Brandon Cadwell, National Park Service Ranger, will present "Ft. Bowie and the Chiricahua Apaches" at the Silver City Museum Annex on Thursday, February 5, 2015 from 12 noon to 1 pm. This presentation is part of the museum's ongoing series of free Brown Bag lunchtime presentations. The Museum Annex is located at 302 West Broadway in downtown Silver City.

Fort Bowie, located in southeast Arizona, commemorates the bitter conflict between Chiricahua Apaches and the U.S. military - a lasting monument to the bravery and endurance of the U.S. soldiers in paving the way for settlement and the taming of the western frontier. It provides insight into a "clash of cultures," a young nation in pursuit of "manifest destiny," and the hunter/gatherer society fighting to preserve its existence.

Though most of the buildings that once stood at Fort Bowie are long gone, the history that unfolded there still lives, interpreted by the National Park Service. The ruins of Fort Bowie are protected today to commemorate a part of the tumultuous history of a nation in transition, experiencing growing pains that would benefit one culture at the expense of another. This is where the Indian wars ended in the Southwest.

Brandon Cadwell is a park ranger at Fort Bowie National Historic Site and has been with the National Park Service for the last four years. Beginning at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, his study and experience focuses on Civil War military actions west of the Mississippi River and the Apache Wars from 1858 - 1886. Cadwell has a BA in history from Evangel University.

The Silver City Museum creates opportunities for residents and visitors to explore, understand, and celebrate the rich and diverse cultural heritage of southwestern New Mexico by collecting, preserving, researching, and interpreting the region's unique history. For more information, please contact the museum at (575) 538-5921, info@silvercitymuseum.org, or go to the museum's website www.silvercitymuseum.org.