How Dare You Refer to Lincoln as an “Alien”

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5 comments… add one
  • Robert Moore Sep 6, 2008 @ 11:00

    I was going to give the simple answer but I actually found a website that gives a chronology of West’s life and the war (based on the different story lines (whoever did this must have really been into this. http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/WWWest.htm

    1861

    American Civil War begins. James West joins the Union cavalry, serving under General Buford. (The Night of the Double-Edged Knife (title of novelization is The Wild, Wild West)).

    1862

    Lieutenant James West saves the life of the badly injured Confederate colonel, Noel Vautrain (The Night of The Lord of Limbo).

    1863

    General Buford dies in Dec. and West is transferred to Brigadier General Harrison Ball’s command (The Night of the Double-Edged Knife (title of novelization is The Wild, Wild West)).

    1864

    West serves as General Grant’s aide de camp until called back by General Ball (The Night of the Double-Edged Knife (title of novelization is The Wild, Wild West)).

    The Knights of the Golden Circle is secretly organized around this time by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (The Night of the Iron Tyrants).

    1865

    James West is promoted to Major (The Night of the Double-Edged Knife (title of novelization is The Wild, Wild West)). Conjecture: In the novel based on this episode, West states, “I didn’t make Major until till my twenty-second birthday, toward the end of the war.” This rank is at variance with “The Night of The Inferno”, where he is referred to as Captain West. More than likely his rank of Major was a field promotion and rescinded after the war, as happened to brevet Major-General George Custer who was reduced in rank to Lieutenant Colonel at the end of hostilities.

    April 9, 1865

    General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses. S. Grant. The Civil War is over.

    April 14, 1965

    President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, in service to the Knights of the Golden Circle (The Night of the Iron Tyrants).

    April 26, 1865

    Booth is reportedly shot and killed in a Virginia barn.

    April-May 1865

    West and Gordon’s first mission together for the newly-created Secret Service. The mission is to safely deliver Lincoln’s body to Illinois for burial (The Night of the Assassin).

  • Tom Perry Sep 6, 2008 @ 6:34

    Captain Jim West in the first episode meets with President Grant and discusses his role in the Civil War as I recall in Night of the…

    Ever notice how much Jim West and Jim Kirk are a similar. Is Star Trek the Wild Wild West in Space?

    Live Long and Prosper 🙂

  • Sherree Sep 5, 2008 @ 15:32

    Thanks Robert for the info. 1966 explains a lot. I am impressed with everyone’s technical skill and how fast information is obtained. I would like to return the favor, but I didn’t watch the Wild, Wild West very often and for me to find ANY information is a major task that could get me lost in space and I have work to do. lol Anyway, thanks again.

  • Robert Moore Sep 5, 2008 @ 13:54

    I thought that was a cool episode when I was a kid. I looked it up (no, I’m not a “Trekkie,” but for those who might be… it’s episode #77, “The Savage Curtain”) and it’s from 1966. Between that and the occasional appearance of Grant on Wild Wild West (without looking it up, can anyone remember what Jim West did in the Civil War?), that was about all one could expect for what equated to a mediocre Civil War fix.

  • Sherree Sep 5, 2008 @ 11:37

    Oh, lol, Kevin. Touche. It would be interesting to know the year on that clip. I thought the word “Negress” was no longer used by the time Star Trek came out. You have to wonder why that scene was written that way. Perhaps a neo Confederate conspiracy to permanently capture Abraham Lincoln’s legacy and hurl it out into space where no man had ever gone before was underway. Perhaps not. Either way, thumbs down for calling Lincoln an alien and for dissing Uhura! (BTW, I grew up with both Lincoln and Lee as heroes, and added Frederick Douglas years later. Could be because I found Star Trek more interesting than history, and thus was not indoctrinated. Or, it could be because I am an alien. Have a good one)

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