The Far West Volunteers: The Army of the Pacific and the Unsung Valor of Its Men

Author(s): Aurora Hunt

Source: Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 12, No. 2, Civil War in the West
(Spring, 1962), pp. 49-61
Published by: Montana Historical Society
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4516585
Accessed: 03-09-2018 21:00 UTC

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 ~~~Voluntecir
GENERAL GEORGE WRIGHT
(U. S. Signal Corps photo)
The Itpmy of The Pacific
find the Unsung Valort of its men
by Aurora Hunt
UNKNOWN to most people, in 1861
I.)or now, the "Army of the Pa-
cific," composed entirely of frontier
Volunteers from California, Washing-
ton, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona and
Colorado Territories protected a region
one-third larger than the total area of
all the seceded states. From Canada to
Mexico and from the eastern slopes of
the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific
Ocean, these troops performed essential
but almost totally forgotten services.
During the immediate pre-Civil War
period, nearly 75 percent of the United
States peacetime army was garrisoned
at frontier posts fighting the Indians.
Federal soldiers could not be counted
by the millions then: their incredibly
small total was only 12,984 men and of-
ficers.
When the guns of Fort Sumter ceased
firing April 13, 1861, the War Depart-
ment realized that the feeble federal
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forces were totally inadequate to meet
a crisis tha* threatened the nation. It
was imperative that Federal troops be
speedily withidrawn from the western
frontier for service on the eastern bat-
tlefields. And it was equally important
but not so urgent that other troops be
supplied to substitute for the regulars.
The gap was to be filled by The Vol-
unteer Employment Act, passed in July,
1861, by the Thirty-seventh Congress.
According to this legislation, Army
service was to be for at least six months
but no more than three years. Volun-
teers were subject to the same rules and
regulations governing the Regular
Army, and were placed on the same
footing as to pay and allowances.
Since California, after the gold rush
of '49, was by all odds the most popu-
lous of the early western territories,
she was the first called upon for re-
cruits and she readily furnished the
greatest number. Before the close of
49
 _~~~~~~~~~..:... . .. :.'..:

F ~~~~~~~ i
GENERAL ALBERT SIDNEY JOHNSTON, the West Point graduate who chose to fight and die for the Confederacy, is
shown in these photos from the National Archives. At left he is shown as a Union Brigadier General in 1860, at right
as a Confederate Lieutenant General. He took command of the Department of the Pacific in December, 1860, but when
Texas seceded he resigned his commission and in April, 1861, turned over command to General Edwin V. Sumner.
Embittered because a false rumor said he was about to turn California over to the Confederacy, Johnston joined Jeffer-
son Davis at Richmond and was killed while driving numerically superior Union troops to route at Shiloh Church, in
April, 1862.

the war, some 17,500 patriotic young
Californians had enlisted. This was
5,000 men stronger than the entire pre-
Civil War Federal Army!
So rapidly were the California Vol-
unteers regiments filled that the first
order for the withdrawal of Regulars
was issued as early as September 9,
1861, and the first contingent sailed
from San Francisco to join in the east-
ern struggle on October 21. The last
of the Federal forces left on December
21, just five months after the first call
for Volunteers. The Ninth Infantry,
four companies of the Third Artillery,
and a detachment of Ordnance were
retained on the Pacific Coast-at stra-
tegic San Juan Island, Fort Vancouver
and San Francisco.
A tense situation also prevailed in
foreign affairs. *Even as Federal troops
from the west were sailing up the At-
lantic Coast, a flotilla of French, Span-
ish and English warships and transports
carrying more than 10,000 men was on
its way to Vera Cruz, Mexico, to seize
and hold the Mexican coast until satis-
factory settlement of the Mexican for-
eign loans could be accomplished.
50
The policy of these foreign nations
was bitterly opposed by the United
States State Department, since their in-
terference was in violation of the Mon-
roe Doctrine. About all the State De-
partment could do, however, was set-
tle down to "watchful waiting" and
anxiety. But the Pacific Coast was too
close to the situation to regard the
move dispassionately. Southwesterners
were alarmed at the prospect of an alli-
ance between the Confederacy and
Mexico, abetted by one or all of the
foreign powers at Vera Cruz.
To the north, English and U. S. troops
occupied San Juan Island jointly, since
the dividing line between the group of
islands was not defined until 1872. To
the south, Spain jealously eyed her lost
colonies in South America and bv 1865
she had turned her guns on Valparaiso
and Callao. The vulnerability of the
Pacific Coast was apparent, and since
San Francisco was the only fortified
point on the Pacific, its loss would mean
surrender of the entire coastline.
Nor were these the only threats.
Texas had seceded in February, 1861;
in April and May all Federal forts in

