DEFEAT ALONG THE BOZEMAN TRAIL Lecture to Launch Winter 'Lunch & Learn' Series at Ft. Caspar Museum

By: Jan. 19, 2017
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The Fort Caspar Museum Association announces its winter Lunch & Learn program which will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2017. There will be an optional lunch beginning at 12:00 pm, followed by a lecture at 1:00 pm given by Douglas R. Cubbison who will present "Defeat Along the Bozeman Trail."

There really was gold in "them thar hills." In May 1863, gold was discovered in Alder Gulch in what is now southwestern Montana. As the Civil War came to a close, the new goldfield lured unemployed veterans and was viewed by the federal government as a solution to the war debt. The problem was how to get there. One route led west over South Pass into Utah, then north to the gold camps around Virginia City. This route was long, arduous, and time consuming. A shorter and more efficient route, located by John Bozeman, led from the Oregon Trail along the North Platte River, northwest through the Powder River Country. In the fall of 1865, the federal government directed the 18th U.S. Infantry to establish the Bozeman Trail to the Montana goldfields the next spring.

Between 1866 and 1868, the U.S. Army would struggle with providing route security along the Bozeman Trail. Mr. Cubbison, Curator of the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum and First Vice President of the Wyoming State Historical Society, will provide a preview of his new book on the route to Montana by discussing how the U.S. Army struggled to defend the Bozeman Trail against nearly continuous Indian attacks for three years...before it eventually admitted defeat.

The presentation is free with the optional paid lunch OR free with paid museum admission ($1.50 for adults). Advance reservations are required for the lunch and requested for the lecture. Lunch will begin at 12:00 pm, and we are offering a buffet-style meal of Jersey Mike's sandwiches, chips, desserts, and beverages with an RSVP by Thursday, January 26th. The cost for lunch is $5.00 for Museum members and $8.00 for non-members. Call the Museum to reserve a spot at the lunch (235-8462), but please plan to pay at the door.

Between the lunch and lecture, at approximately 12:45 pm, the contents of the Museum's "Mystery Box"-as seen on KCWY-13 and on Facebook-will be revealed.

For more information, call the Museum at 307-235-8462, or visit our website at www.fortcasparwyoming.com. Fort Caspar Museum is located at 4001 Fort Caspar Road.



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