Letter from Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord to US Army Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, July 24, 1862
United States Army
Alvord advises, “… during the existence of the civil war there must necessarily be constant apprehension that at any moment we may be plunged into a [foreign] war. In that case this region is the most exposed and vulnerable, as it is the most remote of all our Territories.”
General Alvord, experienced with the military needs of the Pacific Northwest, urges the re-establishment of the Department of Oregon, an earlier Army organizational form that included Washington Territory and nearby parts of Oregon. His effort was unsuccessful.
In terms of communication, the telegraph would not reach Washington Territory until 1864.
Alvord, Benjamin, 1813-1884
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
Fort Vancouver, WT
Vol. L (Part 2). Series I. Serial 106. Chapter LXII.
letter
Letter from Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord to Washington Territorial Governor William Pickering, July 28, 1862
Migration
Alvord tells the governor, “I assure you that my long residence in this country leads me to take a deep interest in the welfare and prosperity of the Territory and in the defense of its frontier. I look with special concern to the incoming emigration, and the moment I arrived I turned my attention to taking steps for its protection.”
Although new to command of the District of Oregon, Alvord was not new to the territory’s military situation. He had served in the Northwest since the early 1850s. (Source: Cullum’s Register).
Governor Pickering’s letter congratulating General Alvord on his promotion to Brigadier General and assignment as commander of the Oregon District is included in this database. The orders mentioned have not been included.
Alvord, Benjamin, 1813-1884
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
Fort Vancouver, WT
letter
'When Rogues Attack'
Black race
Though this event did not take place in Washington Territory, Washington Democrat editor, Urban E. Hicks, placed the article in the column directly next to the news that Lincoln had been killed.
“That the whole idea of “freedmen” was a hideous joke – the President’s Emancipation Proclamation a sham”.
Unknown
Washington Democrat
Olympia, Washington Territory: Urban E. Hicks
Dr. Knox
article
"Bully" for Port Ludlow
United States Sanitary Commission
This 1862 article details local contributions to the Soldier's Relief Fund, subscribed from Jefferson County. Since the Washington Standard editor Murphy specifically names "Gen. Miller," this article likely refers to donations to the Sanitary Commission, headed in Washington Territory by William Winlock Miller.
Washington Territory donors were very generous in their contributions to this fund.
unknown
Washington Standard
Olympia, Washington Territory: John M. Murphy
microfilm
article
A234
"Conspiracy"
Elections
The Statesman editor suggests that the stories about the potential Order of American Knights insurrections in the western and northern states are meant to alarm and mislead voters into reelecting Abraham Lincoln.
Washington Statesman
Walla Walla W.T.: R.R. and S.G. Rees
article
"Independent" and "Neutral"
Newspapers
The Statesman editor declares his right and intention to be "independent upon all subjects and neutral upon none," and resists the efforts of some readers to slot him in a partisan [sic] slot.
Certainly more often than note, the editorial position of the Statesman is opposed to many wartime acts of the Lincoln administration in a position easily considered that of the Democratic Party.
Washington Statesman
Walla Walla W.T.: R.R. and S.G. Rees
article
"Nominal" Support
Politics and government
William McLane (Republican) and James Longmire (Democrat) ran against each other in the January 1868 Territorial Council election. William McLane won and went on to represent Thurston and Lewis County. The Daily Tribune ran a series of articles about the election, see #355 – Another Smart Copperhead Dodge, #354 – The Election, #231 – Soreheads, #230 – Promises, #229 – The Election of Councilman, #227 - "Nominal" Support, #225 - New Election.
The Daily Tribune
Olympia, Washington Territory: Chas. Prosch & Co.
482113
(Civil War Veteran) Pioneer William Walter Dies
Pro-Union sympathies
1908 obituary of William Walter, Mason County resident, who left his Washington Territory cabin behind to enlist in the U.S. Army and fight in the Civil War. He is said by family tradition (repeated by Archie Binns) to have nailed a sign to his cabin door in 1861, indicating that he was on his way to Indiana to enlist in the Union Army and would return to Washington Territory when "the Union was saved."
Unknown
Mason County Journal
Mason County, WA
microfilm
newspaper
[Justus] Steinberger Reinstated
United States Army
The Statesman editor suggests here that Col. Justus Steinberger, a Democrat, was removed from command of Fort Walla Walla by the schemes of the Union League. The editor has steadfastly maintained that Steinberger was not disloyal.
Washington Statesman
Walla Walla W.T.: R.R. and S.G. Rees
article
[Puget Sound] Herald Falsehoods
Elections
Specifically, Reed states that the Herald's charge that Garfielde withheld fees he collected is untrue. Lkewise, the claim that he has never established a residence in Washington Territory is false; he and his family reside in a house in Port Townsend. Editor Reed accuses the Republicans of paying a man to make these false charges.
Editor Reed grumbles that "it is humiliating to be compelled to notice such vile, ribald, disgusting and libelous attacks."
Selucius Garfielde was the Democratic candidate for Delegate to Congress from Washington Territory.
Reed, T.M.
The Union Flag
Vancouver, Washington Territory
article