Rogue River Wars
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The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the
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 ...
, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of
Rogue River Indians Rogue River Indians are a conglomeration of many tribal groups in the Rogue River Valley area, belonging to three language families: Athabascan, Takelma and Shastan. Groups The principal tribes grouped under the name Rogue River Indians were: * ...
, in the
Rogue River Valley The Rogue Valley is a valley region in southwestern Oregon in the United States. Located along the middle Rogue River and its tributaries in Josephine and Jackson counties, the valley forms the cultural and economic heart of Southern Oregon nea ...
area of what today is southern
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. The conflict designation usually includes only the hostilities that took place during 1855–1856, but there had been numerous previous skirmishes, as early as the 1830s, between European-American settlers and the Native Americans, over territory and resources. Following conclusion of the war, the United States removed the
Tolowa people The Tolowa people or Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethno-linguistic group. Two rancherias (Smith River and Elk Valley) still reside in their traditional territory in northwestern California. Tho ...
and other tribes to reservations in Oregon and California. In central coastal Oregon, the
Tillamook Tillamook may refer to: Places: * Tillamook County, Oregon, United States * Tillamook, Oregon, a city, the seat of Tillamook County * Tillamook River, United States * Tillamook Bay, a bay in the northwestern part of Oregon * Tillamook Head, a natu ...
,
Siletz The Siletz (pronounced SIGH-lets) were the southernmost of several divisions of the Tillamook people speaking a distinct dialect; the other dialect-divisions were: ''Salmon River'' on the river of that name, ''Nestucca'' on Little and Nestucca ...
and about 20 other tribes were placed with
Tolowa people The Tolowa people or Taa-laa-wa Dee-ni’ are a Native American people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethno-linguistic group. Two rancherias (Smith River and Elk Valley) still reside in their traditional territory in northwestern California. Tho ...
at the
Coast Indian Reservation The Coast Indian Reservation is a former Indian reservation in the U.S. state of Oregon, established in 1855. It was gradually reduced in size and in the 21st century is known as the present-day Siletz Reservation. History The Coast Reservation wa ...
. It is now known as the Siletz Reservation, located on land along the
Siletz River The Siletz River flows about to the Pacific Ocean through coastal mountains in the U.S. state of Oregon. Formed by the confluence of its north and south forks near Valsetz in Polk County, it winds through the Central Oregon Coast Range. The ri ...
in the
Central Coastal Range The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States roughly between the Salmon River and ...
, about 15 miles northeast of
Newport, Oregon Newport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It was incorporated in 1882, though the name dates back to the establishment of a post office in 1868. Newport was named for Newport, Rhode Island. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...
. While the tribes originally spoke 10 distinct languages here, the surviving native language in the 21st century is Siletz Deen-ni, an
Athabaskan language Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal ...
related to Tolowa.


History


Background

The interaction of the Rogue River Indians and the first European-American settlers traveling through the area was relatively peaceful. However, the situation changed drastically with the opening of the
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
and the
gold rushes A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...
in northern
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 ...
and later in eastern Oregon. Larger groups of settlers and miners entered the area, consuming without restrictions the natural resources on which the Indians relied for survival, competing for game and fish, and chopping down entire forests of oak trees. The first recorded hostilities were caused by the American
Ewing Young Ewing Young (1799-February 9, 1841) was an American fur trapper and trader from Tennessee who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California before settling in the Oregon Country. ...
's travel to Oregon in 1834. His party murdered several natives and buried their bodies on the island where the party was camped."Ewing Young Route,"
''Oregon's Historic Trails.'' End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
These bodies were later discovered by the local tribe. They retaliated the next year, attacking an American fur trapping party that passed through. Four of the eight European-Americans were killed;
William J. Bailey William J. Bailey (January 13, 1807 – February 5, 1876) was a British-born physician who migrated to the United States, where he became a pioneer and politician in the Oregon Country, particularly the Willamette Valley. Bailey participated in the ...
and George Gay were two survivors. In 1837, as part of the
Willamette Cattle Company The Willamette Cattle Company was formed in 1837 by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present-day Oregon, United States. The company was formed with the express purpose of purchasing cattle in Mexican California. Nearly 750 head of cattle and ...
, Bailey, Gay and others were herding cattle north to the
Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
when Gay shot and killed a native boy in revenge for earlier attacks against whites. The local Indians raided the cattle drive, but killed or drove off only a few cattle.


