Idaho in the American Civil War
Encyclopedia
The history of Idaho in the American Civil War is atypical, as the territory was far from the battlefields.
At the start of the Civil War
, modern-day Idaho
was part of the Washington Territory
. On March 3, 1863, the Idaho Territory
was formed, consisting of the entirety of modern day Idaho, Montana
, and all but southwest Wyoming
. However, there were concerns about Confederate
sympathizers in the eastern half of the territory, in what is present-day Montana. As a result, in 1863 Sidney Edgerton
traveled quickly to see President Abraham Lincoln
about the situation; this was one reason to split the Montana Territory
from the Idaho Territory. The split also resulted in most of Idaho Territory's land consisting of modern-day Wyoming being reassigned to the Dakota Territory
.
Volunteer soldiers who served in Idaho did not fight against the Confederacy, but instead monitored traffic along the Oregon Trail
and protected communications routes between the western and eastern United States. Fort Boise, at the site of the future city of Parma Idaho, was built during this period because of attacks against travelers on the trail to the gold mines there.
Gold had been found at Orofino
and Florence, Idaho
that brought trouble with the friendly Nez Perce tribe. Camp Lapwai—later Fort Lapwai—was established to keep the peace between the Indians and the miners.
The Bear River massacre
took place on January 29, 1863, on what was thought to be the boundary of Washington Territory and Utah Territory
near the present-day city of Preston
in Franklin County, Idaho
. On that date, 300 soldiers of the 3rd California Volunteer Infantry Regiment
led by Colonel Patrick Connor
slaughtered an encampment of at least 250 members of the Shoshone
tribe; only about twenty Shoshone men survived. This was in response to numerous attacks against white settlers in the previous year which were blamed on the Shoshone. The incident saw little coverage outside California
and Utah, as most major newspapers were concerned with news of the main war fronts. The Bear River Massacre Site
is currently a National Historic Landmark
.
There were some Southerners in the territory at the time. Most had originally gone to California, and came to Idaho to pursue gold mining.
In the early part of the Civil War, Oregon and California Volunteer patrols had several clashes with the Paiute, Bannock
and Shoshone bands in Oregon and the Territories of Washington (later Idaho), Utah, and Nevada collectively known as the Snake Indians
. However the invasion of their territory by miners in 1863, to places like Silver City
, brought on the Snake War
. The Volunteers fought the Snakes until relieved by Federal troops in late 1865; the war continued until 1868.
After the Civil War, Idaho attracted many veterans of the Union Army to the state, including several governors. An Idaho Soldiers Home was constructed during the 1890s. In the 20th century, the deaths of veterans routinely made the news. The last Civil War veteran to die in Idaho was Israel Broadsword in 1952.
At the start of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, modern-day Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
was part of the Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
. On March 3, 1863, the Idaho Territory
Idaho Territory
The Territory of Idaho was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 4, 1863, until July 3, 1890, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Idaho.-1860s:...
was formed, consisting of the entirety of modern day Idaho, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, and all but southwest Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. However, there were concerns about Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
sympathizers in the eastern half of the territory, in what is present-day Montana. As a result, in 1863 Sidney Edgerton
Sidney Edgerton
Sidney Edgerton was a politician, lawyer, judge and teacher from Ohio. He served during the American Civil War, as a Squirrel Hunter. During this time, Edgerton served as a U.S. Congressman. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln appointed him the first Chief justice of the Idaho Territorial Court...
traveled quickly to see President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
about the situation; this was one reason to split the Montana Territory
Montana Territory
The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 28, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Montana.-History:...
from the Idaho Territory. The split also resulted in most of Idaho Territory's land consisting of modern-day Wyoming being reassigned to the Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
.
Volunteer soldiers who served in Idaho did not fight against the Confederacy, but instead monitored traffic along the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
and protected communications routes between the western and eastern United States. Fort Boise, at the site of the future city of Parma Idaho, was built during this period because of attacks against travelers on the trail to the gold mines there.
