At the dawn of the Civil War in 1861, Oregon was just a year into statehood and far removed from the conflict that would consume the eastern half of the nation for the next four years. The U.S. War Department withdrew much of its troops and most of its command from the far West for service in the East, deeming the area relatively safe for the short term. In their place, it established the First Oregon Volunteer Oregon Cavalry to protect citizens from Native Americans, search out pro-Confederate spies and sympathizers, and keep watch on a largely unexplored territory.
The correspondence and memoirs of the soldiers and officers who served in this unique command are collected in On Duty in the Pacific Northwest during the Civil War Correspondence and Reminiscences of the First Oregon Cavalry Regiment edited by James Robbins Jewell, offering a first-hand glimpse of the 1860s from their perspective.
Map Of Washington State & Oregon 1862
