From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Former United States Army Department
Military outposts in the Pacific Northwest
The Department of Oregon was one of two Army Departments created September 13, 1858, replacing the original
Department of the Pacific and was composed of the
Territories of Washington and
Oregon , except the Rogue River and Umpqua Districts, which were assigned to the
Department of California . Its creation was authorized by General Orders, No. 10, of the
United States Department of War , Adjutant-General's Office, September 13, 1858. Its headquarters was at
Fort Vancouver , in the
Washington Territory .
[1]
Commanders
Its first commander was
Brevet
Brigadier General
William S. Harney ,
U.S. Army , from 1858 to June 1860. Shortly after he took command he sent troops under Captain
George E. Pickett to
San Juan Island precipitating the
Pig War with
Great Britain . Due to these altercations with the British he was recalled in June 1860 by the
United States Secretary of War who reassigned Harney to the
Department of the West , replacing him with the victor of the Oregon Indian Wars, Colonel
George Wright , of the
U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment , from June 8, 1860.
The Department of Oregon was merged into the restored
Department of the Pacific on January 15, 1861, as the
District of Oregon administering the same territories, under Col. Wright.
[2]
Garrisons of the Departments of California and Oregon 1 January 1861
Posts in the Department of Oregon
Washington
Idaho
Oregon
See also
References
^
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series 1, Vol. 50, Part 1, OPERATIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST JANUARY 1, 1861 - JUNE 30, 1865 , Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1897. pp. 1, 37-38.
^ "The war of the rebellion, Series 1, Vol. 50, Part 1, OPERATIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST.", pp. 1.
^ A temporary Federal camp located on the
Portneuf River , near
Chubbuck, Idaho .
^ A two-story blockhouse built to protect the
Siletz Indian Agency . It was a subpost of Fort Hoskins. Originally called Yaquina Bay Blockhouse (1856 - 1858) located at the mouth of the
Yaquina River near South Beach. It was dismantled and floated upriver in 1858. Located at
Siletz, Oregon .
^ A temporary Army post near The Dalles on Three Mile Creek during the Wagon Road Expedition to
Salt Lake City, Utah .
^ A temporary Army post at the mouth of the
Owyhee River near
Owyhee, Oregon . Also called Camp Owyhee River.
^ A temporary Army encampment near
Riley, Oregon on Silver Creek about 30 miles northwest of
Harney Lake .
^ A temporary Federal camp just west of
Keno, Oregon that protected the
Klamath Road .