Episode 130: The American Revolutionary War in the West - Stephen L. Kling, Jr. (Origins, Part 10)

Stephen L. Kling, Jr. is an independent researcher focusing on the western theater of the American Revolutionary War. His books include The Battle of St. Louis, the Attack on Cahokia, and the American Revolutionary War in the West; Cavalry in the Wilderness: Cavalry in the Western Theater of the American Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War; James Colbert and His Chickasaw Legacy; The American Revolutionary War in the West; and An Underappreciated Victory: Bernardo de Gálvez’s Mississippi River Campaign Against the British in 1779. He was the primary historical consultant for the 2021 Mid-American Emmy award-winning House of Thunder documentary on the Battle of St. Louis. He is the past curator of the American Revolutionary War in the West museum exhibition at the St. Charles, Missouri Heritage Museum. Currently, he is the curator for the newly opened Gálvez and Louisiana in the American Revolution exhibition at the Louisiana State Cabildo Museum in New Orleans based on his latest book. He will be the featured speaker at the State Historical Society of Missouri’s History on Elm series on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. 

Kling is a frequent speaker on the western theater of the American Revolutionary War being featured on C-SPAN, The American Revolution Institute in Washington, D. C. lecture series, as well as making presentations at the Missouri History Museum, the George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, the Friends of the Cabildo, and at numerous history conference and historical society meetings. Mr. Kling is a descendant of Joseph Robidoux III who was a soldier in the Spanish militia that defended St. Louis when it was attacked by British-led forces in 1780 during the American Revolutionary War.