The next Brown Bag Lecture with the Railroad Museum will be at noon Tuesday, August 10.
George Hackler will present "The Mormon Battalion March Through Southern New Mexico." The August lecture will be at the Railroad Museum, 351 N. Mesilla St.
George Hackler is a native of Las Cruces and the Mesilla Valley. His interest in Southwest history was planted very early as a curious youngster on the family farm below Rincon, while collecting arrow points and potshards.
He graduated from New Mexico State University with a double major in physics and mathematics and worked for 18 years in the Physical Science Laboratory at NMSU in rocket flight determination. George's other experience includes three years at the Martin Denver Company working on the Titan One Intercontinental ballistic missile, 17 years at the Burn Construction Company, and finishing his career designing and building rocket test facilities at White Sands Missile Range and the NASA Test Facility. He also served for 12 years on the Las Cruces Public School Board and did volunteer work for the Bureau of Land Management, on Wilderness Study Areas for 17 years after his retirement.
In 1846, 500 members of the Mormon community volunteered for military service in what would become the "Mormon Battalion March." In exchange for aiding the U.S. in the War with Mexico, the soldiers would receive government assistance to relocate their families to new lands in the West. The journey took them from Iowa to California, and Mr. Hackler will detail the route the soldiers took through southern New Mexico, which is largely overlooked in history books.
For information, contact Bryan Lee, Education Curator, at BLee@las-cruces.org or 575/541-2217.
The Railroad Museum is accessible via RoadRUNNER Transit Route 5, Stop 17. For additional information, visit the Museums System website at: https://www.las-cruces.org/Museums or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @LCMuseums.