Camp Cady (1860–1861, 1866–1871) was a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Camp, on the

Mojave Road The Mojave Road, also known as Old Government Road (formerly the Mohave Trail), is a historic route and present day dirt road across what is now the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert in the United States. This rough road stretched f ...

near the

Mojave River The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, ...

in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...

, located about 20 miles east of modern-day

Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the I ...

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

, at an elevation of 1690 feet. Camp Cady was named after Major

Albemarle Cady Albemarle Cady (February 15, 1807 – March 14, 1888) was a career United States Army officer who served in the Second Seminole War, Mexican–American War, Sioux Wars#First Sioux War, First Sioux War and the American Civil War. During the Civil ...

6th Infantry Regiment The 6th Infantry Regiment ("Regulars") was formed 11 January 1812. Zachary Taylor, later the twelfth President of the United States, was a commander of the unit. The motto, "Regulars, By God!" derives from the Battle of Chippawa, in which Briti ...

, who was a friend of Carleton and commander at

Fort Yuma Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of ...

in 1860.

History

Camp Cady was established during the

Bitter Spring Expedition The Bitter Spring Expedition of 1860 was a U. S. Army expedition from Fort Tejon, by Company K, First Regiment of Dragoons, led by Major James Henry Carleton, to punish suspected Southern Paiute raiders that had attacked travelers at Bitter S ...

in 1860, by Major

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 ...

, and Company K,

1st U.S. Dragoons The 1st Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army regiment that has its antecedents in the early 19th century in the formation of the United States Regiment of Dragoons. To this day, the unit's special designation is "First Regiment of Dragoons ...

, as a base camp for Carleton's campaign to punish

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Pai ...

who had attacked travelers at Bitter Spring on the Los Angeles - Salt Lake Road.William Gorenfeld, and John Gorenfeld, ''Bvt. Major James Carleton at Bitter Spring 1860'', Wild West, June 19, 2001. After the Bitter Spring Expedition, Camp Cady was garrisoned off and on until it was abandoned for a time in early part of 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 ...

after

Fort Mohave 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 ...

was abandoned in May 1861. Sometimes used by

California Volunteers California State Volunteer Units 1861 – 1866 The following are California State Volunteer Units that were active between 1861 – 1866 serving in the Union Army, most west of the Rocky Mountains in place of Federal troops: California Brigade ...

patrolling the area in 1862, it was used by them after

was re-garrisoned in 1863 to guard the

until the end of the Civil War. It was later garrisoned by the U. S. Army as one of a number of posts on the Mojave Road to protect travelers on the road from Paiute attacks along the road, from 1866 to 1871, when it was abandoned, after the Paiute where deemed pacified.

The site today

At the site of Camp Cady there remain some ruins and a historical marker east of Barstow, within the Camp Cady Wildlife Area. Camp Cady Wildlife Area
from www.wildlife.ca.gov accessed May 13, 2015

California Historical Landmark

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

Marker Camp Cady #963-1 on the site reads: *''NO. 963-1 Camp Cady was located on the Mojave Road which connected Los Angeles to Albuquerque. Non-Indian travel on this and the nearby Salt Lake Road was beset by Paiutes, Mohaves, and Chemehuevis defending their homeland. To protect both roads, Camp Cady was established by U.S. Dragoons in 1860. The main building was a stout mud redoubt. Improved camp structures were built 1/2 mile west in 1868. After peace was achieved, the military withdrew in 1871. This protection provided by Camp Cady enabled travelers, merchandise, and mail using both roads to boost California's economy and growth.'' * Marker 963 at the end of the Mojave Road reads:californiahistoricallandmarks.com 963, Mojave Road Los Angeles
/ref> *''NO. 963 THE MOJAVE ROAD - Long ago, Mohave Indians used a network of pathways to cross the Mojave Desert. In 1826, American trapper Jedediah Smith used their paths and became the first non-Indian to reach the California coast overland from mid-America. The paths were worked into a military wagon road in 1859. This "Mojave Road" remained a major link between Los Angeles and points east until a railway crossed the desert in 1885.''

References

External links

State Geological Survey Of California, J.D. Whitney, State Geologist. Map Of California And Nevada. Drawn By F.v. Leicht And A. Craven ... J. Bien, Lith. N.Y. 2nd edition Revised by Hoffmann and Craven and issued by authority of the Regents of the University of California given May 12th 1874.
from www.davidrumsey.com, accessed May 13, 2015. Shows the locations of Camp Cady, Bitter Springs, the Mohave Road and the Salt Lake Road; from a map Of California and Nevada made with information gathered between 1863 to 1872. {{Authority control 1860 establishments in California

Camp Cady Camp Cady (1860–1861, 1866–1871) was a U.S. Army Camp, on the Mojave Road near the Mojave River in the Mojave Desert, located about 20 miles east of modern-day Barstow, California in San Bernardino County, at an elevation of 1690 feet. ...

California Historical Landmarks

History

The site today

California Historical Landmark

See also

References

External links