Through The Trees #1

by Mitch Shindelbower

Title

Through The Trees #1

Artist

Mitch Shindelbower

Medium

Photograph

Description

Through The Trees..With the discovery of gold in the Trinity River in Trinity County in May 1849, the stage was set for conflict between the Native Americans who lived in northwestern California and the settlers and gold seekers that flooded into the region. After repeated depredations by white settlers, Northern California tribes such as the Yurok, Karuk, Wiyot, and Hupa retaliated and the Army was sent to attempt to restore order.[1]

Fort Humboldt was established on January 30, 1853, by the Army as a buffer between Native Americans, gold-seekers and settlers under the command of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Buchanan of the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment.[1] Like Buchanan, many of the soldiers of this unit were veterans of the Mexican–American War.[1] Starting about 1853, Seth Kinman was hired as a market hunter to supply elk meat to the fort.[2] Fort Humboldt was sited on a strategic location on the bluff overlooking Humboldt Bay and Bucksport, a town named after David Buck, a member of the Josiah Gregg exploration party.[3]

In addition to serving to protect the local inhabitants, it was also a supply depot for posts around the California and Oregon borders such as Fort Gaston in Hoopa and Fort Bragg in northern Mendocino County.[1]

At its peak, the fort had 14 buildings all of crude plank construction. The fort was laid out in a typical military design with a quad at the center of the post which served as its parade grounds. Along with the two buildings that served as barracks for the enlisted men, there were quarters for the officers, an office, a hospital, a bakery, a storehouse/commissary, a guardhouse, a blacksmith's shop, and a stable.[1]

The period between the fort's establishment and the beginning of the Civil War was marked by many skirmishes between the settlers and the local tribes. One of the first major conflicts was the so-called Red Cap War, fought in the area around present-day Weitchpec and Orleans. Soldiers from Fort Humboldt were called into action to bring calm back to the area during this conflict. The leaders and soldiers of the fort were often criticized by settlers who sought a more violent response to Indian attacks.[1]

The infamous Indian Island Massacre of the Wiyot people occurred at the end of this period on 25 February 1860. The fort's commander at this time, Major Gabriel J. Rains, reported to his commanding officer that "Captain Wright's Company [of vigilantes] held a meeting at Eel River and resolved to kill every peaceable Indian - man, woman, and child."[4] The vigilantes were also known as the "Humboldt Volunteers, Second Brigade," reported to have organized at Hydesville and the town called "Eel River" in 1860 is now named Rohnerville.[5]

The 1860 U.S. census provides a snapshot of life on the fort. Among its residents that year were Major Rains, his wife Mary, and their six children (including 2 daughters age 19 and 16). Also living at the fort were Captain Charles Lovell, his wife Margeret, and their four children; Lieutenant Alex Johnson, his wife Elizabeth, and their four children; Lieutenant James Dodwell, his wife Johanna, and their two children; and Lieutenant Edward Johnson, his wife Christiana, and their two children. The fort's physician Lafayette Guild and his wife Martha occupied the Surgeon's Quarters. In the barracks were 47 soldiers, all apparently living without their spouses.

Among the many well-known soldiers who served at the fort was a young captain, Ulysses S. Grant, who was there for five months in 1854. Charles S. Lovell was promoted to major and commanded a brigade during the Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. Robert C. Buchanan became a general during the Civil War. Other famous Civil War generals, George Crook[6] and Lewis C. Hunt, served here during this period. Gabriel J. Rains would become a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. Dr. Lafayette Guild would go on to serve directly under General Robert E. Lee as the Medical Director for the Army of Northern Virginia for all its major campaigns.

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December 30th, 2021

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