MZF2406.xml Guide to the Lilla Bogert Letters 1876-1877 Bogert (Lilla) letters Kim Allen Scott, 2009. Updated by Heather Mulliner, 2022. Anne Foster Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities Montana State University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Manuscript Collections 2024
P.O. Box 173320, Centennial Mall Montana State University Bozeman, MT 59717
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-12. Finding aid written in English Finding aid based on DACS (Describing Archives: A Content Standard), 2nd Edition. 2025 Updated for standards compliance and preparation for digital collection creation. Montana State University Library, Archives and Special Collections, Manuscript Collections Lilla Bogert letters Bogert, Lilla, 1848-1951 2406 Collection 2406, MtBC, us 9 items 1876-1877 Lilla Bogert was an accomplished western artist and a member of a prominent family in Bozeman, Montana Territory, in the late 19th century. Second Lieutenant Charles Brewster Schofield was a West Point graduate stationed at Fort Ellis, Montana Territory, during the events leading up to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The Lilla Bogert Letters contain six letters written to Lilla Bogert by Lieutenant Charles Schofield from 1876-1877, while serving with the "Montana Column" under Colonel John Gibbon on the 1876 Bighorn Expedition. Schofield describes the military camps, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, General Crook, General Terry, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho). Collection materials are in English

This collection is open for research.

The Lilla Bogert Letters were transferred to Special Collections in January 2000 by the Museum of the Rockies. Their prior provenance is unknown.

Lilla Bogert was born on January 6, 1848, in Brooklyn, New York. Her family moved west to Bozeman, Montana, in the mid-1870s and quickly became a leading family in the new town. Her father, John V. Bogert, became the first mayor of Bozeman in 1883. Along with her two sisters Augusta and Kate, Lilla became a socialite in the community and nearby Fort Ellis. Her sister Kate married Lieutenant Charles Roe, then stationed at Fort Ellis, and Augusta married Arthur Place. Lilla never married. An accomplished western artist, Lilla is known for her paintings of Montana topics. She devoted much of her time to making Sunset Hills Cemetery the most beautiful cemetery in the state. She held a charity bazaar with her sister Kate to raise money for the cemetery, planted trees and flowers on the grounds, and served as a member of the cemetery board. She also published a poem in the compilation of poems The Badge of Honor for 1942. The last years of her life, Lilla was a patient at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital where she died on September 3, 1951, at the age of 103.

Second Lieutenant Charles Brewster Schofield was born on June 26, 1849, in Illinois and graduated from West Point in 1870. His first field assignment was duty at Fort Ellis. He fought in the United States Army's campaigns against the Sioux (Lakota and Dakota) and the Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) from 1872 to 1876, including the Sioux Expedition of 1876 (or Big Horn Expedition against the Lakota and Cheyenne). The following year he fought in the 1877 Flight of the Nez Perce. From 1878 to 1885, he was the aide-de-camp to his brother, Major General John Schofield. He was promoted to First Lieutenant in 1879. In 1885, he returned to frontier duty at Fort Walla Walla in Washington. In 1895, he was once again promoted, becoming a Lieutenant Colonel. He served in the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the following year was shipped to Cuba. Schofield died on February 1, 1901, of heart disease at the age of 51 in Matanzas, Cuba.

[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT

This collection was processed 2009 April 21

The Lilla Bogert Letters contain six letters written to Lilla Bogert by Lieutenant Charles Schofield from 1876-1877. Schofield wrote the letters from the field while serving with the U. S. Army in Montana Territory. The 1876 letters were written while Schofield was on special assignment with the 2nd Cavalry. Schofield was stationed with the "Montana Column" under Colonel John Gibbon on the 1876 Sioux Campaign, or Bighorn Expedition against the Lakota and Cheyenne in Wyoming Territory and Montana Territory. Schofield describes to Lilla the conditions in the military camps and his thoughts of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and other leaders such as General Crook and General Terry. He also discusses the Battle of the Little Big Horn and the Sioux (Lakota, Dakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho).

 Custer, George A. (George Armstrong), 1839-1876 Schofield, Charles Brewster, 1849-1901--Correspondence United States. Army. Cavalry, 2nd United States. Army. Military life United States. Army. Officers--Correspondence Dakota Indians--Wars--Personal narratives Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876 Cheyenne Indians--Montana Arapaho Indians Lakota Indians Military Native Americans Montana Original Letters 1876-1877 1 Typed transcripts of letters 1876-1877 2 Newspaper clipping 1948 3 Photograph of Charles Schofield 4