Fort Dalles Records, 1850-1885

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Summary

Title:
Fort Dalles records
Dates:
1850-1885
Creators:
United States. Army
Abstract:
Fort Dalles was established in 1850 as a supply depot for the United States Army on the Columbia River in Oregon. This collection consists of official papers of the activities of the United States Army in the Pacific Northwest, primarily in Oregon.
Extent:
22 Linear Feet (19 boxes, 11 volumes, 2 rolls)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Fort Dalles records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of 3,070 items from 1850 to 1885, which consists of Fort Dalles official records that document the activities of the U.S. Army in the Pacific Northwest, primarily in Oregon from 1850 to 1885. Other forts in Oregon and Washington are also represented. The collection contains official correspondence, orders, post returns, quartermaster reports, and two letter books largely for Fort Dalles, Oregon. Subject matter in the collection includes the operation of Forts Dalles, Simcoe, Vancouver, and Yamhill and also various Native American wars and campaigns, including the Yakima expeditions from 1855 and 1858, the Snake/Shoshone campaigns from 1855 to 1864, the Modoc War in 1873, the Nez Percé War, and the Bannock War in 1878. Significant persons represented in the collection include John T. Apperson, Edward R.S. Canby, Chief Joseph, George B. Currey, Oliver Otis Howard, Winfield Scott, and George Wright.

Biographical / historical:

Fort Dalles was established in 1850 as a supply depot for the United States Army on the Columbia River in Oregon. After the discovery of gold in 1855 at Fort Colville, Washington Territory, Americans began to arrive in greater numbers and friction with the Native Americans increased. During the Civil War the regular army was removed, and volunteer troops from California, Oregon, and Washington took over the task of protecting the frontier settlements. Although Fort Dalles was abandoned in 1866, Forts Simcoe, Vancouver, Yamhill, and other military camps (whose records appear in this collection) were important centers of military activity in the Pacific Northwest during the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from A.H. Blaker, March 1952.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington staff, circa 1960. In 2020, Gina C Giang created a finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Gina C Giang
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-08-30 09:17:04 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Fort Dalles records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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