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northwestern Texas were evacuated. By tending from Maine to Florida and from
late summer the New Mexico forts Jefferson Barracks to Mexico City.
south of Fort Craig were also deserted Four different commanders handled
by Union soldiers. The replacement of the Army of the Pacific during its four-
Federal troops by the Volunteer Army year existence. Colonel Albert Sidney
of the Pacific was imperative. Johnston, the Kentuckian who became
True to Army tradition, the western a West Pointer and who was with the
Volunteers represented the best of their Second U. S. Cavalry at the beginning
respective communities. They were of the Civil War, commanded the Vol-
husky young sons of pioneers and but unteers for three months-then sud-
a short decade before, many had denly resigned to join the Confederate
trudged beside the family covered Army. He met his death fighting for
wagon as it pitched over the same roads the lost cause in the Battle of Shiloh.
they were now ordered to protect. Oth- Johnston was succeeded by General
ers were seafarers and adventurers Edwin Vose Sumner, the Massachusetts-
from around the "Horn." They had born soldier who rose through the ranks
come with the New York Volunteers to become a major general. Sumner
under the command of Colonel Jona- remained with the Volunteers only six
than D. Stevenson to join in the con- months before he went east to com-
flict with Mexico, 14 years earlier.' mand the Union right grand division
The raw but willing Volunteers were at the battle of Fredericksburg. Sum-
trained by experienced officers, well ner was relieved by Brigadier General
fitted for the task. A few were gradu- George Wright, who remained in charge
ates of West Point; others had obtained for two years and eight months, longer
their schooling in tough campaigns ex- than the combined service of the other
Jonathan Drake Stevenson, born in New York in 1800, three commanders. Major General
joined the Tompkins Blues at the age of 21. Three years
later he assumed command of the Light Guards. In June,
Irving McDowell succeeded General
1846, President Polk authorized him to raise a regiment of
Volunteers to protect the nation's new interests on the
Wright in the dying days of the war.
Pacific Coast. Stevrenson landed in San Francisco in
March, 1847, with 1,000 men. On orders from Gen. To supervise the military operations
Stephen W. Kearny, his regiment was stationed at Sonoma,
San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and Los An- on this prodigious frontier was a nearly
geles. Upon conclusion of the Mexican War, Stevenson
remained in California to take an active part in mining impossible assignment for any man.
and public affairs. (Taken from The First Regiment of
New York Volunteers, Francis D. Clark, N. Y., 1882.) General Wright, when he took com-
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GENERAL EDW
mained only a short time. Last commander of the Volunteers was GENERAL IRVING McDOWELL (right) who had
been criticized for ineptness after the second Battle of Bull Run. He took command in 1864 and remained until the end
of the War, but continued to make California his home until his retirement in 1882 and his dea'th in 1885.
(National Archives photos.)

51

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 f i -9s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......... ..... .......-.-,..-:;:~ 1. :d .
f fi- -w~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~... ..
BENICIA BARRACKS, across the bay from San Francisco, was an important military headquarters. The site, founded~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~......... X: 1 1
by Gen. Mariano Vallejo, was first named Santa Francisca in honor of his wife, but when the citizens of Yerb.........
called their town San Francisco, Senora Vallejo's second name, Benicia, was given this site. An important waypoint~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~... .. .. .. X 7
on the road to the mines, this was California's capital for a year (1853-54). (Calif. State Library photo.)~~~~~........ ........... . ...... ..... ...... . ....... ..... .
- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. .. ...... . ... ;

