Washington in the American Civil War

The history of Washington in the American Civil War is atypical, as the territory was the most remote from the battlefields of the American 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...

. Although the Indian Wars

Indian Wars

American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...

in Washington were recent, there were no Indian hosilities within the area of modern Washington state, unlike the rest of the western states and territories, during the Civil War. At the start of the American Civil War, modern-day Washington 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 from that territory, 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...

leaving the modern-day Washington as Washington Territory.

Washington Territory before the Civil War

Washington Territory before the Civil War was the most remote place in the United States from the theater of conflict. Additionally Washington Territory only had peace with the local Indians for three years when the Civil War began and the few settlers there were just recovering from the fear and economic strain those wars had caused them. Also of great concern locally was the recent Pig War

Pig War

The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and the British Empire over the boundary between the US and British North America. The territory in dispute was the San Juan Islands, which lie between Vancouver Island and the North American mainland...

and continuing territorial dispute over San Juan Island

San Juan Island

San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....

that effected the related relations with Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

during the American Civil War. Politically the territory was also a stronghold for the Democrat Party with many sympathetic to the Southern cause or at least tolerant of it.

Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry

With the regular U.S. Army troops recalled from the District of Oregon to fight the Civil War in the east, soldiers were still needed to man the forts and outposts in Washington Territory. The acting governor of the territory, Henry M. McGill, issued a proclamation on May 10, 1861, in response to President Lincoln's first call for volunteers, but it met with little response. Not until October 12, was an effective step taken to raise volunteers in the territory when Colonel Thomas A. Scott, assistant secretary of war, wrote to Justus Steinberger

Justus Steinberger

Justus Steinberger, was Colonel of the 1st Regiment Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. Born in Pennsylvania, before the Civil War he was employed as agent for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and the Adams Express Company in Portland, Oregon...

, notifying him that he was authorized to organize a regiment of infantry, "in that territory, and the country adjacent thereto," and he was appointed colonel of said regiment. When Colonel Steinberger arrived on the coast, he came to Puget Sound in January 1862, and after he consulted with the legislature, and visited towns and settlements west of the mountains, he realized he could not hope to raise more than three companies, at most, in the territory.

Leaving R. V. Peabody to raise a company in the Sound country, and two other officers to raise two companies east of the mountains, Colonel Steinberger returned to San Francisco. There he opened a recruiting office on March 1, 1862, and two months later had secured four companies (A,B,C and D), and had two more started, soon to be at full strength. Early in May, with the four companies then completed and mustered, he left San Francisco for Fort Vancouver, soon followed by the two other companies from California. Later two more were raised in California, making eight in all from California, in the regiment which was not withstanding known as the 1st Washington Territory infantry. In the end only two companies of the Regiment were raised in Washington Territory, and one of these (Company F) was recruited largely from residents of Oregon. Company K, which was mustered in at Fort Stelacoom was the only Company raised only from men from Washington Territory. East of the Cascades troops could not be raised from the men involved in the frenzy of the Idaho gold rush then beginning.

The Volunteer soldiers who served in Washington did not fight against the Confederacy

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...

, but instead garrisoned the few posts in Washington that were not abandoned at the beginning of the war, including San Juan Island

San Juan Island

which was in a dispute with the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

. They also protected communications routes between the western and eastern United States in Oregon and Idaho from the Indians and against the threat of foreign intervention on the Pacific coast by Britain and France that never materialized. Three companies in the newly formed Idaho Territory

Idaho Territory

were engaged in an expeditions to clear the area of 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...

who threatened emigrants to the territory in 1863 and 1864.

Washington Territorial Units in the Civil War

1st Regiment Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry
1st Regiment Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry
The 1st Regiment of Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry was a unit of infantry raised by the Washington Territory for service in the Union Army during the American Civil War.- Service :...
- Company K

Naval Defenses

To protect the northern approaches to the mouth of the Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

from possible attacks by Confederate commerce raider or the fleets of the British Empire

British Empire

or French Empire

Second French Empire

The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...

