The 1st Oregon Infantry Regiment was an

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

era military

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

recruited in

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 Idah ...

for the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

. The regiment was formed in November 1864. At full strength, it was composed of ten

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...

of foot soldiers. The regiment was used to guard trade routes and escorted immigrant wagon trains from

Fort Boise Fort Boise is either of two different locations in the western United States, both in southwestern Idaho. The first was a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) trading post near the Snake River on what is now the Oregon border (in present-day Canyon Co ...

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 ...

. Its troops were used to pursue and suppress Native American raiders in eastern Oregon and the

Idaho Territory 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 ...

. Several detachments accompanied survey parties and built roads in central and southern Oregon. The regiment's last company was mustered out of service in July 1867.

Background

Following the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, most regular army troops were withdrawn from the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

for service in the war's eastern theatres. This left Oregon and the

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 territories without sufficient troops to guard Native American reservations from trespassing miners, escort immigrant wagon trains, and protect settlers and traders from Native American raiders in eastern Oregon and southern Idaho. Oregon officials were also concerned about possible conflicts between pro-Union and pro-Confederate supporters. As a result, the commander 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 ...

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 Ore ...

, Brigadier General George Wright asked Oregon Governor

John Whiteaker John Whiteaker (May 4, 1820October 2, 1902) was an American politician, soldier, and judge. A native of Indiana, he joined the army during the Mexican–American War and then prospected during the California Gold Rush. After moving to the Orego ...

to recruit an Oregon cavalry regiment. At the same time, Wright asked Henry M. McGill, Washington Territory's acting Governor, to raise an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

regiment in Washington. Both recruiting efforts were successful.Edwards, Glenn Thomas, ''Oregon Regiments in the Civil War Years: Duty on the Indian Frontier'', unpublished Master of Arts thesis, Department of History, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, June 1960. The Washington infantry regiment was formed on 18 October 1861, and the

1st Oregon Cavalry The First Regiment Oregon volunteer Cavalry was a volunteer regiment in United States service Union army that was formed in response to the American Civil War. With men recruited in Oregon and some recruited in surrounding states, the regimen ...

was activated a month later on 21 November.''Official Army Register of the Volunteer Forces of the United States Army for the Years 1861, '62, '63, '64, '65 (Part VII), Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, California, Kansas, Oregon, Nevada.'', Adjutant General's Office, Secretary of War, Washington, D.C., 2 March 1865.

Formation

The initial enlistment period for six of the seven Oregon cavalry companies and five of ten Washington infantry companies expired in the fall of 1864. As a result, Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord, the Army's senior commander in Oregon, asked Oregon's new Governor

Addison C. Gibbs Addison Crandall Gibbs (July 9, 1825December 29, 1886) was an American politician. He was the second Governor of Oregon from 1862 until 1866, and previously served in the Oregon Territory's legislative body and later the state legislature. E ...

to raise a new infantry regiment and recruit backfills for the expected cavalry vacancies. Gibbs agreed, and formally asked Major General

Irwin 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 ...

, who replaced Wright as commander of the Department of the Pacific, to request authority to recruit additional troops for military operations in Oregon. On 31 August 1864, Gibbs and McDowell sent a joint letter 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 * De ...

in Washington, D.C. requesting permission to recruit a new infantry regiment and cavalry replacements. On 20 October 1864, the Governor received a positive reply from the War Department. The news arrived just one day before the end of Oregon's legislative session. Gibbs quickly asked the legislature to provide a $150 enlistment bounty, which the legislators enacted before going home. Governor Gibbs appointed well known civic leaders as county recruiting officers to give prestige to the effort. The state's pro-union newspapers including ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'', the '' Oregon Statesman'', and the ''Jacksonville Sentinel'' all encourage young men to join the new regiment. The publicity along with the $150 bounty helped make the recruiting drive a success. The first companies of the 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment were officially activated on 11 November 1864. By June 1865, the regiment reached ten full-strength companies. Three senior officers from the 1st Oregon Cavalry were promoted and placed in charge of the new infantry regiment.

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

George B. Currey became the regiment's commander. Lieutenant Colonel

John M. Drake John Miller Drake (December 31, 1830 – December 11, 1913) was a Union Army officer in the 1st Oregon Cavalry and the 1st Oregon Infantry regiments during the American Civil War. He eventually reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He led on ...

was second in command, and Major

William V. Rinehart William Vance Rinehart (28 December 1835 – 16 October 1918) was an American soldier who served as a Union Army officer in both the 1st Oregon Volunteer Cavalry Regiment and 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. ...

was given the third most senior post.

Operations

While some detachments of the 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment occasionally skirmished with hostile Native American bands, the regiment's main duties were much more mundane. Most companies spent their time in garrison duty at small posts in eastern Oregon, southeast Washington, and southern Idaho. They protected immigrant trails and escorted wagon trains from Fort Boise to the Willamette Valley. Two companies escorted survey parties, and another constructed a road in southwestern Oregon. While scouting sixteen miles from Camp Wright on the Selvies River, near present-day Burns, Captain Loren L. Williams and a party of twenty Oregon infantrymen from Company H were ambushed by a band of hostile Native Americans. Williams and his troops fought a harrowing retreat back to Camp Wright, defending themselves for about fifteen hours before they reached safety. All along the way Native Americans fired from concealed positions. At one point, they even set a brush fire in the soldiers path to prevent them from escaping. Despite their continuous attacks, the Native Americans only wounded two soldiers. In his report, Williams stated that his long-range rifles killed fifteen Native American. He also stated that his superior weaponry was the only thing that prevented his party from being overrun. In the summer of 1865, Lieutenant Cyrus H. Walker and the men of Company B were responsible for disarming friendly Native Americans and guarding numerous wagon trains as they crossed southern Idaho. They also established Camp Reed at Salmon Falls Creek and Camp Wallace at Camas Prairie, both in Idaho. The troops built a blockhouse at Camp Wallace, but later abandoned the site in favor of winter quarters near

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 Id ...

