Letter from Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord to US Army Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, July 24, 1862

Title

Letter from Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord to US Army Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, July 24, 1862

Subject

United States Army

Description

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.

Abstract

General Alvord cites earlier forms of Army organization on the Pacific Coast. He notes the advantages of a Department of Oregon, to operate in parallel with a Department of California. He believes this would allow more flexibility, particularly in the face of increasing Indian hostilities and the possibility of a foreign war. Communication between San Francisco and Fort Vancouver is slow, and too great for proper oversight.

Creator

Alvord, Benjamin, 1813-1884

Source

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies

Publisher

Fort Vancouver, WT

Date Issued

1862-07-24

Contributor

Vol. L (Part 2). Series I. Serial 106. Chapter LXII.

Medium

Digital file

Type

letter

Bibliographic Citation

Vol. L (Part 2). Series I. Serial 106. Chapter LXII.

Spatial Coverage

Washington Territory

Temporal Coverage

1850-1862

Provenance

eHistory. Ohio State University.

URL

http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/list.cfm

Start Page

37

End Page

38