Gold had been found at Orofino
Orofino, Idaho
Orofino is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho, along Orofino Creek and the north bank of the Clearwater River. The population was 3,247 at the 2000 census, and the city is the county seat of Clearwater County...
and Florence, Idaho
Florence, Idaho
Florence is a ghost town in Idaho County, Idaho, United States. The town was originally settled as a mining camp in the winter of 1861, Several hundred miners who had come for the Clearwater Gold Rush of 1861, heard of a huge bonanza there on the Salmon River. Many of the miners walked from...
that brought trouble with the friendly Nez Perce tribe. Camp Lapwai—later Fort Lapwai—was established to keep the peace between the Indians and the miners.
The Bear River massacre
Bear River Massacre
The Bear River Massacre, or the Battle of Bear River and the Massacre at Boa Ogoi, took place in present-day Idaho on January 29, 1863. The United States Army attacked Shoshone gathered at the confluence of the Bear River and Beaver Creek in what was then southeastern Washington Territory. The...
took place on January 29, 1863, on what was thought to be the boundary of Washington Territory and Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
near the present-day city of Preston
Preston, Idaho
Preston is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 4,682 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Franklin County, Idaho
Franklin County, Idaho
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2000 Census the county had a population of 11,329 . The county seat and largest city is Preston. Franklin County is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.Established in 1913, Franklin County was named...
. On that date, 300 soldiers of the 3rd California Volunteer Infantry Regiment
3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry
The 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. This regiment was organized at Stockton and at Benicia Barracks, from October 31 to December 31, 1861, to serve three years. The regiment was first commanded by Colonel Patrick...
led by Colonel Patrick Connor
Patrick Edward Connor
Patrick Edward Connor was a Union General during the American Civil War. He was most famous for his campaigns against Native Americans in the American Old West.-Early life and career:...
slaughtered an encampment of at least 250 members of the Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
tribe; only about twenty Shoshone men survived. This was in response to numerous attacks against white settlers in the previous year which were blamed on the Shoshone. The incident saw little coverage outside California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Utah, as most major newspapers were concerned with news of the main war fronts. The Bear River Massacre Site
Bear River Massacre Site
Bear River Massacre Site, near Preston, Idaho, is the site of the Bear River Massacre, in which a village of Shoshone Native Americans were attacked by the California Volunteers on January 29, 1863. Estimates of Shoshone casualties are as high as 384...
is currently a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
There were some Southerners in the territory at the time. Most had originally gone to California, and came to Idaho to pursue gold mining.
In the early part of the Civil War, Oregon and California Volunteer patrols had several clashes with the Paiute, Bannock
Bannock (tribe)
The Bannock tribe of the Northern Paiute are an indigenous people of the Great Basin. Their traditional lands include southeastern Oregon, southeastern Idaho, western Wyoming, and southwestern Montana...
and Shoshone bands in Oregon and the Territories of Washington (later Idaho), Utah, and Nevada collectively known as the Snake Indians
Snake Indians
Snake Indians is the common name given by American immigrants on the Oregon Trail to the bands of Northern Paiute, Bannock and Shoshone Native Americans in the Snake River and Owyhee River valleys of southern Idaho and Eastern Oregon...
. However the invasion of their territory by miners in 1863, to places like Silver City
Silver City, Idaho
Silver City is a ghost town in Owyhee County, Idaho, United States. At its height in the 1880s it was a gold and silver mining town with a population of around 2,500 and approximately 75 businesses. Silver City served as county seat of Owyhee County from 1867 to 1934. Today, the town has about 70...
, brought on the Snake War
Snake War
The Snake War was a war fought by the United States of America against the "Snake Indians", the settlers' term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and western Shoshone bands who lived along the Snake River. Fighting took place in the states of Oregon, Nevada, and California, and in Idaho Territory...
. The Volunteers fought the Snakes until relieved by Federal troops in late 1865; the war continued until 1868.
