Texas Jack Just In
In August of 1877, the wilds of Yellowstone were no longer just the domain of curious tourists or European aristocrats in search of...

Matthew Kerns
Apr 18, 20254 min read


Baptiste Bayhylle: The Chief They All Look To
On the sunbaked prairie of Nebraska in the summer of 1872, cowboy-turned-frontier scout Texas Jack Omohundro rode alongside a group of...

Matthew Kerns
Apr 5, 20255 min read


Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer died yesterday. He was sixty-five years old. The news hit me harder than I expected, even though I’ve followed his health...

Matthew Kerns
Apr 2, 20253 min read


More AI Imagery
ChatGPT 4o and the Rise of AI Imagery: From Cowboy Caricatures to Convincing Counterfeits The newly released ChatGPT 4o (Omni) image...

Matthew Kerns
Mar 26, 20252 min read


Tin Jesus on Horseback
Tin Jesus on Horseback: Buffalo Bill’s Bitter Business and Personal Feuds Buffalo Bill Cody was a legend, but legends are not built...

Matthew Kerns
Mar 2, 20253 min read


A Broken Marriage
The Turbulent Relationship Between Buffalo Bill and Louisa Cody Buffalo Bill Cody and Louisa Cody’s marriage was one marked by triumphs...

Matthew Kerns
Feb 28, 20252 min read


The First Rodeo: Buffalo Bill’s Old Glory Blowout and the Birth of a Tradition
On July 4, 1882, in North Platte, Nebraska, Buffalo Bill Cody did what he did best—put on a show. What was supposed to be a simple Fourth...

Matthew Kerns
Feb 26, 20253 min read


Little Crow
Little Crow, leader of the Mdewakanton Dakota during the 1862 Dakota War, knew his people had little chance of victory. He had tried to...

Matthew Kerns
Feb 22, 20252 min read


Part 6 - The Dakota War - Killdeer Mountain: Legends of the Old West
Episode 6 of 6 in a series on the 1862 Dakota War I wrote for Legends of the Old West . In this episode, the Dakota War reaches its...

Matthew Kerns
Feb 19, 20251 min read


Part 5 - The Dakota War - Judgement Day: Legends of the Old West
Episode 5 of 6 in a series on the 1862 Dakota War I wrote for Legends of the Old West . The Dakota War of 1862 was a bloody and desperate...

Matthew Kerns
Feb 12, 20252 min read


The Battle of Wood Lake
An unauthorized breakfast run may have saved an entire army. Here’s how a group of hungry soldiers accidentally foiled a deadly ambush....

Matthew Kerns
Feb 7, 20252 min read


Part 4 - The Dakota War - The Turning Tide: Legends of the Old West
Episode 4 of 6 in a series on the 1862 Dakota War I wrote for Legends of the Old West . After surviving two brutal assaults, the...

Matthew Kerns
Feb 5, 20251 min read


Part 3 - The Dakota War - Siege of Fort Ridgely: Legends of the Old West
Episode 3 of 6 in a series on the 1862 Dakota War I wrote for Legends of the Old West . As the Dakota War raged on, Fort Ridgely stood as...

Matthew Kerns
Jan 29, 20251 min read


Buffalo Bill(s) & The Chiefs
As the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs face off in the AFC Championship tonight at 6:30 PM EST on CBS, there’s a certain energy in...

Matthew Kerns
Jan 26, 20252 min read


The Gruesome Death of Andrew Myrick
On the morning of August 18, 1862, Dakota warriors launched a devastating attack on the Lower Sioux Agency, igniting the Dakota War. For...

Matthew Kerns
Jan 23, 20252 min read
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