mand, was 60 years old, but his 39 the Swan. However, the Swan belied
years of service had prepared him well her name; instead of floating grace-
for any military task. He had gradu- fully, she got stuck in the mud twice
ated from West Point on July 1, 1822, during the trip and the Volunteers
served in the Seminole Indian War in helped get her off.
Florida, the War with Mexico, and on Principal training camps of the Army
the frontiers of New York, Wisconsin, of the Pacific were located at Sacra-
Washington and Oregon territories, as mento, Stockton, Benicia, Oakland, San
well as on the Central Plains. Francisco, Wilmington and on Ballona
Rancho on the present site of Culver
There were no troop trains or coaches
City, California. Camp Wright, Oak
on which to transport the Volunteers
Grove, was used as a sub-depot, where
to their training camps. The men will-
ingly walked long distances from some
of the remote mining camps, rode their
own horses and mules, paid their own
toll on the bridges, or their fares on
the crude river boats. They over-
crowded the stage coach lines, making
it impossible for the six horses to pull
them up steep grades. They walked
up hill and pushed, but had the priv-
CAMP WRIGHT in California is shown (above) in an old
ilege of riding downhill. Occasionally drawing from the California State Library. Below is
a free ride was provided by a loyal FORT POINT AND THE GOLDEN GATE, now the site of
San Francisco's Presidio. Originally called Castillo de
steamboat company as in the case of the San Joaquin, this point has been fortified since 1776,
Red Bluff Volunteers who made the but a hostile shot has never been fired from it. The fort
was once called Fort Winfield Scott and was completed
trip down the Sacramento River on in 1860. (Calif. State Library photos.)

... ........../

_ if~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....

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FORT HUMBOLDT, overlooking the bay near present Eureka, Calif., was garrisoned between 1853 and 1865 by troops
protecting settlers against Indians. This shows U. S. Grant's quarters which he used in 1854 as captain of the U. S.
Fourth Infantry, and which have been restored and repainted as the only building still standing.
troops often put finishing touches on
their instruction before starting across
the desert to soldier at Fort Yuma, in
the Arizona desert.
Although daily routine was fre-
quently tedious, "the boys" enlivened
their evenings by playing "bean or to-
bacco poker," so named because such
articles were used to place their bets
in lieu of cash. On other occasions they
participated in stag dances if a few
musicians had been enrolled in a com-
pany. Christmas of 1861 brought scant
prospect of either a chicken or turkey
dinner. Some of the boys, stationed at
Camp Downey, near Oakland, went on
the prowl to alleviate the situation.
They were caught when they attempted
to sneak past the guard. The com-
mander, however, was tolerant and
permitted them to keep their stolen
fowl even though they were sent to
the guardhouse.2
The Volunteers at Auburn, California,
did not fare so well. They, too, sought
a fat bird. But the night was dark so
they were obliged to determine the dif-
ference between a chicken or turkey
by size alone. Haste was imperative.
One soldier grabbed a fowl of fair size,
only to discover later that he had stolen
a peacock! The next morning the
rookies were confronted by the irate
farmer, but all evidence had been de-
stroyed. Not one proud feather could
be found, so the recruits escaped pun-
ishment.
2 Camp Downey, located at the intersection of present-day East
Twelfth and Seventeenth Avenue in Oakland, Calif., was
established Aug. 22, 1861 and named in honor of Cali-
fornia Governor John G. Downey. Like manv other
training camps of the time, this was only a "tent" censter
of instruction.
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(Calif. State Library photo.)
Trivial law infractions apparently
did not interfere with rigorous drill to
which the men were subjected. So
well were they trained that they faced
arrows or bullets without retreat. When
General Wright inspected his Volun-
teers, he declared he had never seen a
finer body of troops than those raised
in California.
Although some received training for
six months or more, many did not. A
few companies were ordered on haz-
ardous missions after only a few weeks
of training. The hurried departure of
the Regulars made their replacement
by Volunteers somewhat premature.
Before the end of 1861, Volunteers had
occupied Fort Yuma and Fort Hum-
boldt. Three companies were hurriedly
stationed in Oregon and seven in Wash-
ington Territories.
Recruiting of Volunteers in the
sparcely-settled Pacific Northwest was
slow and difficult, unlike the success
experienced in California. A combina-
tion of circumstances made it almost
impossible to induce men in the North-
west to volunteer. When notices were
Aurora Hunt, of Whittier, Calif., has parlayed
a vacation hobby of historical research into a full-
time writing career. This has resulted in the
publication of three books: "The Army of the
Pacific," of which this article is a side dividend,
"Major General James Henry Carleton," and
"Kirby Benedict, Frontier Judge," all published
by the Arthur H. Clarke Co. of Glendale. A de-
scendant of an early California family, Miss Hunt
was an English teacher in California junior high
schools before becoming a full-time writer. She
attended the University of California at Berkeley,
receiving special training in research and his-
torical writing under the tutelage of the eminent
Dr. Herbert I. Bolton.
53
 . .. . ..... .....

