Fort Gaston
Encyclopedia
Fort Gaston was founded on December 4, 1859, in the redwood forests of the Hoopa Valley
, in Northern California
, on the west bank of the Trinity River
, 14 miles from where the Trinity flows into the Klamath River
. It was located in what is now the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. Fort Gaston as part of the Humboldt Military District
was intended to control the Hupa
Indians and to protect them from hostile white settlers. The post was named for 2nd Lieutenant William Gaston, of the First Dragoons, who had been killed May 17, 1858, during the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene–Paloos War.
towards the Hupa
lands to exterminate them. He was able to turn them back that time but the Hupa worried about their safety and began gathering their own weapons while petitioning for a fort as well. Founded in December 1859, and first manned by Captain Edmund Underwood and 56 men from a company of the 4th US Infantry Regiment, Fort Gaston from the beginning was to keep an eye on the Hupa who were suspected of aiding surrounding tribes in attacks on white settlers, ambushes of mail carriers and of stages in what was called the Bald Hills War
. The Hupa denied aiding their neighbors but resisted providing guides to the army until 1862. However they never seemed to catch the enemy, and were in fact secretly warning them.
In 1861, the District Commander proposed to his superiors a gathering of all the local Indians at Fort Gaston to stage a demonstration of drilling and firepower that would convince them to end hostilities. The idea failed when he said he required six companies of infantry for the demonstration. At the time regular troops were being pulled from the forts in California
to participate in the Civil War
.
Fort Gaston's commander protested the transfer of any more men because it might have dire consequences. he claimed the local settlers would abandon the valley despite building a blockhouse
, if any more troops were withdrawn.
In the place of the withdrawn regulars, Company D, 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry
was sent to Fort Gaston October, 1861, operating against Indians until ordered to San Francisco August 23, 1862. They were involved in a skirmish at Light Prairie, near Arcata, August 21, 1862.
Company K, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry
was ordered to Fort Gaston December, 1861, and served there until June, 1863. Company K was in action, at Weaversville Crossing, on the Mad River
, July 2, 1862 and near Oak Camp April 30, 1863.
Company H, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry moved to Fort Gaston April 20, 1862 but returned to Fort Humboldt July, 1862.
Company F, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was ordered to garrison Fort Gaston from September to November 1862. They were involved in a skirmish at Redwood September 8, 1862.
Company I, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry from April 20, 1862, joined the Fort Gaston garrison, also serving there until June, 1863. Company I was in action, at the Skirmish at Fort Gaston August 6, 1862 and the Affair at Little River August 23, 1862.
From June 1863, Companies B and C of the 1st Battalion California Volunteer Mountaineers
relieved 2nd Regiment as garrison of Fort Gaston. Company D later reinforced them. These units were involved in various skirmishes during 1863, at Oak Camp June 6, Thomas' Ranch November 12, Trinity River November 13 and Willow Creek November 17.
On December 25, 1863, a battle with the Indians took place near Fort Gaston. The Indians holed up in several log buildings, firing at Companies B and C of the Mountaineers from rifle ports. Attempting do drive them out the Army attacked them with howitzers. At nightfall, with the buildings in ruins, the Indians were able to escape in the darkness.
The Mountaineers continued operating against Indians in 1864, Company B in a skirmish near Boynton's Prairie May 6, 1864. Company C, at the Thomas House, on the Trinity River, May 27, 1864 and in operations in the Trinity Valley September 1-December 3, 1864. The Mountaineer companies held the fort until June, 1865.
Company A, 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers
Ordered to Humboldt District December 26, 1863. Arrived there January 12, 1864 serving at Fort Gaston until March 6, 1864.
Peace was finally signed with the Hupa Indians on August 12, 1864.
Company B, 4th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was ordered to Fort Humboldt April 5, 1865 to replace the Mountaineer garrison and served there until mustered out April 18, 1866.
Renamed Camp Gaston in January of 1866 it was again redesignated Fort Gaston in April of 1867. It was finally abandoned in June of 1892, and was turned over the Department of the Interior and became part of the Hupa reservation.
Hoopa Valley
Hoopa Valley is a valley on the lower course of the Trinity River between the confluence of South Fork Trinity River and the Klamath River. The valley opens up above the confluence of Campbell Creek with the Trinity River and extends northward until it closes up again at the foot of Bald Hill. The...
, in Northern California
Northern California
Northern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
, on the west bank of the Trinity River
Trinity River (California)
The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley...
, 14 miles from where the Trinity flows into the Klamath River
Klamath River
The Klamath River is an American river that flows southwest through Oregon and northern California, cutting through the Cascade Range to empty into the Pacific Ocean. The river drains an extensive watershed of almost that stretches from the high desert country of the Great Basin to the temperate...
. It was located in what is now the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. Fort Gaston as part of the Humboldt Military District
Humboldt Military District
During the American Civil War, Army reorganization created the Department of the Pacific on January 15, 1861. On December 12, 1861, the District of Humboldt was created, consisting of the counties of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Trinity, Humboldt, Klamath, and Del Norte in Northern California...
was intended to control the Hupa
Hupa
Hupa, also spelled Hoopa, are a Native American tribe in northwestern California. Their autonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinookwa, meaning "People of the Place Where the Trails Return." The majority of the tribe is enrolled in the federally recognized Hoopa Valley Tribe; however, some Hupa are...
Indians and to protect them from hostile white settlers. The post was named for 2nd Lieutenant William Gaston, of the First Dragoons, who had been killed May 17, 1858, during the Spokane–Coeur d'Alene–Paloos War.