After the Civil War, Idaho attracted many veterans of the Union Army to the state, including several governors. An Idaho Soldiers Home was constructed during the 1890s. In the 20th century, the deaths of veterans routinely made the news. The last Civil War veteran to die in Idaho was Israel Broadsword in 1952.
Civil War Posts Washington Territory, Idaho Territory (after March 3, 1863)
- Fort FranklinFranklin, IdahoFranklin is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 641 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
(1860–1863), Franklin, IdahoFranklin, IdahoFranklin is a city in Franklin County, Idaho, United States. The population was 641 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:... - Old Fort Hall (1863), Fort Hall Indian ReservationFort Hall Indian ReservationThe Fort Hall Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain north of Pocatello, and comprises 814.874 sq mi of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power,...
, 11 miles west of the town of Fort HallFort Hall, IdahoFort Hall is a census-designated place in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho, split between northern Bannock County and southern Bingham County. It is located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation along the Snake River north of Pocatello, near the site of the original Fort Hall in the...
.- Fort Hall (1864), on Spring Creek just north of Old Fort Hall.
- Camp Lander (1865–1866), located three miles southeast of Old Fort Hall.
- Fort Hall (1864), on Spring Creek just north of Old Fort Hall.
- Camp Salmon Falls (1862), located on the Snake RiverSnake RiverThe Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
north of BuhlBuhl, IdahoBuhl is a city located on the old Oregon Trail in the western half of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The population was 4,037 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Twin Falls, Idaho Micropolitan Statistical Area....
, on the Oregon TrailOregon TrailThe Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
. - Camp Conner (1863–1865), Soda Springs, IdahoSoda Springs, IdahoSoda Springs is a city in Caribou County, Idaho, United States. The population was 3,381 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Caribou County....
- Fort Boise (1863–1879), Boise
- Camp LapwaiCamp LapwaiCamp Lapwai was established by Company E, 1st Regiment Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry when after being mustered in at Alcatraz, they were ordered on October 19, 1862 to Camp Lapwai near the Nez Perce Agency...
(1862–1863), Lapwai (Nez Perce National Historic Park)- Fort LapwaiFort LapwaiFort Lapwai , a Federal fort now in the Nez Perce National Historical Park, was originally called Camp Lapwai until 1863. It was located on the left bank of the Lapwai River three miles above where it joined the Clearwater River...
(1863–1866, 1866–1884), Lapwai (Nez Perce National Historic Park)
- Fort Lapwai
- Samuel Smith's Camp (1864), near the mouth of the Raft RiverRaft RiverThe Raft River is a tributary of the Snake River located in northern Utah and southern Idaho in the United States. It is part of the Columbia River Basin.-Course:...
. - Camp Reed (1865–1866), near Twin FallsTwin Falls, IdahoTwin Falls is the county seat and largest city of Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The population was 44,125 at the 2010 censusTwin Falls is the largest city of Idaho's Magic Valley region...
on old Kelton RoadKelton, Utah-External links:* by Randy W. Lewis* at Utah State History...
near its crossing of Rock Creek. - Camp Wallace or Cantonment Soldier (1865), located on the Big Camas Prairie near Fairfield, IdahoFairfield, IdahoFairfield is the county seat of and the only city in Camas County, Idaho, United States. The population was 395 at the 2000 census, nearly half of the rural county's population.-Geography:...
. - Camp Lyon (1865–1869), Idaho, near Jordan Valley, OregonJordan Valley, OregonJordan Valley is a city in Malheur County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Ontario, OR–ID Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city was named after Jordan Creek, a tributary of Owyhee River, which runs through the city; the creek is named for a 19th century prospector, Michael M. Jordan...
on Jordan CreekJordan CreekJordan Creek is a tributary of the Little Lehigh Creek in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Jordan Creek joins Little Lehigh Creek in the city of Allentown, before soon flowing into the Lehigh River. It drains an area of .-References:...
within one mile of the state line.