... ..................... .. .

.. ........

FORT YAMHILL, built in 1856 under the direction of

young Lieut. Phil Sheridan, was located on the Grande
............ .....
............ ....... Ronde Reservation, about 25 miles southwest of present
. ....

...... ........

Dayton, Ore. It was one of three posts built to garrison...

..........

troops trying to restrain Indians from breaking out of

.. .........

msiii ... .......

..........
their reservations. This picture of the Yamhill block-
house, which was moved in 1911 to the city park in
Dayton, is from the Oregon Historical Society. Phil
Sheridan chafed at his duty here, which lasted until
September, 1861, when he was finally released for
Civil War action in the East.

Pacific shore is well described in a re-

port by Lieutenant Louis Herzer, First
Washington Infantry, who lead a de-
posted offering the rates of pay for
tachment of ten California Volunteers
soldiers, private companies outbid the
from Company D, Fourth Infantry, on
army by paying $40 to $50 a month.
an expedition from the Siletz Block-
Miners received as much as $5 a day,
house to Coos Bay. His mission was to
and they were in great demand.
capture or persuade the Indians to re-
Washington and Oregon Territories turn to the Siletz Reservation.5
did not receive their calls for Volun- According to Lt. Herzer, t h e y
teers until three months after California marched 28 miles to Yaquina Bay,
had already filled her quota. Oregon
where they obtained a large flat boat,
recruited six companies of cavalry, but embarked all the men and animals,
Washington managed to enroll only two
and arrived at the mouth of the bay in
companies of infantry. Colonel Justis time to camp for the night. The next
Steinberger, then in command of the morning they followed the beach during
District of Oregon, finally obtained per-
low tide. But by eleven o'clock, when
mission from General Wright to recruit the tide came in, they were obliged to
men in California for service in the wait until evening so their tired horses
Washington regiment. A total of eight could swim the one-third mile across
companies from California eventually the mouth of Alsea Bay to the sub-
served as an integral part of that regi- agency. To make matters worse, it
ment.3
rained all night, and by morning the
In October, 1861, five companies of road was all but impassable.
the Fourth Infantry and five of the Sec- The men then followed the beach to
ond Infantry, California Volunteers, Cape Perpetua, which they ascended
sailed for Fort Vancouver for duty in to take a wild trail through the woods.
the Pacific Northwest. Company D, Fallen timber blocked their path, and
Fourth Infantry, served there for four they were forced to cut through large
years. It was stationed at Fort Yam- tree trunks so the horses and pack ani-
hill, Oregon, for two consecutive years mals could pass.6
when it was transferred to Fort Hos-
kins, Oregon, for one year, then back 4 Fort Hoskins was another Oregon fort built under the
supervision of Lieut. Phil Sheridan before the Civil War
to Fort Yamhill until mustered out at to prevent coastal Indians from breaking away from as-
signed reservations. Fort Hoskins, namned for Charles
the close of the war.4 Hoskins who was killed in the Mexi^an War in 1846,
was located in Western Oregon's lush Kinigs Vallev. Com-
How these soldiers traveled through pleted in 1856, the post consisted of barracks on the
north, officers quarters on the south, bakery and laundrv
the dense forests and along the rugged on the west, and guardhouse and hospital on the east. It
remained in use only from 1856 to 1865.
5 The Siletz Tndian Reservation in north-estern Oregon was
3 Colonel Steinberger was authorized to raise the First Wash- estab1ished in 1855, and again Lieut. Phil Sheridan figured
ington Territory Volunteer Infantry by a War Depart- in Northwest history when he was stationed there as part
ment order, dated Oct. 18, 1861. He was to enlist a regi- of his Indian-control duties before the Civil War. The
ment of volunteers from Washington Territory and con- reservation first contained more than 1 1/3 million acres
tiguous states, and to appoint officers with the "advice before the coming of greater numbers of whites started
aind consent" of the Territorial Governor. Steinberger, the familiar pattern of reducing the Indian lands, especially
who was born in Pennsylvania in 1825, lived in Orezon the more valuable portions. At the end of the Civil War,
for some 15 years. In November, 1866, after the Civil more than 2,000 Indians were on the lands. but famine,
War had come to a close, he was appointed Paymaster disease and wars reduced the numbers to ahout 550 by
of the regular Army. He was stationed in Newi, York and 1887. There were only 47,000 acres left on the reservation
New Orleans until ,Tune 1869, when his duties brought in 1892, and in 1925 it was closed altogether, the various
him to Helena, M. T., where he met his death, on Oct. tribes settling on individual allotments or on public do-
13, 1870, after a fall from his horse. main land.

