This weekend, the Homestead will offer Memorial Day in the Making—living history tours with costumed characters from the 1870s and 1920s addressing the holiday as well as the Civil War and World War I. To complement the weekend event, this blog entry focuses on a rare Civil War-era letter recently acquired by the Museum.
Sympathy for Confederates in the South ran high in Civil War-era Los Angeles. Support was such that a pro-slavery “Territory of Colorado” received overwhelming local approval in an 1859 referendum. Some residents were even arrested, confined to Alcatraz Island, and forced to take loyalty oaths. Because of these sentiments, federal troops were moved in 1863 from Fort Tejon (north of Los Angeles) to Camp Drum near the harbor in Wilmington. Their presence in Los Angeles was intended to keep southern sympathy in check.
While stationed at Camp Drum, Pvt. Charles S. Wright of Company B, 4th Regiment of California Volunteers, wrote to a friend in his hometown of Forest Hill, east of Sacramento. In a letter dated July 31, 1864, Wright mentioned nothing about the war or local issues. Instead, he devoted his writing to copper mining along the Colorado River near present-day Needles, California. Specifically, Wright looked forward to being released from service after three years and getting to a claim he had in the Irataba District. He invited the recipient to join him.
Portions of the letter read as follows (with transcriptions below):
Excerpt, letter from Charles S. Wright to Peter Beggett (?), July 31, 1864. From the Homestead Museum Collection.
Your communication of July 3rd has come to hand, and I have defered [sic] answering it until I went to the garrison and seen Oliver, for I am stationed in Los Angeles. […]
Excerpt, letter from Charles S. Wright to Peter Beggett (?), July 31, 1864. From the Homestead Museum Collection.
You state you wish me to let you know where I shall be after my discharge and in reply I will mention that Oliver and myself will be in San Francisco about the 20th of September next and from there will proceed to Fort Mojave for the purpose of opening our Copper Claims. […]
Excerpt, letter from Charles S. Wright to Peter Beggett (?), July 31, 1864. From the Homestead Museum Collection.
The claims in that section of country are all proving good and you see no one from there that does not intend going back.
Contrary to the letter, Wright was not discharged until October 4 and the copper mines proved lacking. The quality of the copper ore was too low to be commercially viable and most of the mines closed by 1866.
Meanwhile, with the conclusion of the Civil War in the spring of 1865, Wright’s regiment largely disbanded, having seen no action in the war. It was instead deployed to such places as Vancouver, Washington; The Dalles, Oregon; and, for most of the war, at Camp Drum (now the Drum Barracks historic site) in Wilmington.
To see the original letter and hear interesting presentations about the Memorial Day holiday, the Civil War, and World War I, visit the Homestead this Saturday and Sunday, May 28 and 29, at 1, 2, 3, and 4 p.m. for our Memorial Day in the Making living history tours! Reservations can be made now by calling (626) 968-8492.
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