Indian Wars:  Fort Klamath

14th Infantry Frontier Posts & Assignments

Fort Klamath, Oregon

14th Infantry in front of Post Barracks - Nat. Archives photo

From Wikipedia:  Fort Klamath was a military outpost near the western end of the Oregon Trail, between Crater Lake National Park and Upper Klamath Lake in Klamath County, Oregon.  Fort Klamath was established in 1863, and was an important Army post during conflicts with the Klamath, Modoc, and Northern Paiute tribes.  The fort consisted of more than 50 buildings, including a sawmill.  Four Modoc men, led by Kintpuash, were executed there in 1873 for the killing of General Edward Canby.  Their graves remain at the fort, and the site is now on the U.S. National Registry of Historic Places.

By 1886, Ft. Klamath remained the only active federal army post in the interior of Oregon, an area of growing white settlement and continued uneasy relationships with native Indians.  Yet the post had moved into its twilight as the garrison had been reduced to a single company of the 14th Infantry.  The troops spent their time maintaining the garrison, doing manual labor, and assisting army engineers in a survey of Crater Lake.  Meanwhile, the army brass were not pleased with the strictly political decision to retain Ft. Klamath as an active post.  It was the opinion of both Captain Carpenter, commanding the post, and Brigadier General John Gibbon, commanding the Department of Columbia, that there was no real danger to the settlers and that the post should be abandoned.  At last, the Secretary of War concurred.

On August 9, 1889, Company I, 14th Infantry lowered the garrison flag for the last time and marched off to Vancouver Barracks.  A detachment, comprised of Lt. Wm. McCammon, three sergeants, and six privates, remained behind as the Interior Department had not yet assigned a caretaker.  The final chapter of Ft. Klamath was to be somewhat dramatic.  The winter of 1889-90 was the hardest experienced by both the troops and the settlers.  By February, 1890 over 20 feet of snow had fallen and the small detachment was kept busy trying to save the buildings from collapsing under the crushing weight of the heavy winter snow.  A number of buildings were destroyed despite the praiseworthy efforts of the men.  Finally, on June 23, 1890, Lt. McCammon and his men left Ft. Klamath to the care of custodian John Loosley and proceeded to Vancouver Barracks to join their comrades.  Fort Klamath was officially abandoned.

 

 

Our Special Thanks to Scott Oerding, Coordinator, Northwest Historical Military Society

Acknowledgements:
Indian Wars:  Fort Klamath
Copyright © 2012  14th Infantry Regiment Association
Last modified: November 01, 2012