| Many of
the key American players in the Pig War incident, on and off island, went
on serve in the American Civil War in both Confederate and Union ranks.
For some, the war brought fame, promotion and long careers. For others,
it brought death, destruction, lasting heartache...and legend. Throughout
the war, American Camp remained an active U.S. Army installation, manned
entirely by regular Army soldiers who rotated between Northwest Washington
and the battlefields of the East. The enlisted soldiers probably
counted their blessings to be away from the fray, while the officers chafed
for glory and the promotions that were certain to follow. Here are
a few of the more prominent participants:
George
E. Pickett
George
Pickett
|
Born January
28, 1825. Commander of Camp Pickett from July 27, 1859 to August
10, 1859; April 28, 1860 to July 25, 1861. A native Virginian, West
Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, Pickett left San Juan Island with
Company D for Fort Steilacoom on July 25. There he relinquished his
command and went on extended leave while awaiting his Army resignation
to go through. He joined the Confederate Army in September 1861.
Promoted to brigadier general in January 1862, he served in the SEVEN
DAYS campaign and was seriously wounded at GAINES
MILL. |
Promoted to
major general in October 1862, he achieved lasting fame on July 3, 1863,
leading his division in a fatal charge against the federal center at the
Battle of GETTYSBURG.
He fought admirably at NEW BERN and PETERSBURG,
but lost almost his entire command at FIVE
FORKS in April 1865, which led directly to the Southern surrender at
Appomattox. Some questionable executions of captured enemy soldiers
after New Bern forced Pickett to flee the country to avoid indictment for
war crimes. The charges were dropped on the intercession of U.S.
Grant, an old army comrade. He sold insurance in Richmond until his
death in Norfolk on July 30, 1875.
William
S. Harney
W.S.
Harney
|
Born August
27, 1800 in Haysboro, Tennessee. Department of Oregon commander from
September 1858 to April 1860. Commissioned a second lieutenant
in 1818, Harney served in several Indian campaigns and the Mexican War
before the San Juan incident. His Civil War career was marked by
frustration. Assigned as commander of the Department of Missouri,
Harney ran afoul of Washington when he granted Missouri military authorities
power to deal with state affairs. On May 30, 1861, he was removed
from his command and sat out the war until his retirement in 1863.
Before his ill-fated decision he also had the ignominy to be the first
general officer on either side to be captured by the enemy. Being
a |
Southerner
he was never really trusted by the North and was considered a traitor by
the South. He died May 9, 1889.
Silas
Casey
Born July
12, 1807 in East Greenwich, R.I. Deputy Commander of the 9th Infantry Regiment,
based in Steilacoom from January 1856 to August 1861; Camp Pickett commander
from August 10 to October 18, 1859. He was promoted to brigadier
general shortly after arriving on the East Coast in 1861. His sole field
service during the war
was in the PENINSULA campaign, where his division was thrashed at SEVEN
PINES on May 31, 1862, ironically enough facing George Pickett’s brigade.
He was still promoted to major general, given a desk and from it wrote
his three volume System of Infantry Tactics, used by both sides
during the war. After the war, he remained in the army as a colonel.
He died in 1882. |
Silas
Casey
|
Alfred
Pleasonton
| Born July
7, 1824 in the District of Columbia. As Acting Adjutant General for the
Department of Oregon, Pleasonton wrote almost all orders to Pickett and
Casey during the Pig War crisis. Shortly after being given command
of the newly organized Union cavalry corps, Pleasonton on June 9, 1863
caught the Confederate cavalry by surprise at BRANDY
STATION. The two sides fought to a draw in the largest cavalry
battle ever fought in North America. Promoted to major general, Pleasonton
successfully directed his corps at GETTYSBURG
July 1-3, 1863. He was replaced as head of the corps by Philip Sheridan
in March 1864. Embittered, he resigned his regular army commission
in January 1868. He died Feb. 17, 1897. |
A.
Pleasonton |
James
W. Forsyth
James
Forsyth |
Born August
8, 1835 in Maumee, Ohio. Second, then first lieutenant of Company
D, 9th Infantry from December 1856 to July 1861. Forsyth was assigned
to Company D following graduation from West Point. During the war,
Forsyth served on the staffs of George B. McClellan and Philip H. Sheridan.
His staff skills and valor in battle spurred his rise through brevet ranks
culminating in promotion to brigadier general on May 19, 1865. Forsyth
earned a colonel’s brevet for his actions at FIVE
FORKS on April 1, 1865. In command of the Confederate forces
was his past superior officer and close friend, George E. Pickett.
Forsyth remained in the army following the war and commanded the troops
at the massacre at WOUNDED KNEE on December 29, 1890. He was still
promoted to major general before retiring. He died October 24, 1906. |
James
M. Alden
Born March
31, 1810, in Portland, Maine. Commander of the U.S. Survey
Ship Active, which served with the U.S. Boundary Commission (1857-60)
and as a messenger ship throughout the Pig War incident. Alden’s
nephew, James Madison Alden, painted the only known image of San
Juan Village while serving aboard his uncle’s ship as a junior officer.
The senior Alden was one of the U.S. Navy’s most stalwart captains
during the Civil War. As commander of the steam cruiser U.S.S. Brooklyn,
he led Admiral David Farragut’s cruisers into MOBILE
BAY. When Alden stopped under heavy fire to find and clear mines,
Farragut, aboard the U.S.S. Hartford, shouted, "Damn the torpedoes,
four bells (or full speed ahead)." Alden retired a rear admiral and
died in San Francisco Feb. 6, 1877. |
James
Alden |
Rufus
Ingalls
Rufus
Ingalls
|
Born August
23, 1818, in Denmark, Maine. Quartermaster General for the Department
of Oregon from 1858 to 1861. Pickett was Ingalls’ frequent guest
at Fort Vancouver and shipped supplies to San Juan during the Pig War crisis.
He became chief quartermaster of the Army of the Potomac in September 1861.
Promoted to brigadier general on July 6, 1864, Ingalls was assigned by
General Ulysses S. Grant to build the massive materiel center at CITY
POINT, Virginia, during the siege of PETERSBURG,
in which Pickett’s division also was directly involved. After the
war Ingalls interceded (with Grant) for Pickett when Pickett was indicted
for war crimes. When Grant was President, Pickett and Ingalls together
were frequent White House visitors. Pickett even named his favorite
dog "Rufus" after his friend. Ingalls retired from the army
in 1883. |
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