Oregon in the Civil War

Oregon

Oregon, Military Records

Oregon in the Civil War

Fort Yamhill (in use 1856-1866), Polk County, Oregon

Introduction

When the war began, regular Army troops in Oregon were sent East, so volunteer cavalry and infantry were raised in California and went to Oregon to replace them. Oregon later furnished two Union regiments: the 1st Oregon Cavalry (1862 to November 1866) and the 1st Oregon Infantry (1864 to July 1867) as well as Olney's Detachment, Oregon Cavalry (Union). The regiments guarded Indian reservations and migration trails, including wagon trains, and protected settlers from Indian raiders. Several infantry units guarded survey parties and built roads in central and southern Oregon.

The Wikipedia article, Oregon in the American Civil War, has additional information about Oregon and its citizens during the Civil War.

Oregon Military Units

• 1st Regiment, Oregon Cavalry (Union)
  Organized at large in Oregon February to April, 1862.
  Regiment mustered out November 20, 1866.
  

• 1st Regiment, Oregon Infantry (Union)
  Organized at large November 11, 1864, to January 2, 1865.
  Mustered out July 19, 1867.
  

• Olney's Detachment, Oregon Cavalry (Union)
  "Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" by Frederick H. Dyer contains no history for this unit.
  

Roster

A published roster that provides each volunteer's name, rank, dates of service, place of enlistment, place of birth, age, occupation, and company is M.A. Pekar and Edna Mingus, comps., Soldiers Who Served in the Oregon Volunteers, Civil War Period, Infantry and Cavalry (Portland, Oregon: Genealogical Forum of Portland Oregon, 1961; FS Library book 979.5 A1 No. 16 also 979.5 M2p; film 928088 item 8; fiche 6051234).

Honor Roll

A published list of deaths reported to the Oregon department of the Grand Army of the Republic is Jane Myers, Honor Roll of Oregon Grand Army of the Republic, 1881-1935 (Cottage Grove, Oregon: Cottage Grove Genealogical Society, 1980; FS Library book 979.5 A1 No. 53).

Service Records

The FamilySearch Library has an index to service records of Union Army soldiers (FS Library film 821947) and a nationwide index to pension records.

Compiled Service Records - The Compiled Service Records ($) (Fold3.com) of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Oregon are available online. In the future, these records will be made available at no charge through the National Archives web site. The service records are also available at no charge at National Archives research rooms. The compiled service records consist of an envelope containing card abstracts taken from muster rolls, returns, pay vouchers, and other records. Service records may provide rank, unit, date of enlistment, length of service, age, place of birth, and date of death. For more information see Union Service Records.

• 1861-1865 Oregon, Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1861-1865 at FamilySearch — index

Pension Records

Civil War Pension Index Cards - An Index to Pension Applications of veterans who served in the US Army between 1861-1917 is available on FamilySearch. Each card gives the soldier’s name, application and certificate numbers, state of enlistment, and might include rank and death information. The majority of the records are of Civil War veterans, but the collection also includes records for veterans of the Spanish-American War, the Philippine Insurrection, the Indian Wars, and World War I. For more information see Union Pension Records.

The actual pension records are currently available only at the National Archives.

1890 Census Veterans Schedules

The "Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War" (NARA M123) are available online for the state of Oregon. The schedules list Union veterans and their widows living in Oregon in 1890. For more information on the 1890 Veterans Schedules see Union Census Records.

Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)

Grand Army of the Republic founded in 1866 - 1956, was the largest veteran’s organization in the country after the Civil War. It was a fraternal organization members were veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, Marines and Revenue Cutler Service who served in the American Civil War. The group supported voting rights for black veterans, and lobbied the U.S. Congress to establish veterans' pensions. In 1890 the membership was 490,000.

In 1888 there were 41 posts and 1,392 members in the state of Oregon

GAR Posts in the State of Oregon

• FamilySearch Historical Records Oregon, Grand Army of the Republic Membership Records, 1870-1930

• Oregon Historical Society. Grand Army of the Republic descriptive books and index, 1870-1930
• Roster of Posts Department of Oregon, Grand Army of the Republic, 1886 FamilySearch Digital Library
• Jane Myers, comp. Honor roll of Oregon Grand Army of the Republic, 1881-1935 : deaths reported in Oregon of members of the GAR, extracted from proceedings of the annual encampments of the Department of Oregon, Grand Army of the Republic. Cottage Grove, Oregon : Cottage Grove Genealogical Society, c1980. FamilySearch Digital Library; FS Library 979.5 M2m

• See also: Spencer Leonard, Civil War veterans who were residents of OregonFS Library 4 DGS

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

With the death of the last member of the Grand Army of the Republic the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War was formed.

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National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.