Oregon in the American Civil War

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. Consequently it was only in late 1862, with a new governor, that the state raised any troops: the 1st Oregon Cavalry served with the Union army 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.^[3]

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.

Confederate sympathizers

In May of 1861, Jacksonville secessionist planned to raised a their own secession flag. During the night the group stretched a rope across the street and suspended a flag from it bearing a pine tree on its field. In the morning the towns folk who found it quickly took it down.^[4] A month later upon hearing the news of the start of the war citizens across the town started flying flags. A lady named Dr. Zany Ganung was walking back into town after a work trip, when she spotted a secessionist flag flying from the flag pole in front of J. T. Glenn’s store. The flag bore a Palmetto with a rattlesnake. She soon grabbed an ax and hacked down the flagpole. Then she took the flag back to her house and put it in her stove, setting the whole thing on fire. She was later celebrated for her actions.^[5]

In August of 1861, a name Welch raised a Confederate flag on North Fork in Yamhill county. Him and his secessionist neighbors protected the flag from threats by Unionist.^[6]

In 1862, the secessionist of Smithfield started arming themselves planning on doing their part for the Southern Confederacy. In the summer they acquired a small cannon. While other members got together to fly the Stars and Bars, they first started by finding a tree long enough to act as the pole. When one was suitable they stripped it of its branches and removed its bark. The pole was raised it font of general store with the women of the town coming together to sew the huge Confederate flag. The flag was soon raised and quickly became noticed, unionist in Eugene were demanding the sheriff take it down. The sheriff knowing that the residence were armed was not interested risking his life, so he declined. Weeks later one of the towns people was in Eugene trying to buy supplies when he was arrested a taken to the local jail. A mob of unionist tried Lynch him, but he fought them with a penknife and held them off for the sheriff and his posse to regain control. In August a detachment of federal troops rode from Fort Vancouver too Smithfield to find a deserter. They located him at a farm and took him in, they also captured the town's rebel flag.^[7]

Oregon regiments in the Civil War

1st Oregon Cavalry
1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Mountain Rangers (Oregon Militia)
Washington Guards (Oregon Militia)
Fenian Guards (Oregon Militia)
Zouave Cadets (Oregon Militia)
Marion Rifles (Oregon Militia)

Civil War posts, Oregon

Fort Dalles, Oregon, (1850–1867)
Fort Yamhill, Oregon (1856–1866)
Fort Hoskins, Oregon, (1857–1865)
Siletz Blockhouse, Oregon (1858–1866) ^[8]
Camp Baker, Oregon (1862–1865),^[9]
Camp Barlow, Oregon, (1862) ^[10]
Camp Clackamas, Oregon, (1862) ^[11]
Post at Grand Ronde Indian Agency or Fort Lafayette, Oregon 1863,^[12]
Fort Klamath, Oregon, (1863–1890)
Fort at Point Adams, Oregon (1863–1865)
Fort Stevens, Oregon (1865–1947)
Camp Alvord, Oregon (1864–1866) ^[13]
Camp Dalgren, Oregon (1864) ^[14]
Camp Henderson, Oregon, 1864–1866 ^[15]
Camp Lincoln, Oregon 1864^[16]
Camp Maury, Oregon 1864^[17]
Camp Russell, Oregon 1864–1865 ^[18]
Camp Watson, Oregon 1864–1869
Camp Colfax, Oregon, 1865, 1867^[19]
Camp Currey, Oregon 1865–1866 ^[20]
Camp Logan, Oregon (1865–1868) ^[21]
Camp Lyon, Oregon (1865–1869) ^[22]^[23]
Camp Polk, Oregon (1865–1866) ^[24]
Camp on Silvies River, Oregon (1864?) ^[25]
Camp Wright, Oregon (1865–1866) ^[26]
Old Camp Warner, Oregon (1866–1867)^[27]
Camp Warner, Oregon (1867–1874)^[28]

References

[1]
McArthur, Scott (2014). The Enemy Never Came: The Civil War in the Pacific Northwest. Caxton Press., Kindle locations 743, 753, 761
[2]
The Oregon daily journal, June 14, 1914, p.56
[3]
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.
[4]
Oregon sentinel, June 22, 1861, p.2
[5]
Southern Oregon In The Civil War, by Jeff LaLande, The Oregon Historical Society
[6]
Morning Oregonian, August 30, 1911, p.10
[7]
"When the real Confederate flag flew over Oregon soil | Offbeat Oregon History | #ORhistory". offbeatoregon.com. Retrieved 2026-04-29.
[8]
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.
[9]
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.
[10]
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.
[11]
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.
[12]
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.
[13]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On Horse Creek in the Alvord Valley, east of the Steen Mountain Range
[14]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 Located slightly east of Camps Maury and Polk.
[15]
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.
[16]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 Near Canyon City, on the headwaters of John Day River.
[17]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On the Deschutes River near the mouth of Crooked River.
[18]
A Civil War training camp once located in Salem, Oregon, at the state fairgrounds, present-day 17th Street and Silverton Road.
[19]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. At the Willow Creek crossing of the Canyon City – Boise Road, south of Baker City.
[20]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On Silver Creek.
[21]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 East of Canyon City, on the road to Colfax.
[22]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671 In the Jordan Valley, east of the Owyhee River.
[23]
IDAHO STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY REFERENCE SERIES, CAMP LYON, Number 357 July 16, 1965
[24]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. On the Deschutes River near the mouth of Crooked River.
[25]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 674. Located on the Silvies River, north of Malheur Lake.
[26]
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.
[27]
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
[28]
Carey, History of Oregon, pg. 671. Located west of Warner Lakes.

Oregon in the American Civil War

Confederate sympathizers

Oregon regiments in the Civil War

Civil War posts, Oregon

See also

References

Further reading

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