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FORTf STYEILACOOM was built at the southern end of Puget Sound in 1849, and the present town of that name is the
oldest incorporated town in the State of Washington, being chartered in 1853. This picture, the date of which is not
known, is from the Washington State Historical Society.

The next day the detachment reached This little band of Volunteers, absent
the Suislaw River, where the horses twenty-one days, had traveled 262
again took to the water. At the end miles! U. S. Highway 101 now parallels
of another day, the soldiers reached the beach where the young Civil War
the Umpqua river, where they were Volunteers waited for low tides so they
rowed across while the horses swam. could march on smooth wet sand. Sub-
Camp was made at Winchester Bay, stantial bridges now span the mouths
and after a 20-mile march along the of the rivers across which intrepid army
beach, the men finally reached Coos horses swam.
Bay. Here they succeeded in capturing Other companies of the Fourth In-
thirty-one Indians. Seventeen returned fantry were stationed at Fort Steila-
voluntarily and without escort to the coom and The Dalles in Oregon and at
reservation, when they were assured Walla Walla and Fort Vancouver in
of food and shelter during the long wet Washington.
* * *
winter.
The experiences of the five com-
6 Cape Perpetua, located on Oregon's rugged and rocky cen-
tral coast, was discovered on March 7, 1778 by Captain panies of the Second Infantry has been
Cook and named by him for the martyred Saint Perpetua
whose death had occurred on the same date in 203. well described in letters written by an

FORT VANCOUVER, oldest settlement in the State of Washington, is shown in this 1845 drawing from the Washington
State Historical Society. It was named for George Vancouver, who accompanied Capt. James Cook on his early voy-
ages of discovery. The Hudson's Bay Company established headquarters here in 1825, with Dr. John McLoughlin as
factor, and abandoned the post in 1860, but by this time this was an incorporated town and came close to becoming
the territorial capital.

~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.. ., ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....

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S. S. WILSON G. HUNT, on which the Army of the Pacific Volunteers sailed for duty, was built in New York in 1849,
arrived in San Francisco via the "Horn" the same year. She sailed the Sacramento River until August, 1859, when
she left for Victoria. She began her Columbia run in 1860, continuing until 1869. The Wilson G. Hunt was capable
of carrying from 250 to 300 passengers in addition to 100 head of cattle and freight. Throughout her career, this steam-
er derived most of her revenue from transporting Army personnel and supplies. (Bancroft Library photo.)

unidentified corporal, w h o simply that they wanted to see the flag flying
signed them "Jack." He begins his nar- wherever they went. The captain
rative upon arrival at Fort Vancouver, raised the flag, the boys cheered, and
where the two companies were sta- the band played "Yankee Doodle." Al-
tioned to relieve seasoned Federal sol- though the band was composed of only
diers, while three other companies a fife and drum, loyalty to the Union
sailed on the S. S. Wilson Hunt for the was proclaimed on the Columbia River.7
Cascades. Here they were received The Second Infantry reached The
with cheers. With Major James F. Cur- Dalles at nine o'clock in the evening,
tis in the lead, they marched three expecting to remain for only a night.
miles from the Lower to the Upper Cas- But the Quartermaster met the troops
cades, where they boarded the S. S. at the landing and told Major Curtis
Idaho for The Dalles. they must march at once to the
After being comfortably settled Deschutes River, nineteen miles away.
aboard, rumors speedily began circulat- Company A went into quarters at
ing among the men that there were The Dalles, but Companies C and D
more "Secessionists" on the boat than
I There was considerable secessionist sentiment in Oregon,
Union men. Since the Idaho flew no and some clandestine work by the Knights of the Golden
Circle, a secret order which opposed the Civil War. Several
United States flag, the Californians lost seditious newspapers were suppressed, and the job of
checking the activities of the Secessionists was added to
no time in telling Capt. John McNulty the frontier duties of the Volunteers.

