PO Box 1650 - Johnstown, CO 80534 - 970-587-9530
New Feature! -- Members, check HERE to see if your membership is current!
Interested in other Indian Wars web sites? Click HERE
The 30th Annual OIW Assembly
Texas Rangers, Outlaws & Indian Wars:
The West of Robert M. Utley
October 22 -25, 2009, in Austin, Texas
Thursday through Sunday (four days)
Reservations for this Assembly are now being taken -- send your deposit NOW!
This organization will celebrate its 30th assembly by honoring the nation's premier Indian Wars historian -- Robert M. Utley. We'll meet in Austin with our usual outstanding speakers setting the stage for the assembly. In addition, we will hear from Bob Utley and Charles M. Robinson, III. Bob will be with us on Friday as we travel to Waco to visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum -- then tour restored Fort Parker, where Comanche raiders captured Cynthia Ann Parker -- who become mother to Quanah Parker, the Comanche war chief.
Saturday's tour will take us to one of the nation's most historic cities -- San Antonio. There we will explore Fort Sam Houston, home to Mackenzie, Pershing, MacArthur, and even, for a short stay, Geronimo. Of course, there's the Alamo and an I-Max movie, Alamo -- The Price of Freedom, which can be seen only there. Lunch will be at the Buckhorn Saloon and its new Texas Ranger Museum. Dinner will be on your own on the famous San Antonio River Walk.
Our last day will be spent in Austin, beginning with a tour of Custer's headquarters building during his stay in Texas. We will visit the site of the Battle of Plum Creek, then return to Austin to tour the incredible state museum, "The Story of Texas" and see the most important graveyard in Texas.
We'll end our 30th annual assembly with a banquet address by Bob Utley. This will be our finest assembly. Your can insure you are along by sending a deposit of $150 per person -- fully refundable until September 15, 2009. Remember, you must be a member to attend. Do it today -- we have just 50 hotel rooms. Last year we used 52 -- don't be left out.
Full details and final price (probably $325 per person) will be in our next Special Orders. Join the OIW and Bob Utley for the Western history tour of a lifetime. Click HERE for the Registration Form (this does NOT include hotel reservations). Assembly headquarters will be at the Wyndham Garden Hotel, Austin -- see below for instructions to book hotel reservations.
Order of the Indian Wars - Austin
$99.00 Rate
Stay at the Wyndham Garden Hotel
3401 South IH-35 Austin, Texas ~ 7874, (Hotel Line: 512-448-2444 ~ Fax: 512-443-4208)
Located 3 miles south of downtown Austin. Recently completed a $5 million renovation. Complimentary high-speed wireless internet throughout the entire hotel providing the ability to work anywhere. Enjoy large work spaces, ergonomic seating, and our Sealy Posturepedic Pillow-top beds! Onsite 3-meal Restaurant, Room Service and Bar.
***How to book your Austin hotel stay at $99.00 ***
Guestrooms have either a standard king or 2 full size beds
Call 1-800-WYNDHAM or 1-800-996-3426:
· Give the associate your desired dates of stay and ask for the “Order of Indian Wars” room block. You will then guarantee your reservation with a credit card. Remember, this is FOUR day Assembly, October 22, 23, 24 and 25!
Book Online:
· Go to www.wyndhamaustin.com. Click “Search using Group Code.” Enter your desired dates of stay in the appropriate box. In the Group code box, enter “1Ø1967Ø2OR”.
Cut-off date: Last day to make reservations is September 30, 2009
If you have trouble making reservations please contact Anna Roberts at: aroberts@wyndham.com or call 512-744-4830.
Website Updated June 6, 2009
The OIW Denver Conference was held on April 18, 2009
Sorry that you missed it!
Insiders to the Indian Wars
2009 Denver Conference Program
Jeff Broome, Conference Chairman * Richard Lea, Arrangements Chairman
John Monnett - The Grummond Massacre: December 21, 1866
Doug McChristian - The First to Make the Ground Bloody:
The Skirmish at Platte River Ferry
Jeff Broome - The Story of John Kyle: Medal of Honor
Recipient and Deserter Estraordinaire
Greg Michno - Circling the Wagons: Films, Fact and Fantasy in Western History
Mike Koury - A Novel Look at Custer
In spite of heavy snow, more than 65 people attended the conference!
Next year's Denver conference -- April 24, 2010 -- mark your calendar
The 29th Annual OIW Assembly
Sheridan, Wyoming, September 18-21, 2008
The Bozeman Trail - Road to Little Big Horn
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, was the subject of the 2008 OIW Assembly. Our chief guide was Sterling Finn who was assisted by Greg Michno.
The list of speakers included Mike Koury, "The Bozeman Trail - Road to Little Big Horn," Ron Nichols, "Mackenzie's Last Fight," John Monnett, "The Fight at Crazy Woman," and Michael Hughes, "The Reason Why." The keynote speaker at the Saturday banquet was Jack McDermott.
On Friday, September 19, we visited Crazy Woman Crossing (considered the most dangerous spot on the Bozeman Trail, Fort Reno and Cantonment Reno. After lunch on the road, we journeyed to Buffalo, Wyoming, to see Fort McKinney and the Gatchell Museum.
On Saturday, September 20, we had a continental breakfast at the New Sheridan County Historical Society Museum. Then we headed 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 was at the battlefield followed by a tour by the ranch owners, Ken and Cheri Graves. The closing banquet was held that evening in Sheridan.
On Sunday, September 21, there was a no-cost tour, by private cars, to Fort Phil Kearny, the Wagon Box Fight site and the Fetterman Fight site.
All members of OIW as of September 1, 2007, will receive a DVD of the 2008 Assembly. For you new members here is a chance to see what you missed in 2008. The 2005, 2006 & 2007 DVDs are available now for purchase by members, $17.50, by non-members, $25.00.
TO SEE PREVIOUS ASSEMBLIES CLICK HERE
OIW Board of Directors
Mike Koury, Chairman
Larry Bartlett, Charlie Cooper, Neil Mangum, Ron Nichols and 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.
THANKS FOR VISITING OUR WEB SITE
© ORDER OF THE INDIAN WARS 2001-07