Upcoming Programs

Scheduled for the Fort Worth Westerners.


March 19, 2024
Dr. Deborah Liles

March 19, 2024: Dr. Deborah Liles, "William, Marcellus French, and the Alamo Texans"

"William, Marcellus French, and the Alamo Texans"

In the spring of 1855, one of America's most notorious filibusters, William Walker, invaded Nicaragua to capitalize on that country's civil war. Two years later, the San Antonio Ledger reported "a large and enthusiastic meeting of the friends and sympathizers of Gen. Walker was held in front of the Court-House on this evening." Shortly thereafter, the "Alamo Rangers" headed to Nicaragua to assist Walker's colonization efforts. Led by Capt. Marcellus French, the foray explains much about Texans during the antebellum years, and about French, whose role in multiple arenas firmly connects him to Texas and American history during the second half of the nineteenth century.

Meet Dr. Deborah Liles

Deborah Liles is an Associate Professor and the W. K. Gordon Chair of Texas History at Tarleton State University. She is the author or co-editor of five books, including Women in Civil War Texas: Diversity and Dissidence in the Trans-Mississippi (2016 Liz Carpenter Award for best book on Texas Women's History and the Ottis Lock Award for book of the year); Texas Women and Ranching: On the Range, At the Rodeo, In the Community (Liz Carpenter Award), and African Americans in Central Texas History: From Slavery to Civil Rights. She is the author of multiple book chapters and articles in scholarly publications and has been a guest on public television documentaries in the US and Europe. Current book and online projects examine the history of slavery and of the antebellum and Civil War livestock industry in Texas.


April 16, 2024
Dr. Colt Chaney

April 16, 2024: Dr. Colt Chaney, "Quanah Parker: Divided Loyalties"

"Quanah Parker: Divided Loyalties"

Quanah Parker provides an example of the changing times in which many Native American tribes lived and how they were able to adapt. Parker was influential and learned how to move between Comanche culture and the white culture that swept in from the east. He refers to Indians as "his people," yet embraces the white way and encourages other Indians to do the same. What we find in studying Parker is a person who was able to thrive in two different worlds, maintaining loyalties to both. Parker raided Mexican and American settlements and fought encroachment on his land. Yet, he later worked hand in hand with outsiders to provide the best deal moving forward, for himself and the tribe, against the same people he had fiercely fought years before. Examining his past and Comanche culture provides clues to his success in navigating the new reality he faced.

Meet Dr. Colt Chaney

Dr. Colt Chaney is a history professor at Dallas College Mountain View Campus. He is an Oklahoma native. In his college days, he trained horses and participated in team roping events at the amateur and professional levels. He received his Masters and PhD degrees in US History from Oklahoma State University. His areas of interest are Native American, US West, and Public History. His dissertation is on Native American representation in film (Westerns primarily) from 1950-1970. Dr. Chaney taught history at Murray State College in Oklahoma and Tyler Junior College prior to his current position at Dallas College.

Prior programs