Pacific coast theater of the American Civil War
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2014) |
The Pacific coast theater of the American Civil War consists of major military operations in the
The operations of Union volunteer troop detachments, primarily from California, some from Oregon, and a few companies from Washington Territory, were directed mostly against Indigenous Americans in the theater. Union and Confederate regular forces did not meet directly within the Pacific Department except in New Mexico Territory. Operations were directed against Confederate irregulars in California and strong garrisons were placed in Southern California and southern New Mexico Territory to control the region which had strong secessionist sympathies.
Secession Crisis on the West Coast
During the secession crisis following Lincoln's
On 28 March 1861, the newly formed
Operations against secessionists and the Confederacy
Outbreak of the Civil War
Securing Southern California
At the outbreak of the Civil War, the secession of
Suspected by local Union authorities, General Johnston evaded arrest and joined the secessionist militia company, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles as a private, leaving
Charged with all the supervision of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara counties, on 16 August Major
On 25 September, the
In March 1862, all the troops drilling at Camp Latham were transferred to Camp Drum, leaving a company of soldiers to observe the Los Angeles area. Following flooding at Camp Carleton in the Great Flood of 1862, the garrison moved to New Camp Carleton, near the secessionist hotbed of El Monte. For the rest of the Civil War, Union garrisons were maintained in Southern California.
Campaign of the California Column
In early 1862, the District headquarters was used as the base for the campaign of the
Pacific Squadron Operations
Because of the blockade of the Confederacy, the Union Navy could not spare many ships to guard the ports and shipping of the Pacific Coast and the Pacific Squadron remained small. One ship was always on station at Panama City to protect that Pacific Terminal of the gold shipments carried by the vessels of the Pacific Mail. The remaining ships patrolled the coast between Panama and British Columbia as needed. Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco Bay was the Squadron's permanent base.
Pacific Coastal Defenses
To protect the ports, especially
At the mouth of the
Following the failure of the
J. M. Chapman Plot
In 1863,
Conspiracy to seize Shubrick
Following the seizure of J. M. Chapman, Union men everywhere along the coast were alarmed and more alert for other attempts to get a vessel for the purpose. Among the papers captured on J. M. Chapman was one letter disclosing plans for the capture of
Salvador Pirates
In the spring of 1864, the Confederate Navy ordered Captain
Confederate Commerce Raiding
CSS Alabama operated in the Pacific for only a few weeks in the southwest Pacific, capturing three ships. CSS Shenandoah was the second and last Confederate raider to enter the Pacific Ocean. However, her attacks came too late, at the end of the war or afterward, and did most of her damage after the war was over, capturing 38 vessels, mostly whalers. When word of the attacks came, the Pacific Squadron sent ships out to hunt the raider down but did not find her. On 21 June 1865, the Shenandoah captured the whaler William Thompson. The captain of that ship, Francis Smith, informed an incredulous Commander James Waddell that the war had ended some weeks previous. Without concrete proof that the war had ended, the Confederate ship continued its raiding activities. Finally, on 2 August, sailors of a British bark headed back to Liverpool from San Francisco brought news of the surrender at Appomattox, the capture of Jefferson Davis, and the surrender of the last Confederate forces. With this incontrovertible proof, Commander Waddell ordered all operations against American ships cease and the Shenandoah set sail for Great Britain to avoid its sailors being tried for piracy.[20]
Indian Wars in the Department of the Pacific
The campaign classification established by the
In
California units remained in New Mexico Territory and west Texas as garrisons defending the area from a return of the Confederacy and fighting the Navajo and the Apache Wars until after the Civil War when they were relieved by Federal Troops in 1866.
In 1862–1863, California Cavalry units from the Southern California District fought the
Throughout the Civil War, Oregon and California Volunteer patrols had several clashes with the
Other operations east of the
See also
- California in the American Civil War
- Oregon in the American Civil War
- Washington Territory in the American Civil War
- Utah Territory in the American Civil War
- Nevada in the American Civil War
- New Mexico Territory in the American Civil War
- Arizona Territory in the American Civil War
Notes
- ^ The Bear River Massacre was formally in Washington Territory, which was partitioned into the Idaho Territory subsequent to the battle. However, Col. Connor had the Bear River valley reassigned to his military District of Utah prior to his campaign to protect a settlement of Mormons there.[citation needed]
- ^ Asbury Harpending, The great diamond hoax: and other stirring incidents in the life of Asbury Harpending, San Francisco, James H. Barry Co., 1913.p.36
- ^ George Henry Tinkham, California men and events: time 1769-1890, 2nd, revised ed., Record Publishing Company, 1915. pp.194-195
- ^ J. M. Scammel, Military Units in Southern California, 1853-1862; California Historical Quarterly, Vol. XXIV, Chapter 3. II The Los Angeles Units, p.14
- ^ a b The California State Military Museum, Historic California Posts:Posts at San Bernardino
- ^ The War of the Rebellion SERIES I, Volume L, Chapter LXII - Operations on the Pacific Coast, Part I, pp.16,27,28,429,450,466,512,515,567,569,585,594,595,601-602,606,607,612,614-615,617,660-661,663,669-670,687
- ^ California State Militia and National Guard Unit Histories, San Bernardino Rangers. This history was written in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in conjunction with the Office of the Adjutant General and the California State Library
- ^ The California State Military Museum, Historic California Posts: Camp Latham
- ^ Historic California Posts: Drum Barracks (Camp San Pedro, Camp Drum, Fort Drum, and Wilmington Depot)
- ^ Historic California Posts: Fort MacArthur - Military Museum
- ^ The California State Military Museum, Historic California Posts: Camp Carleton (Camp Banning, Camp Prentiss, New Camp Carleton)
- ^ The California State Military Museum, Historic California Posts: Camp Morris
- ^ The California State Military Museum, Historic California Posts: Camp Sumner
- ^ California Military Museum; The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866, The following article is taken from Aurora Hunt's book, The Army of the Pacific; Its operations in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, plains region, Mexico, etc. 1860-1866, under the chapter The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866. pp.305-310
- ^ John Boessenecker, Badge and Buckshot: Lawlessness in Old California, Univerciy of Oklahoma Press, 1997, pg. 135-136
- ^ Robin W. Winks, The Civil War Years: Canada and the United States, McGill-Queen's Press, 1999, pp. 162-163.
- ^ Clinton A. Snowden, History of Washington: The Rise and Progress of an American State, Volume Four, THE CENTURY HISTORY COMPANY, NEW YORK, 1909. Chapter LII. THE CIVIL WAR. pp. 111-112
- ^ Aurora Hunt, The Army of the Pacific; Its operations in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, plains region, Mexico, etc. 1860-1866, The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866, pp.314-315.
- ^ "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion." 31 volumes. United States Government Printing Office, 1914; reprinted, 1987, by the National Historical Society, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; citation includes series 1, volume 3, pp. 302-303, 352-368.
- ^ Marcello, Paul (2 March 2016). "Shenandoah, 1864-1865". Naval Heritage and History Command. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ U.S. National Park Service, The Civil War: Search for Battles
- ^ The California Military Museum; California and the Indian Wars, The Owens Valley Indian War, 1861-1865.