Society Activities

Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting 2008

Welcome to Lubbock for the
79th Texas Archeological Society Annual Meeting

Brett Cruse Headlines Friday Night Public Forum
The Red River War of 1874 and the Archeology of the Battle of Round Timber Creek

From 1998 through 2003, the Texas Historical Commission conducted archeological investigations at six battle sites associated with the 1874 Red River War Indian Campaign in the Texas Panhandle.  This presentation will provide an overview of the Red River War and will summarize the investigations conducted at the various battle sites.  It will also provide an in-depth look at the archeology of the Battle of Round Timber Creek site, a battle fought between 28 troopers of the Eighth U.S. Cavalry and about 100 Cheyenne warriors on November 6, 1874, near the North Fork of the Red River in present Gray County, Texas.

Brett Cruse is a native of Turkey, Texas, a small farming and ranching community in the Texas Panhandle. Brett received a B.S. in sociology/anthropology from West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M University) and an M.A. in anthropology from Texas A&M University.  After working on various archeological field projects in the south, southwest, and eastern U.S., he joined the staff of the Texas Historical Commission in 1995.  At the THC, Brett serves as the Cultural Resources Coordinator for the Historic Sites Division and is the Project Director of the Red River War Battle Sites Project.  He is the author of the book Battles of the Red River War: Archeological Perspectives on the Indian Campaign of 1874 that will be available from Texas A&M University Press in September, 2008. Brett, his wife Maria, and sons Zachary and Samuel make their home in Round Rock.