California Militia and National Guard Unit Histories

Union Volunteers

 

Official or Other Titles: Union Volunteers, 2nd Brigade, 6th Division, California Militia

Location: Union, Klamath County (now Humboldt County)

Mustered in: January 22, 1855

Mustered out: March 23, 1855

Commanding Officers

 

F. M. Woodward, Captain
B. C. Williams, First Lieutenant

 

 

Unit papers on file at the California State Archives:

 

Organization Papers 1 document (1855)
b. Bonds none
c. Correspondence (Unclassified letters) none
d. Election Returns none
e. Exempt Certificates, Applications for none
f. Muster Rolls, Monthly returns none
g. Oaths Qualifications none
h. Orders none
i. Receipts, invoices none
j. Requisitions none
k. Resignations none
l. Target Practice Reports none
m. Other none
8. Miscellaneous:

 

Official History

 

Klamath County suffered greatly from Indian depredations, and many times the citizens were forced to band themselves into armed organizations for the protection of their families and homes. On January 13; 1855, the Klamath Indians murdered five men at Orleans Bar. In retaliation a group of men volunteered at Union, Klamath County, to punish the Indians for this outrage, the result being that a new military company was formed on January 22, 1855, composed of thirty-five men, under the title of Union Volunteers.. With. two friendly Indians by the name of Ecoosnawaga and Trinity Jim; who acted as guides, this company and 25 regulars under the command of Lieutenant H. W. Judah, United States Army, made up the expedition which was to subdue the Indians . An itemized account of the expenditures that were incurred on the expedition was kept, showing the exact number of days each man served, the number of days traveled, subsistence furnished by themselves, amount of pay and subsistence due, subsistence wages, and camping mileage, bringing the total cost of the expedition to $10,547.00. (1)

The Union Volunteers organized for the sole purpose of taking part in an expedition against the Indians, and after sixty days of service, it was felt by the authorities that the Indian depredations had been checked for the time being. The volunteer company was disbanded March 23, 1855.

 

Footnotes

 

(1) Muster Roll of the Union Volunteer March 23, 1855, on file, California State Archives

 

This history was compiled in 1940 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in conjunction with the California National Guard and the California STate Guard.

 

 

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Updated 8 February 2016