A FRONTIER APART: IDENTITY, LOYALTY, AND THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR ON THE PACIFIC COAST By BRYAN ANTHONY CARTER Bachelor of Arts in History Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA 2005 Master of Arts in History Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA 2010 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY July, 2014 A FRONTIER APART: IDENTITY, LOYALTY, AND THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR ON THE PACIFIC COAST Dissertation Approved: Dr. James L. Huston Dissertation Adviser Dr. L. G. Moses Dr. Joseph Byrnes Dr. Stephen Perkins ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the many inspirations and supporters in my research over the past few years. The wonderful professors at Eastern Washington University and my thesis committee with Dr. J. William T. Youngs and Dr. Larry Cebula who helped inspire my interest in history and encouraged me to pursue my doctorate. Dr. Cebula with his practical advice and continuing support of my professional pursuits. The faculty and staff at Oklahoma State University who backed my research through many discussions, colloquiums, and considerable financial backing via scholarships, fellowships, and assistantships. I especially wish to thank Dr. Richard Rohrs, Dr. Amy Carriero, Dr. Michael Logan, Dr. Michael Smith, Dr. Ronald Petrin, Dr. Brian Frehner, and Dr. Bill Bryans for their participation and support through classwork, advice, and direction. I would like to recognize Dr. Ron McCoy who was a tremendous personal inspiration and offered considerable advice and encouragement during the early stages of my project. I also wish to thank my fantastic committee and their tireless efforts to help me temper, shape, expand, and polish my project. Dr. Joseph Byrnes and Dr. Stephen Perkins both provided excellent outside perspectives to my project. Dr. George Moses is a wonderful mentor, colleague, and friend, and our conversations and his advice were invaluable to me personally and professionally. Dr. James Huston is a model advisor, pushing me when it was needed, enlightening me to new ideas and approaches, and quick with constructive feedback. Drs. Huston and Moses are two historians I most admire, and I will continue to iii Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. aspire to their level of success and professionalism throughout my career. I want to especially thank Dr. Michael Conlin at Eastern Washington University for his continual feedback, assistance, and friendship throughout my graduate career in helping me develop and achieve my aspirations. Thank you to Daniel Lynch at University of California Los Angeles, Kevin Waite at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Stacey Smith at Oregon State University, and Dr. John Faragher at Yale for their feedback, contributions to our field, ideas, and participation in our panel at the Western Historical Association Conference in 2014. A special thank you to the wonderful librarians, archivists, and staff at the archival collections at the University of Washington, Washington State University, Washington State Archives, University of Oregon, Oregon State Archives, Oregon Historical Society, the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley, California Historical Society, and California State Archives. Their collections and assistance were invaluable in the creation of this dissertation. Thank you to my fellow graduate students at Oklahoma State University and Eastern Washington University, including Blaine Wickham, Drew Folk, Cody Edwards, Tracey Hanshew, Michelle McCargish, Matt Deepe, and Justin Prince who all contributed to aspects of my research. To those not mentioned, my eternal thanks for your friendship and support. Most importantly, to my parents Tony and Karen Carter who provided every means for my success. Their feedback, ideas, love, and support were essential for my success. iv Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. Name: BRYAN A. CARTER Date of Degree: JULY 2014 Title of Study: A FRONTIER APART: IDENTITY, LOYALTY, AND THE COMING OF THE CIVIL WAR ON THE PACIFIC COAST Major Field: AMERICAN HISTORY Abstract: The development of a Western identity, derivative and evolved from Northern, Midwestern, and Southern identities, played a significant role in determining the loyalty of the Pacific States on the eve of the Civil War. Western identity shared the same tenants as the other sections: property rights, republicanism, and economic and political autonomy. The experiences of the 1850s, though, separated Westerners from the North and the South, including their debates over slavery, black exclusion, and Indian policy. These experiences helped formulate the foundations of a Western identity, and when Southern identity challenged Western political autonomy by the mid-1850s, political violence and antiparty reactions through vigilantism and duels threw Western politics into chaos as the divided Democratic Party, split over the Lecompton Controversy, struggled to maintain control. With the election of 1860, Lincoln’s victory in California and Oregon were the result of this chaos, and Westerners remained loyal to the North due to economic ties and Southern challenges to Western political autonomy. On the eve of the Civil War, the West was secured through the efforts of Republicans, but the belief in economic freedom from a slave labor system and federal aid for Indian campaigns played a significant role in forming a Western identity determined to remain in the Union. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 II. ORIGINS OF WESTERN IDENTITY ...................................................................25 III. HOBBIES OF THE HOUSE .................................................................................86 IV. COMPETING IDENTITIES ...............................................................................142 V. CAMPAIGNS OF EXTERMINATION ...............................................................196 VI. POLITICAL VIOLENCE ....................................................................................265 VII. DIVIDED LOYALTIES ....................................................................................325 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................341 vi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1.1 Demographics of California, 1852-1860 ............................................................76 1.2 Origins of California Settlers by State, 1852-1860 .............................................77 1.3 Origins of Foreign California Settlers by Country, 1852-1860 ..........................78 1.4 Settlers in California from Slave States, 1852-1860 ...........................................79 1.5 Slave State Origins by Secession Grouping, California, 1852-1860 ..................80 1.6 Demographics of Oregon and Washington, 1852-1860 .....................................81 1.7 Origins of Oregon and Washington Settlers by State, 1852-1860 ......................82 1.8 Origins of Foreign Oregon and Washington Settlers by Country, 1852-1860 ...83 1.9 Settlers in Oregon and Washington from Slave States, 1852-1860 ....................84 1.10 Secession Grouping, Oregon and Washington, 1852-1860 ..............................85 vii Map of Oregon Counties, 2014 viii Courtesy United States Census, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/maps/oregon_map.html viii Map of California Senate and Assembly Districts, 1857 Courtesy of JoinCalifornia.com, http://www.joincalifornia.com/media/1857SD.jpg ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION General Edwin “Bull Head” Sumner was at the right place at the right time. Aboard the Orizaba bound for Panama, a steamer just over a week out of San Francisco, he and five hundred troops were recalled from California to the East to support the Union war effort. “[A]mid the dazzle and display of the military, the roar of the saluting guns, the strains of martial music, and the cheers of the soldiers and spectators,” noted the Sacramento Daily Union on October 21, 1861, former California Senator Dr. William Gwin, accompanied by Calhoun Benham, former United States attorney for the California district, and J. L. Brent of Los Angeles, also boarded the Orizaba bound for Panama. Their journey had a different goal. S. H. Parker, the postmaster in San Francisco, wrote to Secretary of State William Seward the next day informing him that “William M. Gwin, former U.S. Senator, and Calhoun Benham, formerly U.S. district attorney for this district, both rank traitors, left this city for New York by way of Panama yesterday. They will arrive in New York on or about the 10th or 12th of November. Their destination is South.” Allegedly they were to make their way into Confederate territory, even possibly on to Havana for a mission similar to James Mason and John Slidell in Europe. The three California men aboard the Orizaba, reputed throughout the state for 1 their secessionist sympathies and pro-Southern views, were traveling discretely, attempting to navigate to the Confederacy unnoticed to avoid a similar fate as their colleagues.1 Sumner learned of their presence onboard the Orizaba from her crew. Two or three days from Panama, Sumner discovered Gwin was accompanied by Brent, a man “known by General Sumner