History
In 1858, a Yurok agent overheard some men in a saloon talking about a large group of armed men that were moving downriver from Weaverville, CaliforniaWeaverville, California
Weaverville is a census-designated place and the county seat of Trinity County, California. The population was 3,600 at the 2010 census, up from 3,554 at the 2000 census.-History:Founded in 1850, Weaverville is a historic California Gold Rush town...
towards the Hupa
Hupa
Hupa, also spelled Hoopa, are a Native American tribe in northwestern California. Their autonym is Natinixwe, also spelled Natinookwa, meaning "People of the Place Where the Trails Return." The majority of the tribe is enrolled in the federally recognized Hoopa Valley Tribe; however, some Hupa are...
lands to exterminate them. He was able to turn them back that time but the Hupa worried about their safety and began gathering their own weapons while petitioning for a fort as well. Founded in December 1859, and first manned by Captain Edmund Underwood and 56 men from a company of the 4th US Infantry Regiment, Fort Gaston from the beginning was to keep an eye on the Hupa who were suspected of aiding surrounding tribes in attacks on white settlers, ambushes of mail carriers and of stages in what was called the Bald Hills War
Bald Hills War
Bald Hills War was a war fought by the forces of the California Militia, California Volunteers and soldiers of the U. S. Army against the Chilula, Lassik, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Tsnungwe, Wailaki, Whilkut and Wiyot Native American peoples.The war was fought within the boundaries of the...
. The Hupa denied aiding their neighbors but resisted providing guides to the army until 1862. However they never seemed to catch the enemy, and were in fact secretly warning them.
In 1861, the District Commander proposed to his superiors a gathering of all the local Indians at Fort Gaston to stage a demonstration of drilling and firepower that would convince them to end hostilities. The idea failed when he said he required six companies of infantry for the demonstration. At the time regular troops were being pulled from the forts in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to participate in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Fort Gaston's commander protested the transfer of any more men because it might have dire consequences. he claimed the local settlers would abandon the valley despite building a blockhouse
Blockhouse
In military science, a blockhouse is a small, isolated fort in the form of a single building. It serves as a defensive strong point against any enemy that does not possess siege equipment or, in modern times, artillery...
, if any more troops were withdrawn.
In the place of the withdrawn regulars, Company D, 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry
3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry
The 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. This regiment was organized at Stockton and at Benicia Barracks, from October 31 to December 31, 1861, to serve three years. The regiment was first commanded by Colonel Patrick...
was sent to Fort Gaston October, 1861, operating against Indians until ordered to San Francisco August 23, 1862. They were involved in a skirmish at Light Prairie, near Arcata, August 21, 1862.
Company K, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry
2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry
The 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States. Organized at San Francisco and Carson City September 2, 1861, to December 30, 1862 and attached to Department...
was ordered to Fort Gaston December, 1861, and served there until June, 1863. Company K was in action, at Weaversville Crossing, on the Mad River
Mad River (California)
The Mad River is a river in upper Northern California. It flows for in a roughly northwest direction through Trinity County and then Humboldt County, draining a watershed into the Pacific Ocean north of the college town of Arcata near Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville...
, July 2, 1862 and near Oak Camp April 30, 1863.
Company H, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry moved to Fort Gaston April 20, 1862 but returned to Fort Humboldt July, 1862.
Company F, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was ordered to garrison Fort Gaston from September to November 1862. They were involved in a skirmish at Redwood September 8, 1862.
Company I, 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry from April 20, 1862, joined the Fort Gaston garrison, also serving there until June, 1863. Company I was in action, at the Skirmish at Fort Gaston August 6, 1862 and the Affair at Little River August 23, 1862.
From June 1863, Companies B and C of the 1st Battalion California Volunteer Mountaineers
1st Battalion California Volunteer Mountaineers
1st Battalion California Volunteer Mountaineers was an infantry battalion in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States, attached to the Department of the Pacific...
relieved 2nd Regiment as garrison of Fort Gaston. Company D later reinforced them. These units were involved in various skirmishes during 1863, at Oak Camp June 6, Thomas' Ranch November 12, Trinity River November 13 and Willow Creek November 17.
On December 25, 1863, a battle with the Indians took place near Fort Gaston. The Indians holed up in several log buildings, firing at Companies B and C of the Mountaineers from rifle ports. Attempting do drive them out the Army attacked them with howitzers. At nightfall, with the buildings in ruins, the Indians were able to escape in the darkness.
The Mountaineers continued operating against Indians in 1864, Company B in a skirmish near Boynton's Prairie May 6, 1864. Company C, at the Thomas House, on the Trinity River, May 27, 1864 and in operations in the Trinity Valley September 1-December 3, 1864. The Mountaineer companies held the fort until June, 1865.
Company A, 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers
1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers
The 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers was a cavalry battalion in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruits were largely drawn from the Californio population , though its ranks included Yaqui and Mission Indians as well as immigrants from Mexico, Latin America and...
Ordered to Humboldt District December 26, 1863. Arrived there January 12, 1864 serving at Fort Gaston until March 6, 1864.
Peace was finally signed with the Hupa Indians on August 12, 1864.
Company B, 4th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was ordered to Fort Humboldt April 5, 1865 to replace the Mountaineer garrison and served there until mustered out April 18, 1866.
Renamed Camp Gaston in January of 1866 it was again redesignated Fort Gaston in April of 1867. It was finally abandoned in June of 1892, and was turned over the Department of the Interior and became part of the Hupa reservation.