, in 1862, a camp called Post at Cape Disappointment

Cape Disappointment State Park

Cape Disappointment State Park, formerly known as Fort Canby State Park, is a park located southwest of Ilwaco, Washington. The park is located on the southern part of Long Beach Peninsula, which is fronted by the Pacific Ocean. The park is one of several state parks and sites in Washington and...

was established where fortifications were built and artillery implaced to cover the river. It was first garrisoned by Company A, U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment

U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment

The 9th Infantry Regiment is one of the oldest and most decorated active duty infantry units in the United States Army.- Early organizations :...

and later by Company A, 8th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry

8th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry

The 8th Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It spent its entire term of service in the western United States, serving in posts around San Francisco Bay, and on the Columbia River., attached to the Department of the...

. In 1863, a mate to Cape Disappointment, Fort at Point Adams, later Fort Stevens

Fort Stevens (Oregon)

Fort Stevens was an American military installation that guarded the mouth of the Columbia River in the state of Oregon. Built near the end of the American Civil War, it was named for slain Civil War general and former Washington Territory governor, Isaac Stevens. The fort was an active military...

was established in Oregon on the south bank of the Columbia River. In 1864, Post at Cape Disappointment was renamed Fort Cape Disappointment

Cape Disappointment State Park

. Despite the fears of the Union, these forts saw no action against any enemy in the Civil War.

Threat of Privateers from Victoria, B.C.

On March 15, 1863, a schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

, called the 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....

, had been seized in the harbor of San Francisco, just as she was preparing to put to sea as a 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...

. This seizure made Union men everywhere along the coast more alert for other attempts to get a vessel for the purpose. Among its papers was one letter disclosing plans for the capture of the USS Shubrick but the scheme appeared to have been abandoned.

However early in 1863, Allen Francis, United States consul at Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

received information that led him to believe a plot was forming, to seize the Shubrick, and convert her into a Confederate privateer. In the ensuing Shubrick Incident, Shubrick's Captain Pease and most of the crew, all suspected Southern sympathizers, were discharged by the Customs Collector for Puget Sound. This was accomplished on the next visit of the Shubrick to Victoria, while the captain and a large part of the crew were on shore, Lieutenant Selden, second in command on the Shubrick threw off her mooring lines, and with only six men on board, he sailed away for Port Townsend.

On May 13, 1863, Consul Francis writing about the Shubrick incident to Captain Hopkins of the United States Navy steamer USS Saginaw

USS Saginaw (1859)

The first USS Saginaw was a sidewheel sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-History:The first vessel built by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Saginaw was laid down on 16 September 1858; launched as Toucey on 3 March 1859; sponsored by Miss Cunningham, daughter of the...

, said:

"There is still in this city a rebel organization, which has had several meetings within the last few weeks. They are awaiting, it seems from rumors, the receipt of letters of marque from the president of the so-called Confederate States. At this moment an English steamer, called the Fusi Yama, is expected in this port from England, and it is rumored that she is to be purchased for a privateer."

USS Saginaw cruised the Puget Sound and Straits of San Juan de Fuca and found no privateer.

Consul Francis raised the alarm once again in October 1863, when the president of this same Southern Association had contacted Confederate Secretary of State

Confederate States Secretary of State

The Confederate States Secretary of State was the head of the Confederate States State Department from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War. There were three people who served the position in this time. The department crumbled with the Confederate States of America in May 1865, marking the...

Judah P. Benjamin

Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...

to obtain letters of marque for a ship yet to be obtained. When Francis discovered two British ships entering the port one with a cargo of shot and shell and the other with iron construction, he feared they would be used by the Confederacy and alerted the Navy, which sent the USS Narragansett

USS Narragansett

USS Narragansett may refer to:, a Union sloop, launched in 1859 and decommissioned in 1875. During that time she saw significant action in the American Civil War., a passenger liner that served as a troopship in Europe during World War I....

to patrol the waters near Victoria. The Southern Accociation failed to carry out their intentions to outfit a privateer.

Civil War Posts Washington Territory, (now Washington State) (after March 3, 1863)