The 1st Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States.

History

Most of the 1st California was recruited from August to October 1861, with the exception of Company K, which was organized the following February. Many of its companies were formed from companies of the

California Militia The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...

taken intact into federal service others from individuals drawn from the militia.

James H. Carleton James Henry Carleton (December 27, 1814 – January 7, 1873) was an officer in the US Army and a Union general during the American Civil War. Carleton is best known as an Indian fighter in the Southwestern United States. Biography Carleton wa ...

served as

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Joseph R. West Joseph Rodman West (September 19, 1822 – October 31, 1898) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Union general in the United States Army during and after the American Civil War and the chief executive of the District of Columbia. As a ...

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and Edwin A. Rigg as

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. It came under the command of the Department of the Pacific (later it would come under the

Department of New Mexico The Department of New Mexico was a Department (United States Army), department of the United States Army during the mid-19th century. It was created as the 9th Department, a geographical department, in 1848 following the successful conclusion of th ...

). After some training at Camp Downy near

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

and Camp Latham near

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Companies D, F and G were sent to establish and garrison

Camp Wright Oak Grove Butterfield Stage Station is located in the western foothills of the Laguna Mountains, in northern San Diego County, California. It is located on State Route 79, northwest of Warner Springs and Warner's Ranch. The station was built o ...

, in November 1861. Detachments from the camp captured

Daniel Showalter Daniel Showalter (1830–1866), was a California miner, state legislator, duelist, secessionist, and Confederate States of America military officer in Texas. Early life Daniel Showalter was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania and came to Califor ...

's party near Warner's Ranch, November 20–29, 1861. In December, 1861, five companies of the regiment were sent to Fort Yuma on the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

and the others to various posts around Southern California. The regiment was assigned to a force called the California Column, which was commanded by Carleton and composed of one infantry regiment (the 5th) and parts of two

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

regiments (the 1st and 2nd) of California volunteers and a company of Regular artillery. The Column was formed to drive the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Army of New Mexico The Army of New Mexico, also known as the Sibley Brigade, was a small Confederate field army in the American Civil War. It operated in Confederate Arizona and New Mexico Territory during the New Mexico Campaign in late 1861 and early 1862, before ...

out of the eastern part of the

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

. Due to supply problems, the force did not move out until February 1862. The 1st Infantry saw fighting at the

Battle of Picacho Pass The Battle of Picacho Pass, also known as the Battle of Picacho Peak, was an engagement of the American Civil War on April 15, 1862. The action occurred around Picacho Peak, northwest of Tucson, Arizona. It was fought between a Union cavalry ...

(only Company I) and the

Battle of Apache Pass The Battle of Apache Pass was fought in 1862 at Apache Pass, Arizona, in the United States, between Apache warriors and the Union volunteers of the California Column as it marched from California to capture Confederate Arizona and to reinforc ...

(this battle was against

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

warriors, not Confederates). The regiment continued marching across the New Mexico Territory to Fort Craig. Picacho Pass was the only engagement against Confederate forces, since they had retreated back into

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

before the California Column reached eastern New Mexico and they made no attempt to recover the territory they lost. For the remainder of the war, the 1st California Infantry was engaged in garrison duty dispersed in posts across New Mexico Territory and Texas and fighting

and

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

Indians in these places and in the Utah Territory. The unit was mustered out on October 21, 1866.

1st California Regiment of Infantry Commanders

* Colonel

August 19, 1861 - June 1, 1862 * Colonel

June 1, 1862 - April 1864 * Colonel Edwin A. Rigg April 1864 - December 1864

Lineage

The lineage of the 1st California continued with the formation of the Coast Artillery Corps (CAC), California National Guard (CANG) on 19 April 1909. Subsequently, this unit was redesignated as the 1st Coast Defense Command (CDC) (1917), 1st Provisional Battalion, CAC, CANG (date unknown), 1st CDC (1921), 250th Coast Artillery (1923), and in 1924 became the 250th Coast Artillery Regiment (Tractor Drawn), which served in World War II.History of 250th Coast Artillery to 1940
(PDF file), p. 1

Company assignments

* Headquarters: At Camp Union from September 1861 to March 1862 when it moved to

, then for a short time was at Drum Barracks before joining the California Column's march across southern

. There it occupied Franklin, Texas until the regiment was mustered out in December 1864. * Company A, Formed largely from men of the ''California Volunteers'', California Militia of Oroville. * Company B, Formed largely from men from the ''Marion Rifles'' and other militia companies in San Francisco and others recruited at Camp Latham, near

. * Company C, Formed from the ''Amador Mountaineers'', California Militia, Jackson. * Company D, Formed from the ''San Jose Volunteers'', California Militia, San Jose. * Company E, Formed from the ''Washington Rifles'', California Militia, Sacramento City & County. * Company F, Formed from the ''Sierra Greys'', California Militia, La Porte. * Company G, Formed from ''Company "H"'', California Militia from Nevada City, California. * Company H, Formed largely from men from San Francisco. * Company I, Formed largely from men from the ''Marysville Rifles'' of Marysville. * Company K, Formed largely from men from San Francisco.

References

California Military History Museum, Regiments of the California Volunteers in Federal Service, 1st Regiment of Infantry

Military History Online, THE ADVANCE OF THE CALIFORNIA COLUMN TO ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO.
* Masich, Andrew E., ''The Civil War in Arizona: the Story of the California Volunteers, 1861-65; '' University of Oklahoma Press (Norman, 2006).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1st California Infantry Regiment Units and formations of the Union Army from California Military units and formations of the United States in the Indian Wars Military units and formations established in 1861 1861 establishments in California Military units and formations disestablished in 1866 1866 disestablishments in the United States