Camp Santa Catalina Island (1864), located on Santa Catalina Island, California

Santa Catalina Island, California

Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...

 at the isthumus, at what is now Avalon, California

Avalon, California

Avalon, or Avalon Bay, is the only incorporated city on Santa Catalina Island of the California Channel Islands, and the southernmost city in Los Angeles County. Besides Avalon, the only other center of population on the island is the small unincorporated town of Two Harbors...

. In 1863, following the incident of the Confederate privateer

Confederate privateer

The Confederate privateers were privately owned ships that were authorized by the government of the Confederate States of America to attack the shipping of the United States...

, J. M. Chapman

J. M. Chapman (privateer)

J. M. Chapman, 90 Ton schooner, was purchased by in 1863, by Asbury Harpending and other California members of the Knights of the Golden Circle in San Francisco to outfit as a Confederate privateer....

, a military reservation and harbor defenses were proposed here to keep it from being used by a hostile power.

In December 1863 a camp was authorized on the Island, and the garrison commander was authorized to remove all persons on the island, unless permitted to stay by his order. On December 21, 1863 General Wright proposed the island be made into an Indian reservation for the tribes the Volunteers were fighting in northwestern California, in the Humboldt Military District

Humboldt Military District

During the American Civil War, Army reorganization created the Department of the Pacific on January 15, 1861. On December 12, 1861, the District of Humboldt was created, consisting of the counties of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Trinity, Humboldt, Klamath, and Del Norte in Northern California...

.

Company C, 4th California Infantry under Captain West, occupied Santa Catalina Island January 1, 1864, and established the camp January 2, and no new settlers were permitted on the island. The company served there until there until all Federal property was removed in December, 1864. The camp was abandoned after peace was made with the Indians in the northwest in August 1864 and a reservation was established there. Also the need for a port fortification receded, the danger of privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

s preying on West Coast commerce or foreign intervention having faded.