Cultural conflict

The first known contact between these groups of indigenous people and Europeans occurred when British explorer
George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
anchored off Cape Blanco, about north of the mouth of the Rogue River, and native people visited the ship in canoes.E. A. Schwartz, ''The Rogue River Indian War and Its Aftermath, 1850–1980.'' Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997; pp. 20–25. In 1826,
Alexander Roderick McLeod Alexander Roderick McLeod ( 1782 – 11 June 1840) was a fur trader and explorer in British North America who began his career with the North West Company in 1802. McLeod became a trader and brigade leader with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) ...
of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
(HBC) led an overland expedition from HBC's regional headquarters in
Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of th ...
to as far south as the Rogue. In 1827, an HBC expedition led by
Peter Skene Ogden Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expedi ...
made the first direct contact between the European and the inland Rogue River inhabitants when he crossed the Siskiyou Mountains to look for beaver for the fur trade.Nathan Douthit, ''Uncertain Encounters: Indians and explorers at Peace and War in Southern Oregon.'' Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press, 2002; pp. 11–19. Friction between indigenous tribes and European was relatively minor during these early encounters. In 1834, however, an HBC expedition led by
Michel Laframboise Michel Laframboise (May 11, 1793 – January 25, 1865) was a French Canadian fur trader in the Oregon Country who settled on the French Prairie in the modern U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Quebec, he worked for the Pacific Fur Company, the ...
was reported to have murdered 11 Rogue River natives, and shortly thereafter a party led by an American trapper,
Ewing Young Ewing Young (1799-February 9, 1841) was an American fur trapper and trader from Tennessee who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California before settling in the Oregon Country. ...
, shot and killed at least two more. The name ''Rogue River'' was apparently derived from French fur trappers, who called the river ''La Riviere aux Coquins,'' because they regarded the natives as rogues (''coquins'').Lewis A. McArthur and Lewis L. McArthur, ''Oregon Geographic Names.''
928 Year 928 (Roman numerals, CMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * King Rudolph of France, Rudolph I loses the support of Herbert II, Count of ...
Seventh edition. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2003; pg. 822.
The number of Europeans settlers entering the Rogue River watershed greatly increased after 1846, when a party of 15 men led by
Jesse Applegate Jesse Applegate (July 5, 1811 – April 22, 1888) was an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. He was an influential member of the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the ...
developed a southern alternative to the
Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
; the new trail was used by emigrants headed for the Willamette Valley. Later called the
Applegate Trail The Applegate Trail was an emigrant trail through the present-day U.S. states of Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon used in the mid-19th century by emigrants on the American frontier. It was originally intended as a less dangerous alternative t ...
, it passed through the Rogue and Bear Creek valleys and crossed the Cascade Range between present-day Ashland and south of Upper Klamath Lake. From 90 to 100 wagons and 450 to 500 emigrants used the new trail later in 1846, passing through Rogue tribe's homelands between the headwaters of Bear Creek and the future site of Grants Pass and crossing the Rogue about downstream of it.Douthit, ''Uncertain Encounters,'' pg. 60. Despite fears on both sides, violence in the watershed in the 1830s and 1840s was limited; "Indian seemed interested in speeding whites on their way, and they were happy to get through the region without being attacked." In 1847, 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 ...
and the
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 ...
in what became southeastern
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 ...
raised fears among European settlers throughout the region. They formed large volunteer
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
s to fight indigenous people. Tensions intensified among the settlers passing through the Rogue River Valley in 1848 at the start of 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 ...
, when hundreds of men from the
Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Ori ...
passed through the Rogue Valley on their way to 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 ...
basin. After native people attacked a group of miners returning along the Rogue in 1850, former territorial governor
Joseph Lane Joseph "Joe" Lane (December 14, 1801 – April 19, 1881) was an American politician and soldier. He was a state legislator representing Evansville, Indiana, and then served in the Mexican–American War, becoming a general. President James K. ...
negotiated a peace treaty with Apserkahar, a leader of the
Takelma The Takelma (also Dagelma) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Rogue Valley of interior southwestern Oregon. Most of their villages were sited along the Rogue River. The name ''Takelma'' means "(Those) Along the River". His ...
. It promised protection of Indigenous rights and safe passage through the Rogue Valley for European miners and settlers. (''see also: Battle of Evans Creek'')


Mining in the Rogue River valley

Miners began
prospecting Prospecting is the first stage of the geological analysis (followed by exploration) of a territory. It is the search for minerals, fossils, precious metals, or mineral specimens. It is also known as fossicking. Traditionally prospecting reli ...
for gold in the watershed, including a Bear Creek tributary called Jackson Creek, where they established a mining camp in 1851 at the site of what later became Jacksonville. Indian attacks on miners that year led to
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 ...
intervention and fighting near
Table Rock Table Rock may refer to: Canada * Table Rock, Niagara Falls, a former rock formation ** Table Rock Welcome Centre, a retail center near the site of Table Rock, Niagara Falls United States * Table Rock (Ada County, Idaho), a hill near Boise, Idah ...
between Indians and the combined forces of professional soldiers and volunteer miner militias.Douthit, ''Uncertain Encounters,'' pp. 76–77.
John P. Gaines John Pollard Gaines (September 22, 1795 – December 9, 1857) was a U.S. military and political figure. He was a Whig member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Kentucky from 1847 to 1849, and he served as Governor of ...
, the new territorial governor, negotiated a new treaty with some but not all of the Indian bands, removing them from Bear Creek and other tributaries on the south side of the main stem. At about the same time, more white emigrants, including families with women and children, were settling in the region. By 1852, about 28 donation land claims had been filed in the Rogue Valley. Further clashes in 1853 led to the Table Rock Treaty with the Rogue River tribe that established the Table Rock Indian Reservation across the river from the federal Fort Lane. As the white population increased and Indian losses of land, food sources, and personal safety mounted, bouts of violence upstream and down continued through 1854–1855.


