The 7th California Infantry Regiment 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 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 The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, attached to the Department of the Pacific, serving in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

. They were known as the "Gold Diggers" in reference to the large number of recruits from the California's "Mother Lode" region. Later, they were also called the "Hungry Seventh" for the privations they suffered in Arizona, particularly at Fort Mason. The Regiment included many veterans of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

Regimental Flag

While the Regiment was being organized and trained at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

Jonathan D. Stevenson Jonathan Drake Stevenson (1800–1894) was born in New York; won a seat in the New York State Assembly; was the commanding officer of the First Regiment of New York Volunteers during the Mexican–American War in California; entered California mi ...

presented them with the regimental flag of the unit he commanded in the Mexican–American War: The 7th New York Volunteers. The Regiment continued to carry this flag throughout its service, and it flew over Fort Mason during their time there.

Company assignments

*Company A was organized at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and commanded by Captain James P. Olmstead until his death from brain congestion at Fort Yuma in August, 1865 when command was assumed by Captain James W. Bye. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Fort Yuma in March, 1865, and finally Fort McDowell, Arizona Territory in September, 1865. *Company B was organized at Marysville and commanded by Captain Alexander Gibson. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Tucson in May, 1865. *Company C was organized at Jackson and commanded by Captain Walter S. Cooledge. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to

Fort Mojave Fort Mohave was originally named Camp Colorado when it was established on April 19, 1859 by Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman during the Mohave War. It was located on the east bank of the Colorado River, at Beale's Crossing, near the head of t ...

in March, 1865. *Company D was organized at Dutch Flat and commanded by Captain M.H. Calderwood. They were assigned to the

in January, 1865, then to Tubac, Arizona Territory in April, 1865, and

Fort Mason, Arizona Territory Following the Gadsden Purchase, the United States Army sent Major Enoch Steen and four companies of the 1st U. S. Dragoons (now the 1st U. S. Cavalry) to occupy the former site of the Mexican Presidio de Calabasas. Major Steen arrived on Novemb ...

the following September. *Company E was organized at

and commanded by Captain Hiram A. Messenger. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Tubac, Arizona Territory in April, 1865, and

the following September. *Company F was organized at

and commanded by Captain John W. Owen. They were assigned to the

in December, 1864, then to Fort Yuma in June, 1865, then to Fort McDowell, Arizona Territory and

Maricopa Wells Maricopa Wells is a former place ( locale) situated in Pinal County, Arizona. It has an estimated elevation of above sea level. Historically, it was an oasis around a series of watering holes in the Sierra Estrella, eight miles north of present- ...

in September, 1865. *Company G was organized at Placerville and commanded by Captain

Thomas J. Heninger Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. They were assigned to the

in October, 1864, then to Tubac, Arizona Territory in May, 1865, and

the following September. *Company H was organized at Bear Valley and commanded by Captain James W. Smith. They were assigned to the

in January, 1865, then to Fort Yuma the following May. *Company I was organized at

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and commanded by Captain George D. Kendall. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Fort Whipple, Arizona Territory the following May. *Company K was organized at

and commanded by Captain James H. Shepard until his resignation in January, 1866. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Fort Yuma in March, 1865 then to Fort McDowell, Arizona Territory the following May.

Service At Tubac and Fort Mason

In the Spring of 1865, the Regimental Headquarters and Companies D, E, and G were assigned to Tubac, Arizona Territory. Though they were there primarily to operate against the Apaches, they were also assigned the job of reinforcing the International Line against potential incursions by the forces of the Mexican Empire and its

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allies. As part of the ongoing war of the French Intervention, Imperialist forces had made recent advances into the neighboring Mexican State of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

, causing considerable alarm among officials in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In September, the garrison was moved south to

Calabazas Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish language for any type of winter squash. Within an English-language context it specifically refers to what is also known as the West Indian pumpkin, a winter squash typically grown in the West Indies, t ...

, a small settlement near the border where they established a post called Post at Calabasas, later renamed Fort Mason. They were joined there by the 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers. Shortly afterward, Sonora Governor

Ignacio Pesqueira Ignacio Pesqueira García was a 19th-century Mexican general and politician. He was the Governor of Sonora over six times, with two of the six terms being an insurgent governor during the Second French intervention in Mexico. Childhood His par ...

, who had fled northward after his army had been destroyed in a series of battles with the Imperialists, arrived at the post with a small party seeking refuge. Colonel Lewis put the post, his officers, and his men at the Governor's disposal. Service at Fort Mason was generally considered miserable. Because of its somewhat swampy (by Arizona standards) location on the banks of the Santa Cruz River, the men suffered from an epidemic which at one point rendered over half of them too sick for duty and led to at least 25 deaths. The post suffered from supply problems as well. These conditions caused construction of permanent buildings at the post to slow to a halt, leaving the men to live in tents and temporary brush shelters during their service there and generally curtailing operations against the Apaches. Participation in one campaign against the Apaches, for instance, was aborted by a lack of adequate shoes. Despite this, the Seventh was, from time to time, able to put small expeditions into the field. On one such occasion, Captain Hiram A. Messenger led a scouting party of 15 men into the Huachuca Mountains in July, 1865. The detachment found itself surrounded and under attack by a reported 100 or 200 Apaches and escaped after a fortuitous rainstorm ended a fight that lasted over an hour and left two soldiers dead and one wounded.Hunt. Pgs. 143-144 The Regiment was ordered back to The Presidio in March, 1866 and was mustered out the following April and May.

References

{{reflist
The Civil War Archive, Union Regimental Index, California

The War of the Rebellion: Volume 35, Part 1 CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST FROM JULY 1, 1862, TO JUNE 30, 1865. By United States. War Dept, Robert Nicholson Scott, Henry Martyn WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1897

Records of California men in the war of the rebellion 1861 to 1867, By California. Adjutant General's Office, SACRAMENTO: State Office, J. D. Young, Supt. State Printing. 1890. pp.688-719Pvt John Haines 7th California Infantry Find a grave memorial
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 1864 1864 establishments in California Military units and formations disestablished in 1866

Regimental Flag

Company assignments

Service At Tubac and Fort Mason

See also

References