S. S. IDAHO, the steamer commanded by John McNulty, is shown in this Bancroft Library photo, repr
"Marine History of the Pacific Northwest." The Volunteers boarded the Idaho at the Upper Cascades of t

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56

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 Jan

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ROUTES OFTEAM0FTEPCFCdrn h ii a,tgte ihtemjrpit foeaini ai

foni, ead, ta,Orgo,Idhoan asinto reshw o tismp,copie h teauho fo cntm
porary U. S. Oovernment sources. (~~~caprso Micel ht.

started in the dark for Deschutes. The
road was rough and hilly, but the boys
were in fine spirits and sang and yelled
as they marched. They said they
wanted to wake all the settlers and let
them know the California Volunteers
were coming. They rested three times
on the road, but according to "Corporal
Jack" they were tired when they ar-
rived at the river at five o'clock in the
morning.
At the Deschutes the Volunteers
found the little sternwheeler Colonel
Wright lying beside a pile of freight on
a rocky shore. She looked as though
she could barely hold two companies
of vigorous young men, but they all
managed to get aboard with room to
spare. The captain and his mate gra-
ciously gave up their berths to Major
Curtis and his officers. The privates
and non-coms stowed themselves away
in every possible manner all over the
boat.8
The Colonel Wright had no trouble
navigating the Upper Columbia except
at the mouth of the John Day River,
where it was necessary to put a hun-
dred men ashore with ropes to pull the
little steamer through the swift current.
The S. S. Colonel Wright was launched at the mouth of the
Deschutes River on October 24, 1858, and was the first
steamer to operate on the Upper Columbia. She was
named for Colonel (later General) George Wright who
commanded the Department of the Pacific during the
Civil War.

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 ...................
...............
............-
...... ....... .... ..... .
.... . . .. ......
..............
.........
.. ........ ................
..........
................. ...... ..... ..
. ...........
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.......... ..... .....
iKwb
..........
When they reached Wallula, camp was
made for a few days until government
teams arrived from Fort Walla Walla
to haul the tents and knapsacks to that
fort. The men made the most of their
free time, enjoying hunting and fishing
excursions.
Walla Walla, reached after a two-day
march, was "home" to the boys for only
five days before they started the tough
200-mile walk to Fort Colville, near the
border of Canada. The November days
were now shorter and the nights too
cold for sleeping on the frosty ground.
The men continued their march
northward, crossed the Snake River,
then the Palouse and Spokane. They
reached old Fort Colville just a month
from the day they left San Francisco.
Within a mile of the fort, the Volun-
teers formed into companies and as the
barracks was sighted, the fife and drum
struck a spirited tune and the boys
marched as lively as though they had
not been on a long and tedious journey.
The next morning the two regular
companies of the Ninth U. S. Infantry
which had been stationed at Colville,
started for San Francisco. Companies
C and D, Second Infantry, California
Volunteers, took over the task of main-
taining peace with the Indians in the
far north. There was little trouble dur-
ing that winter of 1861-62, since there
. .. . .
.....
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...........
FORT DALLES barracks building on the southern bank
of the Columbia was under construction when this pic-
ture was taken in about 1856. The name of the town
was changed to Dalles City, but the Post Office per-
sisted in calling it The Dalles, which is its accepted
name today. Captain Thomas Jordan, commandant at
the fort, began the first newspaper between the Mis-
souri River and the Cascades early in 1859 at this place.
(Oregon Historical Society photo.)
were no travelers on the emigrant roads
and the heavy snowfall and floods pre-
vented even the northern Indians from
traveling far.
The lack of comfort in the crude
Fort Colville log barracks is revealed in
a requisition for supplies. Included in
an order for hay, at $45 a ton, is one
for straw which was allotted at the rate
of twelve pounds a month "for each
officer, private, musician and laun-
dress." The medicine list consisted
mainly of "Bourbon whisky, 1812" at
$17.60 a gallon. Since there were no
antiseptics or bandages for arrow
wounds or other emergencies, the
whisky was vital.
By the Summer of 1862, the Washing-
ton Infantry was ready to relieve the
Californians of the Second Infantry,
who had been ordered to Fort Hum-
boldt, California. In order to reach
their new station, the Second Infantry-
men were shipped to Alcatraz, then up.
the coast once more to serve in the
northern part of California. They were
later transferred to southern California
and Arizona.
The Washington Infantry, upon the
departure of the Californians, immedi-
ately assumed the duty of patrolling
emigrant roads between Walla Walla,
Lapwai, Boise and Salmon Falls, Idaho
Territory, on to the Bruneau Valley of
Idaho and to the limits of the District
of Utah. To afford some degree of pro-
tection to that vast frontier, General
Benjamin Alvord, commanding the Dis-
. . .
...
trict of Oregon (which included Wash-
FORT KLAMATH in southern Oregon is now a small
village in the midst of a cattle raising and fur-trapping
area. These are three buildings remaining from the
post trader's establishment. The Klamath Indian Reser-
vation was set aside as a home for Klamath, Modoc
and Yahooskin Snake Indions in 1864 and during the
early 1870's was the scene of bloody encounters be-
tween the whites and Modocs.
(Oregon Historical Society photo.)
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FORT STEVENS, constructed on the south bank of the mouth of the Columbia River, opposite Fort Cape Disappoint-
ment, was named for Isaac I. Stevens, first Governor of Washington Territory. It is still maintained as the only coastal
fortification in Oregon. (Oregon Historical Society photo.)

