Camp Watson was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

camp in central

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

which operated from 1864 through 1869.

History

Camp Watson was established by Oregon Volunteers on July 10, 1864. The

1st Oregon Cavalry The First Regiment Oregon volunteer Cavalry was a volunteer regiment in United States service Union army that was formed in response to the American Civil War. With men recruited in Oregon and some recruited in surrounding states, the regiment p ...

built several log buildings, but no surrounding palisade. The location was chosen to protect the route of the Dalles-Boise Military Road and its travelers, notably gold miners, from attacks by "

Snake Indians Snake Indians is a collective name given to the Northern Paiute, Bannock (tribe), Bannock, and Shoshone Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe (Native American), tribes. The term was used as early as 1739 by French trader an ...

" during the

Snake War Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joints ...

. The camp was abandoned in 1869 following the end that war.

Naming

The camp was named for Second Lieutenant Stephen Watson, who was killed in battle with Snake Indians on May 18, 1864 at Luelling Springs, Oregon. His body was recovered the following day and buried temporarily at Camp Maury until a metal coffin was sent from

Fort Dalles Fort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present site of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans. Th ...

, at which point he was moved to

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading post that was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was located on the northern bank of the ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

where he now lies.

Today

Today the location of Camp Watson is in

Wheeler County, Oregon Wheeler County is a county in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,451, making it Oregon's least populous county. It is named in honor of , an early settler who owned a farm near Mitchell. The county seat is ...

near the unincorporated area of

Antone Antone is both a surname and a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: *Annie Antone (born 1955), American basket weaver *Bruce Antone (born 1960), American politician *Clifford Antone (1949–2006), American blues musi ...

, approximately twenty-three miles east-southeast of the town of

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

(all of which were founded after Camp Watson was abandoned).

References

Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War Oregon in the American Civil War Military installations in Oregon Closed installations of the United States Army Buildings and structures in Wheeler County, Oregon American Civil War army posts 1864 establishments in Oregon 1869 disestablishments in Oregon Snake War {{AmericanCivilWar-stub

History

Naming

Today

See also

References