Captain John Glen Metcalf is a symbolic figure who represents the embodiment of the "buffalo soldier" and the dues that the black man paid for acceptance as a US citizen. The right to vote and to life, liberty, and justice--the all-American way. The characters within The Life and Times may be fictitious, yet their heroic deeds are real and are what helped civilize the West and paved way for black men in America to truly call America home.