Bozeman Magazine

Stationed in Montana during the height of the Indian Wars, Captain Charles Rawn proved an unlikely hero and an indispensable leader in numerous battles. He took command from a drunken Major Baker at the Battle of Pryor’s Creek, saving the 400 soldiers from possible annihilation at the hands of 1,000 Sioux. As commander of Fort Missoula, he led 35 soldiers and 200 volunteers in an attempt to halt 850 Nez Perce warriors. When Colonel Gibbon suffered an injury at the Battle of the Big Hole, Rawn’s experience and leadership of the 7th Infantry helped prevent another Custer debacle. Author Robert M. Brown catalogues the career of this outstanding officer and the transformation of the frontier army from a Civil War legacy into an elite fighting force.

Dr. Robert Munro Brown was the executive director at the historical museum at Fort Missoula from 1991 until his retirement in 2014. He has been active in the museum community, serving as a board member for the American Association for State and Local History, peer reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums, board member and officer of the Mountain-Plains Museums Association and board member and president of the Museums Association of Montana. He does first-person presentations as Captain Rawn.