The Military Division of the Pacific was a major command ( Department) of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

during the late 19th century.

Formation

On July 27, 1865 the Military Division of the Pacific was created under

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Henry W. Halleck Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...

, replacing the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command (Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of Or ...

, consisting of the

Department of the Columbia The Department of the Columbia was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army during the 19th century. Formation On July 27, 1865 the Military Division of the Pacific was created under Major General Henry W. Halleck, replacing the Dep ...

that now consisted of the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

and the territories of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

and the expanded Department of California that now consisted of the states of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

and the

Territory of New Mexico 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 '' Nuevo México'' becomin ...

and

Territory of Arizona 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 ...

. Headquarters for the Division of the Pacific and the Department of California remained in the City of San Francisco.

Events within the Division of the Pacific

On March 18, 1868, the Army established the

Department of Alaska Department of Alaska was the designation for the government of Alaska from its purchase by the United States of America in 1867 until its organization as the District of Alaska in 1884. During the department era, Alaska was variously under ...

under the Division of the Pacific. Department of Alaska was discontinued on July 1, 1870, and Alaska was absorbed by the Department of the Columbia. The Department of Arizona was established under the Division of the Pacific on April 15, 1870. It consisted of Arizona Territory and California south of a line from the northwest corner of Arizona to

Point Conception Point Conception (Chumash: ''Humqaq'') is a headland along the Gaviota Coast in southwestern Santa Barbara County, California. It is the point where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean, and as the corner between the mostly north ...

so as to include most of

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 ...

. From December 7, 1871, the one general officer at San Francisco commanded both the Division of the Pacific and the Department of California and the separate staffs were consolidated into one. On July 1, 1878, Division of the Pacific headquarters moved from San Francisco to the Presidio of San Francisco. In June 1875, the part of the

Territory of Idaho The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as Idaho. History 1860s The territory w ...

that lay east of the extension of the western boundary of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and including

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern Ida ...

, was detached from the Department of Columbia and added to the

Department of the Platte The Department of the Platte was a military administrative district established by the U.S. Army on March 5, 1866, with boundaries encompassing Iowa, Nebraska, Dakota Territory, Utah Territory and a small portion of Idaho. With headquarters in Om ...

. On July 1, 1876 Gen.

Irvin McDowell Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 – May 4, 1885) was a career American army officer. He is best known for his defeat in the First Battle of Bull Run, the first large-scale battle of the American Civil War. In 1862, he was given command ...

, formerly commander of the

was for a second time assigned to the command of the Pacific coast Division, which comprised also the Department of the Columbia, commanded by Brig. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, and the Department of Arizona, commanded by Col. O. B. Willcox, 12th Infantry Regiment. The Department of Arizona lost Southern California on February 14, 1883, but regained California south of the 35th parallel on December 15, 1886. The Department of California, consisted of California north of the 35th parallel and Nevada. On November 30, 1885, the New Mexico Territory transferred from the

Department of the Missouri The Department of the Missouri was a command echelon of the United States Army in the 19th century and a sub division of the Military Division of the Missouri that functioned through the Indian Wars. History Background Following the successful ...

to the Department of Arizona, coming under the Division of the Pacific. Early in 1887 the headquarters of the Division of the Pacific, failed to secure an appropriation for a suitable administration building and moved from the Presidio of San Francisco back to the City of San Francisco.

End of the Military Division of the Pacific

The Military Division of the Pacific was discontinued on July 3, 1891. Each of the three subordinate departments of Arizona, California, and the Columbia, then reported directly to the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

. The Department of California, with its headquarters at San Francisco, consisted of California north of the 35th parallel and Nevada.

Commanders of the Military Division of the Pacific

* Major General

, July 27, 1865 - June 1, 1869 * Major General

George H. Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

, June 1, 1869 - March 28, 1870 * Major General John M. Schofield, March 28, 1870 - July 1, 1876 * Major General

, July 1, 1876 - October 15, 1882 * Major General John M. Schofield, October 15, 1882 - November 30, 1883 * Major General John Pope, November 30, 1883 - March 16, 1886 * Major General

Oliver Otis Howard Oliver Otis Howard (November 8, 1830 – October 26, 1909) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the Civil War. As a brigade commander in the Army of the Potomac, Howard lost his right arm while leading his men agains ...

, March 16, 1886 – November 23, 1888 * Brigadier General

Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...

, November 23, 1888 - September 1, 1890 * Brigadier General

John Gibbon John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 – February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Early life Gibbon was born in the Holmesburg section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four ...

September 1, 1890 - April 20, 1891 * Brigadier General Thomas H. Ruger, April 20, 1891 - July, 1891

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Division Of The Pacific

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...