Camp Connor was a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

outpost established May 23, 1863 by Captain David Black,

3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry The 3rd Regiment California Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. This regiment was organized at Stockton and at Benicia Barracks, from October 31 to December 31, 1861, to serve three years ...

, by order of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...

Patrick Edward Connor Patrick Edward Connor (March 17, 1820Rodgers, 1938, p. 1 – December 17, 1891) was an American soldier who served as a Union general during the American Civil War. He is most notorious for his massacres against Native Americans during th ...

commander of the

District of Utah During the American Civil War in the early 1860s, the District of Utah was a subordinate district of the U.S. Army's Department of the Pacific. The district was composed of territorial areas that later became parts of the modern U.S. states of Id ...

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 Ore ...

for whom the post was named. Camp Conner was located east of what is now

Soda Springs, Idaho Soda Springs is a city in Caribou County, Idaho, United States. Its population was 3,058 at the time of the 2010 census. The city has been the county seat of Caribou County since the county was organized in 1919. In the 1860s, Soda Springs serve ...

on the north bank of the Bear River. General Connor established the camp to defend the overland route to

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

and the

Morrisite The Church of the Firstborn was a sect of the Latter Day Saint movement that formed as an offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1861 and was involved in the Morrisite War. Its adherents were known as Morrisites, and schismat ...

settlement of Soda Springs he was establishing there. He intended the Morrisites would prevent the Mormons from expanding their settlements into this area and restrain the

Bannock Indians The Bannock tribe were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Indigenous people of the Great Basin, Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands inclu ...

. General Connor ordered the post abandoned on February 24, 1865, with the troops leaving in late April.

References

{{coord missing, Idaho Forts in Idaho Idaho in the American Civil War Connor Buildings and structures in Caribou County, Idaho American Civil War forts 1863 establishments in Idaho Territory