ington) found it necessary to establish cern that General Alvord received the
a post on the Nez Perce Indian Reser- news that two white men had been
vation. Company E, First Washington killed by some of their tribe. For thirty
Infantry, and Company F, Oregon Cav- years no Nez Perce Indian had ever
alry, were ordered to erect buildings been accused of such a crime against
to protect themselves from the zero the whites. Lawyer, their head chief,
weather in the winter of 1862-63. The speedily surrendered the accused, Wet-
post was built three miles from the too-law-in, to Major J. S. Rinearson,
junction of the Clearwater and Snake First Oregon Cavalry, commanding
Rivers and twelve miles from Lewiston. Fort Lapwai, hoping to rectify the
It was named Lapwai, and served as crime.
an advance supply base for the terri- General Alvord immediately arranged
tory to the east. a meeting with thirty of the chiefs.
Although the Nez Perce Indians had Among these were Lawyer, Big Thun-
been known since the days of Lewis der, Joseph, Looking Glass and all
and Clark for their persistent friendship other principal chiefs except Eagle-of-
for the whites, it was with grave con- the-Light. The Indians stated that their

FORT UMPQUA, on the central coast of Oregon at the mouth of the Umpqua River, was built in 1856 at the close of the
Rogue River Indian War. This picture, from the Oregon Historical Society, was taken by Lieut. Lorenzo Lorain a year
or two after its completion. According to the Oregon Guidebook, the paymaster arrived in the Summer of 1862 and
found every man stationed there out on a hunting trip. His report of this circumstance and the fact that there were no
hostile Indians in the area caused its abandonment just as a regiment from San Francisco was about to leave to gar-
rison it. The old blockhouse and barracks were later moved to nearby Gardiner, Ore.

i f ,1 1X : X.'. . ........

