The Pitt River Expedition is a series of expeditions in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

in the 1850s. The expeditions are named for the

Pit River The Pit River is a major river draining from northeastern California into the state's Central Valley. The Pit, the Klamath and the Columbia are the only three rivers in the U.S. that cross the Cascade Range. The longest tributary of the Sacr ...

, one of many tributaries of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...

, and the Pitt River Indians (historical spellings differed). The expeditions were part of the larger

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

and took place during the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

US Military

First Pitt River Expedition

The most usually noted expedition is the Pitt River Expedition, in California, April 28 to September 13, 1850. The Indian Agent, Colonel E. A. Stevenson, led the expedition to the

Achomawi Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi and Ahjumawi), are the northerly nine (out of eleven) bands of the Pit River tribe of Palaihnihan Native Americans who live in what is now northeastern California in the United States. These 5 autonomous bands ...

(

Atsugewi The Atsugewi are Native Americans residing in northeastern California, United States. Their traditional lands are near Mount Shasta, specifically the Pit River drainage on Burney, Hat, and Dixie Valley or Horse Creeks. They are closely related ...

(Hat Creek) and

Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language **Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc *Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Mo ...

to establish relations with them.

Second Pitt River Expedition

In 1857,

George Crook George R. Crook (September 8, 1828 – March 21, 1890) was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. During the 1880s, the Apache nicknamed Crook ''Nantan ...

, later US Civil War Officer and General led the second Pitt River Expedition as a first lieutenant. In one of the several engagements, he was severely wounded by an Indian arrow.

State of California's Pitt River Expedition (1859)

The State of California notes expenditures for the

California Militia The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...

and "Expeditions Against the Indians", 1850–1859; which makes note of a Pitt River Expedition in 185

Ongoing conflicts between settlers and the tribes in the northern counties of California provoked appeals by citizens for the removal of the tribes from the region. Federal authorities could not do so due to the shortage of Federal troops available; some were already involved in the early phases of the

Bald Hills War Bald Hills War (1858–1864) was a war fought by the forces of the California Militia, California Volunteers and soldiers of the U.S. Army against the Chilula, Lassik, Hupa, Mattole, Nongatl, Sinkyone, Tsnungwe, Wailaki, Whilkut and Wi ...

. Citizens requested Governor

John B. Weller John B. Weller (February 22, 1812August 17, 1875) was the fifth governor of California from January 8, 1858 to January 9, 1860 who earlier had served as a congressman from Ohio and a U.S. senator from California, and minister to Mexico. Lif ...

to call out State troops from the northern counties to remove the Indians from the mountains and place them on a reservation. The Governor sent Adjutant General of California, William C. Kibbe to the northern counties of California to organize volunteer military companies to stop Indian raids, collect them and remove them to the

Mendocino Indian Reservation Mendocino Indian Reservation, a former Indian reservation in Mendocino County, one of the early Indian reservations to be established in California by the Federal Government for the resettlement of California Indians. It was established in the spr ...

. At

Red Bluff Red Bluff(s) may refer to several places in North America: Places Canada *Red Bluff, British Columbia, a community near Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada ** Red Bluff First Nation, a First Nations band government headquartered near Quesnel, ...

, General Kibbe raised a company of 93 California militia, the Kibbe Rangers, under Captain William Byrnes. General Kibbe directed Captain Byrnes to carry out an expedition against the Indians in Tehama, Shasta, Plumas, and

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word mea ...

counties. In the following three months, Captain Byrnes' rangers had many minor clashes with bands of Indians and captured more than 500. Due to the snow blocking the route over the coastal ranges to the Mendocino Reservation, the captive Indians were taken by

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

from Red Bluff to the Tejon Reservation. The California State Military Museum; California State Militia and National Guard Unit Histories: Kibbe Rangers
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References

Pit River 1850s in California Native American history of California Pre-statehood history of California Pit River tribes Wars involving the indigenous peoples of North America in California History of Butte County, California History of Plumas County, California History of Shasta County, California History of Tehama County, California Shasta Cascade 1850 in California 1857 in California Conflicts in 1857 1859 in California Conflicts in 1859 {{US-mil-hist-stub