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Under authority of the Act of March 3,
1855, the 9th Infantry was again organized (having been disbanded in
August, 1848). Lieutenant-Colonel George Wright, 4th Infantry, was
appointed colonel; Captain Silas Casey, 2d Infantry, lieutenant-colonel; and
Captains Edward J. Steptoe, 3d Artillery, and Robert S. Garnett, 1st
Cavalry, majors. The headquarters of the regiment were established at Fortress
Monroe, Va., March 26, 1855, and recruiting rendezvous were opened by officers of the regiment in Maine, Connecticut, New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and Tennessee. Companies A, F and
G. were organized in May. B. H and I in June, D and K in August, E in September,
and C in November, 1855. In the following month the regiment was ordered to the
Pacific Coast, via Panama, arriving in the latter part of January, 1856. The
headquarters and Companies A, B, C, E, F, G, I and K, took station at Fort
Vancouver, W. T., Lieutenant-Colonel Casey with Companies D and H going to Fort
Steilacoom, W. T., and thence in a few days into the field in active operations
against the Indians of that locality.
In March, 1856, Colonel Wright with Companies A, E, F and I left Fort
Vancouver on an expedition to Fort Walla Walla, W. T., then an abandoned Hudson
Bay Company’s post. After leaving Fort Dalles, Oregon, on the with,
information was received of an attack by Indians on the settlers at the
Cascades, and the command returned to that point by forced march and dispersed
the Indians, the ringleaders being made prisoners. The command remained at the
Cascades until the latter part of the following month, when the colonel with
companies A and C left on an expedition to the Yakima River, being joined in May
by Companies B, F, G, I and K. This expedition remained in the field until
August and brought about the surrender of five hundred hostile Indians on the
Weuache River in the latter part of July. Companies D and H remained in the
field nearly all of the year and had several engagements with Indians.
From the close of field operations in 1856 until the spring of 1858, the
regiment was principally engaged in building posts and making roads. In August,
1857, Company F was detailed as escort to the Northern Boundary Commission and
remained in the field on that duty nearly three years. In May, 1858, Company E
formed part of a force of one hundred and fifty-nine men sent to make a
reconnaissance of the country to the north of Fort Walla Walla. On May 17th
the command was attacked by over one thousand Indians and after fighting till
dark and nearly exhausting their ammunition was compelled to retire. A forced
march was begun that night and a distance of seventy-five miles covered by ten
o’clock the following morning without the loss of a man or horse.
In August, 1858, an expedition was organized under command of Colonel Wright
to proceed against the Spokane Indians and their allies. Companies B and C
formed port of this expedition, and after two engagements at Four Lakes and on
Spokane Plains, W. T., it was successful in bringing about a lasting peace with
the Indians of that section.
Companies C, G and I were in the field in August and September of this year
with an expedition under Major Garnett, against Indians to the north of Fort
Lincoln, Oregon.
In October, 1860, Company B, with a detachment of Company E, under command of
Captain T. F. Dent, left Fort Walla Walla, W. T., to the rescue of emigrants who
had escaped from the massacre of September 9th and 10th,
1860, on Snake River.
In May, 1861, two officers and one hundred men of the regiment were detailed
as escort to the Fort Benton wagon road expedition, and remained absent on this
duty nearly fifteen months.
In the autumn of 1861, after nearly six years of
arduous service in Oregon and Washington Territories, the regiment, with the
exception of Companies A and C, was ordered to San Francisco, Cal., preliminary
to its transfer to the East. The latter order was, however, revoked, and but one
company, E, left the Pacific Coast. In January, 1862, the enlisted men of this
company, with the exception of the non-commissioned officers, were transferred
to the 4th Infantry. The regiment remained on duty at the posts near
San Francisco, and performed provost guard duty in that city until late in 1865,
when it was distributed to posts in California and Nevada. On the 30th
of July, 1865, the regiment lost its colonel, George
Wright,—Brigadier-General, U. S. V., and Brevet Brigadier-General, U. S.
A.,—who was drowned at sea by the wreck of the steamer Brother Jonathan,
while en route to assume command of the Department of the Columbia. General
Wright’s service had been long and varied. He graduated at the Military
Academy in 1822, and had served with distinction in many parts of the country.
He had received the brevet of major for meritorious conduct in the Florida War
and the brevets of lieutenant colonel and colonel for gallant conduct in battle
in the Mexican War. In 1858, in Washington Territory, he subdued the Indians and
brought about a peace that it is believed has never been broken. Not the least
valuable of his services was rendered on the Pacific Coast during the War of the
Rebellion, where by his conduct of affairs he was largely instrumental in
preserving California to the Union. The regimental orders, announcing his death,
after reciting his military record, continue as follows: “ Placed in command
of the immense Department of the Pacific shortly after the outbreak of the
recent rebellion, he, by his wisdom, so managed the great interests under his
control that the burden of the war was scarcely felt within its borders. Deaf
alike to the goadings of rebellious spirits and the frenzied appeals of timid
loyalists he pursued his course with firmness and moderation to the glorious
result. Without bloodshed he accomplished the work of the statesman and soldier,
protected the honor of his country’s flag and preserved the peace.
END.
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