The Oregon Rifles was the first military force organized for the protection of
Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest of
North America.
Shortly after the
Whitman Massacre
The Whitman massacre (also known as the Walla Walla massacre and referred to as the Tragedy at Waiilatpu by the National Park Service) was the killing of the Washington missionaries Marcus Whitman and his wife Narcissa, along with eleven others ...
, Oregon Governor
George Abernethy
George Abernethy (October 7, 1807 – March 2, 1877) was an American politician, pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government based in the Willamette Valley, an area later a part of the American sta ...
communicated to the legislature his concern about the seriousness of the conditions, and issued a call for volunteers. A company of 45 men, furnishing their own rifles and equipment, organized in
Oregon City and arrived in
The Dalles
The Dalles is the largest city of Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 census, and it is the largest city on the Oregon side of the Columbia River between the Portland Metropolitan Area, and Hermiston ...
on December 21, 1847.
Those who did not have their own rifles were furnished arms by
John McLoughlin.
H. A. G. Lee was named captain of the unit.
See also
*
Cayuse War
The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local American settlers. Caused in part by the influx of disease ...
*
Oregon Rangers
The Oregon Rangers was the first organized militia of the white settlers located in the Willamette Valley in the contested region of the Oregon Country, later the U.S. state of Oregon. First established in 1844, the force was never called out to ...
References
Military in Oregon
History of Oregon
Indian wars of the American Old West
1840s in the United States
1847 establishments in Oregon Country
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