Civil War-era battles in North Platte Valley lead off spring Olson seminars
Released on 01/07/2010, at 2:00 AM
Office of University Communications
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
WHEN: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010
WHERE: Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q Street, Hewit Place
A reconstruction of two Civil War-era battles in the North Platte River valley will lead off the spring semester series of Paul A. Olson Seminars in Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
UNL anthropologists Douglas D. Scott and Peter A. Bleed will discuss "Mud Springs and Rush Creek: Civil War-Era Combat in the North Platte Valley" in a seminar at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 20 in the Great Plains Art Museum, 1155 Q St.
On Feb. 4, 1865, only nine weeks after the tragedy of Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado Territory, Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attacked a small detachment of volunteer cavalrymen guarding the telegraph station at Mud Springs near present-day Bridgeport. Scott and Bleed will describe how cavalry units rushed to the three-day battle and pursued when the Native fighters withdrew to protect their community as it moved away from the combat. The two sides met again at the mouth of Rush Creek, northwest of present-day Oshkosh, on Feb. 8.
Scott and Bleed investigated the two battle sites using the techniques of battlefield archeology and their work revealed specific information on the tactics used in these engagements. The close proximity of the battles made it possible to address operational and strategic bases of frontier conflict. Using ideas developed by modern military planners, this presentation will consider how the values and organization of the sides influenced the way they fought.
Following is the schedule of other spring semester Olson seminars. All seminars begin at 3:30 in the Great Plains Art Museum, following a 3 p.m. reception. Sponsored by the Center for Great Plains Studies at UNL, they are free and open to the public.
* Feb. 17 -- "Searching for a Climate Change Signal Amidst the Noise of Climate Variability," Kenneth F. Dewey, professor of applied climate science in the UNL School of Natural Resources.
* March 10 -- "Immigration to the Great Plains, 1865-1914: War, Politics, Technology and Economic Development," Bruce M. Garver, professor of history, University of Nebraska at Omaha.
* April 14 -- "Searching for Snakes on the Great Plains: A Herpetologist's Quest to Obtain Crucial Information on Nebraska's Amphibians, Turtles and Reptiles," Dennis M. Ferraro, extension associate professor in the UNL School of Natural Resources.