Oregon in the American Civil War

The Great Seal of the United States of America during the American Civil War
Union states
in the
American Civil War
Dual governments
Territories and D.C.
Civil War-era military outposts in the Pacific Northwest

At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Oregon had no organised militia and had sold most of the equipment bought for the Rogue River Wars. The state's governor, John Whiteaker, was pro-slavery and opposed to Oregon's involvement in the conflict. As such, it was only in late 1862 with a new governor that the state raised any troops: the 1st Oregon Cavalry served until June 1865.[1]

During the Civil War, emigrants to the newfound gold fields in Idaho and Oregon continued to clash with the Paiute, Shoshone and Bannock tribes of Oregon, Idaho and Nevada until relations degenerated into the bloody 1864–1868 Snake War. The 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment 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 emigrant wagon trains, and protect settlers from Indian raiders. Several infantry detachments also accompanied survey parties and built roads in central and southern Oregon.[2]

Oregon's second United States Senator, Col. Edward Dickinson Baker was killed while leading Union troops at the Battle of Ball's Bluff near Leesburg, Virginia on October 21, 1861. His death in battle occurred exactly one month after another Oregonian, Captain James W. Lingenfelter of Company B, 71st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, was killed while on the picket line. In civilian life, Captain Lingenfelter had been a practicing attorney in Jacksonville, Oregon. He had been visiting in the East when the war started and enlisted to serve with Colonel Baker.

Oregon regiments in the Civil War

Main article: List of Oregon Civil War units

Civil War posts, Oregon

See also

References

  1. ^ McArthur, Scott (2014). The Enemy Never Came: The Civil War in the Pacific Northwest. Caxton Press., Kindle locations 743, 753, 761
  2. ^ Edwards, Glenn Thomas, Oregon Regiments in the Civil War Years: Duty on the Indian Frontier, unpublished Master of Arts thesis, Department of History, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, June 1960.
  3. ^ A two-story blockhouse built to protect the Siletz Indian Agency. It was a subpost of Fort Hoskins. Originally called Yaquina Bay Blockhouse (1856–1858) located at the mouth of the Yaquina River near South Beach. It was dismantled and floated upriver in 1858. Located at Siletz, Oregon.
  4. ^ Garrisoned by the Oregon Volunteer Cavalry to observe Confederate sympathizers in nearby Jacksonville, Oregon. Located one-half mile west of Phoenix, Oregon. Possibly also known as Camp Phoenix.
  5. ^ Charles Henry Carey, History of Oregon, The Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, Portland, 1922, pg. 663. Near A temporary Civil War encampment for the Oregon Volunteers, located two miles north of Oregon City, Oregon. The entire garrison moved to Camp Clackamas.
  6. ^ A temporary state militia post that lasted only one month. Located at the mouth of the Clackamas River about one mile north of Oregon City. Replaced Camp Barlow.
  7. ^ Officially known as Post at Grand Ronde Indian Agency, it was a temporary outpost of Fort Yamhill built by Oregon Volunteers at Grand Ronde, Oregon.
  8. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On Horse Creek in the Alvord Valley, east of the Steen Mountain Range
  9. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 Located slightly east of Camps Maury and Polk.
  10. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. This camp, named for Oregon's representative in Congress at that time, was established early in 1864, near the mouth of Jordan Creek, 330 miles from Walla Walla, and was the center of operations in Southeastern Oregon for some time afterward.
  11. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 Near Canyon City, on the headwaters of John Day River.
  12. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On the Deschutes River near the mouth of Crooked River.
  13. ^ A Civil War training camp once located in Salem, Oregon, at the state fairgrounds, present-day 17th Street and Silverton Road.
  14. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. At the Willow Creek crossing of the Canyon City – Boise Road, south of Baker City.
  15. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On Silver Creek.
  16. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 East of Canyon City, on the road to Colfax.
  17. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 In the Jordan Valley, east of the Owyhee River.
  18. ^ IDAHO STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY REFERENCE SERIES, CAMP LYON, Number 357 July 16, 1965
  19. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On the Deschutes River near the mouth of Crooked River.
  20. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 674. Located on the Silvies River, north of Malheur Lake.
  21. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. North of Harney Lake. A temporary state militia encampment on the Silvies River, possibly to the south of Burns, Oregon. Originally Adobe Camp (1865), a 25-yard square sod-walled post, was located here before being replaced after only two weeks.
  22. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. Located east of Warner Lakes. A Federal camp originally located 20 miles east of Warner (Hart) Lake. It was moved in 1867
  23. ^ Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. Located west of Warner Lakes.

Further reading

  • Carter, Bryan Anthony. "Frontier Apart: Identity, Loyalty, and the Coming of the Civil War on the Pacific Coast" (PhD. Diss. Oklahoma State University, 2014) online, with detail;ed bibliography
  • Edwards, G. Thomas. "Six Oregon Leaders and the Far-Reaching Impact of America's Civil War". Oregon Historical Quarterly 100#1 (Spring 1999): 4–31.
  • Etulain, Richard W. Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era (2013).
  • Smith, Stacey L. "Oregon's Civil War: The Troubled Legacy of Emancipation in the Pacific Northwest." Oregon Historical Quarterly 115.2 (2014): 154–173.