The 7th California Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

regiment in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. It spent its entire term of service in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

, attached to the

Department of the Pacific The Department of the Pacific or Pacific Department was a major command ( Department) of the United States Army from 1853 to 1858. It replaced the Pacific Division, and was itself replaced by the Department of California and the Department of O ...

, serving in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

. They were unofficially known as the "Gold Diggers" in reference to the large number of recruits from the California's "Mother Lode" region. Later, they were also called the "Hungry Seventh" for the privations they suffered in Arizona, particularly at

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defense site a ...

. They saw combat at the Battle of Chiricahua Mountains, and at Skull Valley.History of the Little York Union Guard, California Militia/National Guard of California 1863-1867
by Works Progress Administration (WPA) California National Guard, and California State Library The Regiment included many veterans of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

Regimental Flag

While the regiment was being organized and trained at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

Jonathan D. Stevenson Jonathan Drake Stevenson (1800–1894) was born in New York; won a seat in the New York State Assembly; was the commanding officer of the First Regiment of New York Volunteers during the Mexican–American War in California; entered California mi ...

presented them with the regimental flag of the unit he commanded in the Mexican–American War: the 7th New York Volunteers. The regiment continued to carry this flag throughout its service, and it flew over Fort Mason during their time there. The flag was reported to have flown over

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Lewis' headquarters when Sonoran Governor Pequeira asked for refuge from pro-Imperialist forces. After the regiment disbanded some of members carried the flag in the 4th of July parade. In 1880 the flag was kept in the Pioneers Hall in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and was displayed on special occasions. It was described as: "''...yellow flag and has a brown

grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

in its center.''"

Image Gallery

File:Soldiers from 7th California Infantry Regiment.jpg, Unknown Private from Company C File:Richardson, Co D, 7th California Infantry Regiment.jpg, Private Richardson of Company D File:Stephan H. Cunningham 7th California Infantry Regiment.jpg, Private Stephan H. Cunningham of Company H

Company assignments

*Company A was organized at

and commanded by Captain James P. Olmstead until his death from brain congestion at

Fort Yuma Fort Yuma was a fort in California located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was established in 1848. It served as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861. The fort was retired from ...

in August, 1865 when command was assumed by Captain James W. Bye. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Fort Yuma in March, 1865, and finally Fort McDowell, Arizona Territory in September, 1865. *Company B was organized at Marysville and commanded by Captain Alexander Gibson. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

in May, 1865. *Company C was organized at

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

and commanded by Captain Walter S. Cooledge. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to

Fort Mojave Fort Mohave was originally named Camp Colorado when it was established on April 19, 1859 by Lieutenant Colonel William Hoffman during the Mohave War. It was located on the east bank of the Colorado River, at Beale's Crossing, near the head of ...

in March, 1865. *Company D was organized at Dutch Flat and commanded by Captain M.H. Calderwood. They were assigned to the

in January, 1865, then to Tubac, Arizona Territory in April, 1865, and

Fort Mason, Arizona Territory Following the Gadsden Purchase, the United States Army sent Major Enoch Steen and four companies of the 1st U. S. Dragoons (now the 1st U. S. Cavalry) to occupy the former site of the Mexican Presidio de Calabasas. Major Steen arrived on Novemb ...

the following September. *Company E was organized at

and commanded by Captain Hiram A. Messenger. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Tubac, Arizona Territory in April, 1865, and

the following September. *Company F was organized at

and commanded by Captain John W. Owen. They were assigned to the

in December, 1864, then to

in June, 1865, then to Fort McDowell, Arizona Territory and Maricopa Wells in September, 1865. *Company G was organized at Placerville and commanded by Captain Thomas J. Heninger. They were assigned to the

in October, 1864, then to Tubac, Arizona Territory in May, 1865, and

the following September. *Company H was organized at Bear Valley and commanded by Captain

James W. Smith James W. Smith may refer to: * James W. Smith (horse trainer) (1908–1969), American horse trainer * Jimmy Snuka (James Wiley Smith, 1943–2017), Fijian wrestler * James Webber Smith (1778–1853), British Royal Artillery officer * James Webste ...