-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.. ......... .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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-f-
grievances arose over the encroachment
of approximately ten thousand miners
on their reservation, in violation of the
treaty made June 11, 1855, and ratified
by the United States Senate on April
29, 1859. In seven years there had been
little evidence of the fulfillment of the
treaty on the part of the Government.
Lawyer had received but six months'
salary as head chief of the Nez Perce.
The house then promised him had just
been started. Few of the promised an-
nuities had ever reached the tribesmen.
Whether the Indians understood the
words of General Alvord or not, their
faith is revealed by the General: "When
camped near the Dalles ten years ago
in May, 1853, your men were seen to
kneel on the ground and say their pray-
ers and worship in truth and sincerity
the great God in Heaven. You won my
respect and regard. Could I have had
my will, I would have raised a wall as
high as the Heavens around you to keep
out intruders. It is very sad to find
that the discovery of gold should have
brought such a throng of the very worst
white men in contact with you. . ."
The new treaty negotiated with the
Nez Perce Indians permitted the whites
to occupy Lewiston and other mining
towns; but the Indians insisted that the
sale of whisky be prohibited on their
lands. The squatters were ordered from
the reservation and an attempt was
made to recompense the Indians for
their losses incurred in surrendering
some of the gold regions.
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BRIG. GENERAL BENJAMIN ALVORD
West Pointer who served the Union cause in far-off
Oregon Territory during most of the Civil War, is pic-
tured in this photo from the National Archives. Born in
Vermont in 1813, Alvord graduated from the Academy
in 1833 and was commissioned in the Fourth Infantry,
to which he was attached for 21 years. He took part in
the Florida War and Mexican War, and at the outbreak
of the Civil War was chief paymaster in Oregon. He
was made a brigadier general of Volunteers in 1862
and served in Oregon until 1865. His duties were those
of the Volunteers who replaced regular soldiers in the
Far West: to guard against secessionist sympathies (no-
tably strong in Oregon), to protect settlers from hostile
Indians and to protect peaceful Indians against un-
scrupulous whites. From 1872 until his retirement in
1880, Alvord was paymaster-general of the Army. He
died in 1884.
New Fort Boise was established on
a site forty-three miles east of old Fort
Boise. As this post was a sub-depot, the
troops could patrol the route to Salmon
Falls, the Bruneau Valley and as far
east as Fort Hall, Idaho Territory. The
Snake Indians were quiet during the
summer of 1863 as a new treaty had
just been negotiated with them. By
systematically patrolling all roads and
by good judgment and balance, General
Alvord maintained peace in his district
during these troubled Civil War years.
In the fall of 1864, California was
called on for yet another regiment of
volunteers. The Eighth was promptly
organized. Company A, enrolled at
Watsonville, in February, 1865 was sent
to garrison the new Fort Cape Disap-
pointment.8 The Californians had been
at the Fort only two months when the
bark Industry struck a bar at the mouth
of the Columbia river. Seven soldiers
from Company A and one from the
Ninth U. S. Infantry procured a boat
from the lighthouse keeper and started
for the Industry as a reserve team.
After a hard pull of about eight miles,
they succeeded in getting within a half
mile of the wreck. They rescued five
passengers who were floating on a raft,
then started for another raft on which
-'Fort Cane Disappointment was built at the mouth of the
Columbia River at the order of General George Wright in
July, 1863. Tt was completed the following spring and
renamed Fort Canby in 1875. Cane Disannointment itself
was named in 1788 by the English explorer, Cant. JTohn
Meares. who failed to perceive that he was at the outlet
of a great river and named the cape in chagrined dis-
appointment. The river was named in 1792 bv the great
American explorer, Robert Gray, who nassed through the
river entrance on his ship "Columbia Redivivi." anchored
off the north bank and traded with the natives. It was
Robert Grav whose discoveries of not only the Columbia
River but Grav's Harbor and Tillamook Bay, lent strength
to American claims to the Pacific Northwest.
FORT CANBY, located on Baker Bay near the mouth of the Columbia River, was known as Fort Cape Disappointment
when completed in 1864 and occupied by Volunteers during the Civil War. The site was renamed Fort Canby in
1875 to honor General E. R. S. Canby, who was murdered two years before by Modoc Indians in northern California
with whom he was attending a peace parley. Canby, whose Civil War experiences are related elsewhere in this issue,
was given command of the Pacific Coast in 1870. (Wash. Historical Soc. photo.)

there had been fourteen persons; but
when they reached it only two were
still afloat. By this time the tide was
so strong that the soldiers could not
make another trip. They returned to
the Fort for hot coffee and re-enforce-
ments, then went out again to look for
survivors. They continued their vigil
until morning when they abandoned the
fruitless search and returned to shore.
Out of the twenty-six aboard the In-
dustry, only seven survived.
Company A, Eighth Infantry, Cali-
fornia Volunteers, remained at Fort
Cape Disappointment until August
1865, when it was transferred to The
Dalles. Company B of this Regiment
was stationed at Fort Stevens from
April 25, 1865 until mustered out in
December 1865.
These Civil War Volunteers from the
western states served four years with-
out due recognition, either from their
contemporaries or the press, and with-
out fanfare, then or since. They stayed
on what was usually monotonous, rou-
tine and seemingly meaningless duty
without adequate pay, medical attention,
shelter, food or transportation. The
greatest action they saw was the pur-
suit of Indians mounted on tough mus-
tangs. Poorly shod and footsore, the
Volunteers marched thousands of miles
over deserts without sufficient water
and through wild timber and mountain
ranges. They plowed their way through
northern snowdrifts until their feet
froze. Many drowned in rampaging
rivers, from the Columbia on the north
to the Rio Grande in the southwest.
These unsung, intrepid men served in
a strange, low-key interlude during our
bloodiest war, and should be honored
now during the observance of its Cen-
tennial. The Army of the Pacific, like
other troops of other times, were the
forgotten "sad sacks" of the awesome
spectacle of 1861-65!

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