Camp Downey was an early training camp for
California Volunteers, overlooking
Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designate ...
, on what is now Seventh Avenue in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
Camp Downey was established on August 31, 1861 by
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph R. West with the
1st Infantry, California Volunteers. After September 15, 1861 the camp was abandoned as the Volunteers took ship for
Camp Latham
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
in
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
to suppress secessionists disturbances there.
Historic California Posts: Camp Downey
from militarymuseum.org accessed Dec. 31, 2013.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camp Downey
American Civil War army posts, Camp Downey
Camp Downey
History of Oakland, California
Formerly Used Defense Sites in California
Military facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area
1861 establishments in California