. They were assigned to the

in January, 1865, then to

the following May. *Company I was organized at

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

and commanded by Captain George D. Kendall. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to Fort Whipple, Arizona Territory the following May. On July 21, 1865 Private John Whittig was killed by Native Americans in Skull Valley. *Company K was organized at

and commanded by Captain James H. Shepard until his resignation in January, 1866. They were assigned to the

in November, 1864, then to

in March, 1865 then to Fort McDowell, Arizona Territory the following May.Orton, Richard H.
Records of California Men In The War of the Rebellion 1861 to 1867
', California Adjutant-General's Office, 1890 Pgs. 763-795

Service at Tubac and Fort Mason

In the Spring of 1865, the Regimental Headquarters and Companies D, E, and G were assigned to Tubac, Arizona Territory. Though they were there primarily to operate against the

Apaches The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

, they were also assigned the job of reinforcing the International Line against potential incursions by the forces of the

Mexican Empire Mexican Empire may refer to: * First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy af ...

and its

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

allies. As part of the ongoing war of the

French Intervention This is a list of wars involving modern France from the abolition of the French monarchy and the establishment of the French First Republic on 21 September 1792 until the current Fifth Republic. * For wars involving the Kingdom of France (987� ...

, Imperialist forces had made recent advances into the neighboring Mexican State of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, causing considerable alarm among officials in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In September, the garrison was moved south to

Calabazas Calabaza is the generic name in the Spanish language for any type of winter squash. Within an English-language context it specifically refers to the West Indian pumpkin, a winter squash typically grown in the West Indies, tropical America, and t ...

, a small settlement near the border where they established a post called Post at Calabasas, later renamed

. They were joined there by the

1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers The 1st Battalion of Native Cavalry, California Volunteers was a cavalry battalion in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Recruits were largely drawn from the Californio population (colloquially known as "Native Californians"), though i ...

. Shortly afterward, Sonora Governor

Ignacio Pesqueira Ignacio Pesqueira García (1820–1886) was a 19th-century Mexican general and politician. He was the Governor of Sonora over six times, with two of the six terms being an insurgent governor during the Second French intervention in Mexico. Chi ...

, who had fled northward after his army had been destroyed in a series of battles with the Imperialists, arrived at the post with a small party seeking refuge. Service at Fort Mason was generally considered miserable. Because of its somewhat swampy (by Arizona standards) location on the banks of the Santa Cruz River, the men suffered from an epidemic which at one point rendered over half of them too sick for duty and led to at least 25 deaths. The post suffered from supply problems as well. These conditions caused construction of permanent buildings at the post to slow to a halt, leaving the men to live in tents and temporary brush shelters during their service there and generally curtailing operations against the Apaches. Participation in one campaign against the Apaches, for instance, was aborted by a lack of adequate shoes. Despite this, the Seventh was, from time to time, able to put small expeditions into the field. On one such occasion, Captain Hiram A. Messenger led a scouting party of 15 men into the

Huachuca Mountains The Huachuca Mountains are part of the Sierra Vista Ranger District of the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona, approximately south-southeast of Tucson and southwest of the city of Sierra Vista. Included in this ...

in July, 1865. The detachment found itself surrounded and under attack by a reported 100 or 200 Apaches and escaped after a fortuitous rainstorm ended a fight that lasted over an hour and left two soldiers dead and one wounded.Hunt. Pgs. 143-144 The regiment was ordered back to The Presidio in March, 1866 and was mustered out during April and May.

References

{{reflist
The Civil War Archive, Union Regimental Index, California

The War of the Rebellion: Volume 35, Part 1 CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST FROM JULY 1, 1862, TO JUNE 30, 1865. By United States. War Dept, Robert Nicholson Scott, Henry Martyn WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1897

Records of California men in the war of the rebellion 1861 to 1867, By California. Adjutant General's Office, SACRAMENTO: State Office, J. D. Young, Supt. State Printing. 1890. pp.688-719
Units and formations of the Union army from California Military units and formations of the United States in the Indian Wars Military units and formations established in 1864 1864 establishments in California Military units and formations disestablished in 1866

Regimental Flag

Image Gallery

Company assignments

Service at Tubac and Fort Mason

See also

References