The Spanish American War

Today is the anniversary of the surrender of the Spanish at Santiago de Cuba (July 17, 1878), so it’s time to trot out one of the very earliest episodes of The History Files, which originally aired in March of 2015. It’s a slightly different format, as when we started the show it was technically a two-mic podcast, even though we shared one little Go-Mic, and the second host was Gordon’s friend Dylan.

From the original show notes: “In episode two of The History Files, Gordon and Dylan talk about the Spanish American War, U.S. imperialism in the 1890s (and beyond), and blame it all on Gordon's ancestors.”

Spanish American War artillery crew in Cuba. Just kidding: it’s Gordon (R) and his cannon crew on the set of “Rough Riders” (1997), just outside of Bandera, TX. Cameo by Taylor Anderson (rear row, 2nd from L) Ballistic Archeologist and writer of the “Destroyermen” series).

Gordon (and I) worked on TNT’s “Rough Riders”, a docu-drama based on Roosevelt’s involvement in this conflict, way back in 1997 (see pic above). It was my very first movie experience, and my first visit to Texas. Expect a piece from Gordon about this adventure in the near future.

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