. Lieutenant William Grant and his detachment accompanied David P. Thompson and his government survey team through central Oregon as they plotted the Deschutes

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

, a north-south line extending from the Columbia River to the

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 ...

border. In another party, Lieutenant John M. McCall led a detachment of forty-eight men responsible for escorting State Surveyor

Byron J. Pengra George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

and his assistants as they surveyed the route of the

Oregon Central Military Road The Stone Bridge is a causeway built by the United States Army in 1867. It crosses the marshy channel that connects Hart Lake and Crump Lake in a remote area of Lake County in eastern Oregon, United States. It was later incorporated into t ...

. The route they surveyed ran from

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

along the Middle Fork of the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

, through the Cascades near Diamond Peak, then across arid southeastern Oregon to Idaho's mining country. Captain

Franklin B. Sprague Franklin Burnet Sprague (July 16, 1825 – February 7, 1895) was an American military officer, businessman, and judge. He joined the Union Army during the Civil War, serving on the Oregon frontier. During his military service, Sprague explored mu ...

and twenty men of Company I built a section of road that linked the Rogue River with the John Day road. This connected

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

and southwest Oregon with John Day's mining country. After the construction work was completed, Sprague published a list of the best camp sites along the road in the Jacksonville newspapers so that the wagon masters could find the best water and grass along the way. On 1 August 1865, two hunters from Sprague's party rediscovered

Crater Lake Crater Lake (Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills ...

, which had been first visited in 1853, but was never effectively recorded so that others could locate the lake. Based on directions from his hunters, Sprague and five other men visited the lake on 12 August. They climbed down the 800 foot

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber ...

cliff to become the first explorers to reach the lake shore. Sprague's account of the visit to "Lake Majestic" was published in the ''Jacksonville Sentinel'' on 25 August. In the fall of 1865, Colonel Currey was planning a winter campaign against the Native Americans in eastern Oregon. To prepare, he sent detachments of the 1st Oregon Infantry along with Oregon cavalry units to Camp Alvord in the Alvord Valley; Camp Polk near present-day

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

; Camp Currey near

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

; Camp Logan and Camp Colfax along the Boise Road east of Canyon City; Camp Wallace; and Camp Lander near Fort Hall in the Idaho Territory. Detachment commanders were instructed to build winter quarters at their posts and prepare for a winter offensive. Winter provisions were to follow in supply wagons. However, the end of the Civil War in the east had freed up many regular officers for duty in the west, and as a result, Colonel Currey was released from duty in November 1865 along with the men from companies C, D, and E. Lieutenant Colonel Drake was released from service in December, so the planned winter campaign never got started.Carey, Charles Henry
''History of Oregon''
The Pioneer Historical Publishing Company, Chicago & Portland, Oregon, 1922, pp. 673-74.

Disbanding

The remaining companies spent a long winter in field encampments waiting for orders. In February 1866, Major General

Frederick Steele Frederick Steele (January 14, 1819 – January 12, 1868) was a career military officer in the United States Army, serving as a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was most noted for retaking much of secessionist Arka ...

arrived at

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 the ...

to take command of the Military Department of the Columbia. As soon as the weather improved he ordered the dispersed infantry units, except Captain Sprague's Company I, to report to Fort Vancouver where the volunteers were mustered out of service. Several officers were reassigned to regular Army units arriving from the east, but few were retained more than a year. On 19 July 1867, Captain Sprague, First Lieutenant Harrison B. Oatman, and the men of Company I were the last members of the 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment to be mustered out of the Army.

Officers

The following is a list of officers who served in the 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The list was current as of 31 October 1865, the date the first members of the regiment were mustered out of service. *Colonel - George B. Currey (Commander) *Lieutenant Colonel -

*Major -

*Captains - Charles Lafollett (Commander, Company A); Ephraim Palmer (Commander, Company B); Clark P. Crandall (Commander, Company C); William S. Powell (Commander, Company D); Ferdinand O. McGown (Commander, Company E); Ebner W. Waters (Commander, Company F); Andrew J. Boland (Commander, Company G); Loren L. Williams (Commander, Company H);

(Commander, Company I); and Alphonso B. Ingram (Commander, Company J) *First Lieutenants - William J. Shipley; Cyrus H. Walker; Thomas H. Reynolds; Samuel F. Kerns; Henry Catley (

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In ...

); John B. Dimick; Darius B. Randall; John L. Boone (

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

); William M. Rand; William Grant; Harrison B. Oatman; Byron Barlow *Second Lieutenants - William R. Dunbar; John W. Cullen; Charles B. Roland; Charles H. Hill; Joseph M. Gale; James A. Balch; Daniel W. Applegate; Peter P. Gates; Charles N. Chapman; and Albert Applegate *Surgeon - Horace Carpenter; Samuel Whitemore (Assistant Surgeon)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Oregon Blue Book - Civil War HistorySons of Union Veterans of the Civil War - Col. Edward D. Baker Camp1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry
Civil War reenactors Military in Oregon Military history of Oregon Military units and formations in Oregon Units and formations of the Union Army from Oregon 1864 establishments in Oregon 1867 disestablishments in Oregon Military units and formations established in 1864 Military units and formations disestablished in 1867