The 29th Annual OIW Assembly
The Bozeman Trail - Road to Little Big Horn
Sheridan, Wyoming, September 18-20, 2008
A decade before the disaster at the Little Big Horn, on a lonely hill not that far away, occurred a previous disaster for the U.S. Army -- the Fetterman Massacre. This tragedy was played out right on the road that would lead to the 1876 confrontation -- the Bozeman Trail. That trail, and its impact on the future Indian Wars, will be the subject of the 2008 OIW Assembly. Our chief guide will be Sterling Finn who will be assisted by Greg Michno and Neil Mangum.
The list of speakers include John Monnett (whose new book, Where a Hundred Soldiers Were Killed, should be available before our assembly), always erudite Michael Hughes and Jack McDermott (whose book, Circle of Fire, is on our reading list).
On Friday, September 19, we will visit Crazy Woman Crossing (considered the most dangerous spot on the Bozeman Trail, Fort Reno and Cantonment Reno. After lunch on the road, we journey to Buffalo to see Fort McKinney and the Gatchell Museum.
On Saturday, September 20, we'll have a continental breakfast at the New Sheridan County Historical Society Museum. Then we head off to some of Wyoming's roughest country to the site of Mackenzie's Last Fight. This privately owned battlefield, miles from encroaching civilization, may be America's most pristine Indian Wars' site. Lunch will be at the battlefield followed by a tour by the ranch owners, Ken and Cheri Graves. Not open to the public, this may be your only chance to see the site of one of the army's few successes in the Sioux War of 1876. The closing banquet will be held that evening in Sheridan.
On Sunday, September 21, there will be a no-cost tour, by private cars, to Fort Phil Kearny, the Wagon Box Fight site and the Fetterman Fight site. If you haven't seen these sites in a few years, you'll be astounded!
You must be a member of OIW to attend the assembly. The cost of the tour is $265 per person before September 1 -- $300 after August 31, space available. You must make your own reservations with the host hotel, The Sheridan Holiday Inn, 307-672-8931. Rates are reasonable, $75 per night.
All members of OIW as of September 1, 2006, will receive a DVD of the 2007 Assembly. For you new members here is a chance to see what you missed in 2007. All of the members of OIW as of September 1, 2007, will receive a DVD of the 2008 Assembly. The 2005, 2006 & 2007 DVDs are available now for purchase by members, $17.50, by non-members, $25.00.
The Order of the Indian Wars is a participatory group – Participate – Don’t miss out.
Website Updated 5-11-2008
Denver Custer Symposium - April 19, 2008
"Insiders to the Indian Wars"
Our annual, one-day spring conference in Denver for students, scholars and followers of western history was held at the Colorado National Guard Armory
Speakers
Lori Cox-Paul, "A Frontier Army Fourth and Other Holidays"
Eli Cox, "The 1854 Grattan Fight: Prelude to Blue Water Creek"
Ron Nichols, "The Hilltop Fight: Was Reno in Command?"
Paul Hedren, "The Scourge of Alcohol in the Old Army: Case Studies from the Black Hills Road in 1876"
Doug Scott, "Custer's Heroes: The Little Bighorn Medals of Honor in the Context of the Indian Wars"
Dennis "DK" Clark, "Have You Really Been To Beecher's Island?"
The 28th Annual OIW Assembly
Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 27 – 30, 2007
Kit Carson’s Southwest
Bob Utley called Kit Carson the greatest of the mountain men, but he was much, much more. During his lifetime, he fought almost every major Indian tribe in the western United States – Paiute, Comanche, Apache, Navajo, Shoshone, Blackfoot, Sioux, Arapahoe, Ute, and many others. Carson rose to the rank of brevet brigadier general in the US Army – the only illiterate person to ever reach this rank. He might have been illiterate, but he spoke fluent Spanish, and could converse in several Indian languages. He made his home in Taos – one of the most fabled towns of the American west. We visited that home, plus Carson’s home in Rayado. Our itinerary included the town created by Lucian Maxwell – he of the famous Maxwell Land Grant – Cimarron. We saw the hotel built by the chef to both General Grant and President Lincoln. Across the street from the hotel was the mill where Carson recruited the Ute scouts who would accompany him on his last fight, as he narrowly averted disaster at the first battle of Adobe Walls.
We visited the very room where governor Charles Bent was killed by the Pueblo Indians, and saw the ruins of Turley’s Mill, home of the famous Taos Lightning! We went from Albuquerque to Taos, Cimarron, Las Vergas (NM) to Glorietta Battlefield, Pecos National Monument to Santa Fe and back to Albuquerque. For the first time in our 28 years of assemblies, this was a traveling trip. Luxurious buses, terrific guides, and great sites – that was the 28th Annual Assembly of the OIW.
OIW Board of Directors
Mike Koury, Chairman: Ron Nichols, Vice Chairman: Rich Lea, Treasurer
Larry Bartlett, Charlie Cooper, Neil Mangum, Mike O’Keefe
Thank a History teacher today....
Order of the Indian Wars is a "spiritual" descendant of an earlier group formed by actual veterans of the Indian Wars campaigns known as "The Order of Indian Wars of the United States."
We have no official connection with that group.
Our purposes are similar: In-depth study and dissemination of information on that aspect of United States military history of Indian warfare whether it is Indians against each other or with emigrant settlers and soldiers alike.
We have an interest in military history only. We are not a forum for political or sociological crusades.
We seek to understand and commemorate the history of the peoples and events in our past...on both sides.
We also seek to preserve and protect those important sites associated with the history of the Indian Wars in this country and to encourage individuals and groups to become involved in the preservation effort of their communities. Once these sites are gone they can never be regained.
The OIW Special Orders is our newsletter that provides historical articles, information on battle site preservation, and assorted other relevant historical topics.
We meet annually meet at a significant site in Indian War history with presentations and tours by noted historians, scholars, writers, and preservationists.
Please book mark our site for future reference and especially information on the next Assembly.
We invite you to become a Companion in our Order. Annual Membership is $30.00.
It is with deep regret that we announce the death of Jerry L. Russell, founder and National Chairman of OIW on Friday, 5 December 2003. Memorials may be sent to the Jerry Russell Fund, Civil War Preservation Trust, 11 Public Square, Suite 200, Hagerstown, MD 21740, or to the Central Arkansas Library System Endowment, Jerry Russell Fund, 100 Rock Street, Little Rock, AR 72201.
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