War

In 1855, this friction culminated in open conflict, which lasted into 1856, and is now called the Rogue River War. The ''Guide to the Cayuse, Yakima, and Rogue River Wars Papers 1847–1858'' at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
summarizes the war as follows:
Throughout the 1850s, Governor Stevens of the Washington Territory clashed with the U.S. Army over Indian policy: Stevens wanted to displace Indians and take their land, but the army opposed land grabs. White settlers in the Rogue River area began to attack Indian villages, and Captain Smith, commandant of Fort Lane, often interposed his men between the Indians and the settlers. In October 1855, he took Indian women and children into the fort for their own safety; but a mob of settlers raided their village, killing 27 Indians. The Indians killed 27 settlers expecting to settle the score, but the settlers continued to attack Indian camps through the winter. On May 27, 1856, Captain Smith arranged the surrender of the Indians to the US Army, but the Indians attacked the soldiers instead. The commander fought the Indians until reinforcements arrived the next day; the Indians retreated. A month later, they surrendered and were sent to reservations.
Suffering from cold, hunger, and disease on the Table Rock Reservation, a group of Takelma returned to their old village at the mouth of
Little Butte Creek Little Butte Creek is a tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin consists of approximately of Jackson County and another of Klamath County. Its two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, both begin h ...
in October 1855. After a volunteer militia attacked them, killing 23 men, women, and children, they fled downriver, attacking whites from Gold Hill to Galice Creek. Confronted by volunteers and regular army troops, the Indians at first repulsed them; however, after nearly 200 volunteers launched an all-day assault on the remaining natives, the war ended at Big Bend (at RM 35 or RK 56) on the lower river. By then, fighting had also ended near the coast, where, before retreating upstream, a separate group of natives had killed about 30 whites and burned their cabins near what later became Gold Beach. Most of the Rogue River Indians were removed in 1856 to reservations further north. About 1,400 were sent to the Coast Reservation in central Oregon, later renamed the Siletz Reservation. They were placed with other Indians who were from
Coastal Salish The Coast Salish is a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak one of the Coa ...
tribes, such as the Tillamook, the Siletz, and the Clatsop. To protect 400 natives still in danger of attack at Table Rock,
Joel Palmer General Joel Palmer (October 4, 1810 – June 9, 1881) was an American pioneer of the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He was born in Canada, and spent his early years in New York and Pennsylvania before serving ...
, the
Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs The Oregon Superintendent of Indian Affairs was an official position of the U.S. state of Oregon, and previously of the Oregon Territory, that existed from 1848–1873. Background The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was created in 1824 to regulate ...
, ordered their removal to the newly established
Grande Ronde Reservation The Grand Ronde Community is an Indian reservation located on several non-contiguous sections of land in southwestern Yamhill County and northwestern Polk County, Oregon, United States, about east of Lincoln City, near the community of Grand ...
in
Yamhill County, Oregon Yamhill County is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville, Oregon, McMinnville. Yamhill County was named af ...
.


Massacre at Hungry Hill

The Massacre at Hungry Hill, also known as the Battle of Grave Creek Hills or Battle of Bloody Springs, was the largest massacre of the Rogue River Wars.ICTMN Staff
"Lost Oregon Indian Battlefield Discovery Attributable to ‘Detective Work'"
''Indian Country Today'' Media Network, 7 Nov. 2012.
It occurred on October 31, 1855. The Native Americans were camped with their women and children on the top of a hill, with the soldiers located across a narrow ravine about 1,500 feet deep. Two hundred of the Native Americans were in the mountains southwest of present-day Roseburg armed with
muzzleloader A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) design ...
s, bows, and arrows and managed to hold off a group of "more than 300 ... dragoons, militiamen and volunteers".Kimberly A.C. Wilson
"Hungry Hill, the Lost Site of Historic Indian Battle in Southern Oregon, is Found"
''The Oregonian,'' Oct. 12, 2012.


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 ...
* Table Rock Indian Reservation *
Upper and Lower Table Rock Upper Table Rock and Lower Table Rock are two prominent volcanic plateaus located just north of the Rogue River in Jackson County, Oregon, U.S. Created by an andesitic lava flow approximately seven million years ago and shaped by erosion, they ...
*''
The Battle of Rogue River ''The Battle of Rogue River'' is a 1954 American Western film starring George Montgomery, Martha Hyer, and Richard Denning, directed by William Castle and produced by Sam Katzman. The screenplay is written by Douglas Heyes. It is set during th ...
'' * Battle of Big Bend


Footnotes


Further reading

* E. A. Schwartz, ''The Rogue River Indian War and Its Aftermath, 1850–1980.'' Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.


External links


The Fort Lane Archaeology Project
€”Fort Lane was an important base for the US Army during this conflict
Guide to the Rogue River Wars (ca. 1855–1857) at the University of Oregon.
{{Authority control Wars involving the indigenous peoples of North America in Oregon Rogue River (Oregon) 1850s conflicts 1850s in Oregon Indian wars of the American Old West Wars between the United States and Native Americans 1855 in the United States 1856 in the United States Native American genocide