Oregon in the American Civil War
Encyclopedia
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the American 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...
.
At the outbreak of the war, regular U.S. Army troops in the District of Oregon
District of Oregon (military)
The District of Oregon was a Union Army command department formed during the American Civil War. The district was part of the independent Department of the Pacific reconstituted by consolidating the Departments of California and Oregon, which was created on January 15, 1861 when the Army was...
were withdrawn from posts in Oregon and Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
and sent east. Volunteer cavalry and infantry were recruited 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...
and sent north to Oregon to replace the Federal troops and keep the peace and protect the populace. Oregon also raised the 1st Oregon Cavalry
1st Oregon Cavalry
The First Regiment, Oregon Cavalry was a regiment in the volunteer Union army that participated in the American Civil War. With many men recruited from California, the regiment primarily served to protect the state of Oregon and surrounding territories in the Pacific Coast Theater of the American...
that was activated in 1862 and served until June 1865. During the Civil War, immigrants to the new found gold fields in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and Oregon continued to clash with the Paiute, Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
and Bannock
Bannock
Bannock has more than one meaning:* Bannock , a kind of bread, usually prepared by pan-frying* Bannock , a Native American people of what is now southeastern Oregon and western Idaho* Bannock County, Idaho* Bannock, Ohio...
tribes of Oregon, Idaho and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
until relations degenerated into the bloody 1864 - 1868 Snake War
Snake War
The Snake War was a war fought by the United States of America against the "Snake Indians", the settlers' term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and western Shoshone bands who lived along the Snake River. Fighting took place in the states of Oregon, Nevada, and California, and in Idaho Territory...
. The 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment
1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an American Civil War era military regiment recruited in Oregon for the Union Army. The regiment was formed in November 1864. At full strength, it was composed of ten companies of foot soldiers. The regiment was used to guard trade routes and...
was formed in 1864 and its last company was mustered out of service in July 1867. Both units were used to guard travel routes and Indian reservations, escort immigrant wagon trains, and protect settlers from Indian raiders. Several infantry detachments also accompanied survey parties and built roads in central and southern Oregon.
Oregon Senator Col. Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker
Edward Dickinson Baker was an English-born American politician, lawyer, military leader. In his political career, Baker served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and later as a U.S. Senator from Oregon. A long-time close friend of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Baker served as U.S...
was killed leading Union troops at the Battle of Ball's Bluff
Battle of Ball's Bluff
The Battle of Ball's Bluff, also known as the Battle of Harrison’s Island or the Battle of Leesburg, was fought on October 21, 1861, in Loudoun County, Virginia, as part of Union Maj. Gen. George B...
on October 21, 1861.
Oregon regiments in the Civil War
- 1st Oregon Cavalry1st Oregon CavalryThe First Regiment, Oregon Cavalry was a regiment in the volunteer Union army that participated in the American Civil War. With many men recruited from California, the regiment primarily served to protect the state of Oregon and surrounding territories in the Pacific Coast Theater of the American...
- 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry RegimentThe 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an American Civil War era military regiment recruited in Oregon for the Union Army. The regiment was formed in November 1864. At full strength, it was composed of ten companies of foot soldiers. The regiment was used to guard trade routes and...
Civil War posts, Oregon
- Fort DallesFort DallesFort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present site of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans...
, Oregon, (1850–1867) - Fort YamhillFort YamhillFort Yamhill was an American military fortification in what became the state of Oregon. Built in 1856 in the Oregon Territory, it remained an active post until 1866. The Army outpost was used to provide a presence next to the Grand Ronde Agency Coastal Reservation...
, Oregon (1856–1866) - Fort HoskinsFort HoskinsFort Hoskins was one of three "forts" built by the U.S. Army to monitor the Coastal Indian Reservation in Oregon in the mid- 19th century. The Fort Hoskins Site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.- History :The post was begun in 1856 on the Luckiamute River under the...
, Oregon, (1857–1865) - Siletz Blockhouse, Oregon (1858-1866)
- Camp Baker, Oregon (1862-1865),
- Camp Barlow, Oregon, (1862)
- Camp Clackamas, Oregon, (1862)
- Post at Grand Ronde Indian Agency or Fort Lafayette, Oregon 1863,
- Fort Klamath, Oregon, (1863–1890)
- Fort at Point AdamsFort Stevens (Oregon)Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory governor, Isaac Stevens. The fort was an active military...
, Oregon (1863-1865)- Fort StevensFort Stevens (Oregon)Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory governor, Isaac Stevens. The fort was an active military...
, Oregon (1865-1947)
- Fort Stevens
- Camp Alvord, Oregon (1864-1866)
- Camp Dalgren, Oregon (1864)
- Camp HendersonCamp HendersonCamp Henderson was a military outpost in the District of Oregon in 1864, built on Crooked Creek about five miles from where it joins the Owyhee River, 330 miles from Walla Walla. The camp was located at the foot of cliffs on the east side of the valley south of an historical marker located along...
, Oregon, 1864-1866 - Camp Lincoln, Oregon 1864
- Camp Maury, Oregon 1864
- Camp Russell, Oregon 1864-1865
- Camp WatsonCamp WatsonCamp Watson, was a military camp first established by Oregon Volunteers in 1864, near Mitchell, Oregon, on Rock Creek, on the headwaters of John Day River. It was palisaded and had several log buildings built by the Volunteers to protect the Dalles to Canyon City wagon route from Snake Indians at...
, Oregon 1864-1869 - Camp Colfax, Oregon, 1865, 1867
- Camp Currey, Oregon 1865-1866
- Camp Logan, Oregon (1865-1868)
- Camp Lyon, Oregon (1865-1869)
- Camp PolkCamp Polk (Oregon)Camp Polk was a former army camp in the U.S. state of Oregon that was established in Deschutes County in 1865. It was a post of the District of Oregon. One of nine camps created during a time of conflict between settlers and Native Americans, it was located three miles northeast of the present-day...
, Oregon (1865-1866) - Camp on Silvies River, Oregon (1864?)
- Camp Wright, Oregon (1865-1866)
- Old Camp Warner, Oregon (1866-1867)
- Camp WarnerCamp WarnerCamp Warner was a United States Army outpost in south-central Oregon, United States. Camp Warner was located at two different sites approximately apart. The Army called both sites Camp Warner. However, the first site became known as Old Camp Warner. It was used as winter quarters in 1866–1867 and...
, Oregon (1867-1874)
- Camp Warner
See also
- Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil WarPacific Coast Theater of the American Civil WarThe Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War was the military operations in the United States on the Pacific Ocean and in the states and Territories west of the Continental Divide. The theater was encompassed by the Department of the Pacific that included the states of California, Oregon,...
- Idaho in the American Civil WarIdaho in the American Civil WarThe history of Idaho in the American Civil War is atypical, as the territory was far from the battlefields.At the start of the Civil War, modern-day Idaho was part of the Washington Territory. On March 3, 1863, the Idaho Territory was formed, consisting of the entirety of modern day Idaho, Montana,...
- Montana in the American Civil WarMontana in the American Civil WarMontana played little direct role in the American Civil War. The closest the Confederate States Army ever came to Montana was New Mexico and eastern Kansas, each over a thousand miles away...
- Washington in the American Civil WarWashington in the American Civil WarThe history of Washington in the American Civil War is atypical, as the territory was the most remote from the battlefields of the American Civil War. Although the Indian Wars in Washington were recent, there were no Indian hosilities within the area of modern Washington state, unlike the rest of...