This Week Then: Washington Territory and the Civil War

Marching Forth

On April 12, 1861, Washington Territory’s former governor, Isaac Stevens, returned to the Pacific Northwest to campaign for reelection to a third term as the territory’s delegate to the U. S. Congress. On that same day, the Civil War began with the Confederate shelling of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. News of that event didn’t arrive here until more than a week later, and in early May acting Governor Henry McGill called on citizens to form civilian militias in case they were needed.

When Stevens’s reelection hopes were dashed by the procedural maneuvers of his political opponents, the West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican-American War offered his services to the secretary of war and joined the Union forces. In August he accepted a commission as colonel in the U.S. Army, and was soon promoted by President Lincoln to brigadier general. An indeterminate number of the territory’s men also left to join the fight, and while most enlisted in the Union Army, some chose to side with the enemy.

In 1862 Isaac Stevens was killed during the Battle of Chantilly in Virginia. The Civil War continued on for three more years, and although Washington Territory was far from the battlefields, it was deeply affected by the outcome. The fighting ended on April 9, 1865, and Washingtonians celebrated when they heard the news two days later. Less than a week after that, the celebration turned to mourning when news of Lincoln’s assassination arrived by telegraph. The message also stated that Secretary of State William H. Seward had been stabbed at his home (which was true) and had died from his wounds (which was not).

Heading North

Seward lived on, and would become best remembered for advocating the purchase of Alaska from Russia, which the U. S. Senate ratified on April 9, 1867. Thirty years later this had a significant impact on Washington’s growth when the discovery of gold in 1895 and the ensuing Klondike Gold Rush transformed Seattle into the “Gateway to the North.” Seattle prospered, and the grateful city dedicated a statue of Seward at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, and later named a park after him.

Lincoln, meanwhile, was honored with an entire county. In 1883 the Washington Territorial Legislature carved off a portion of Spokane County—which was then very large—to create Lincoln County. Douglas County, which contained the future Grant County, was split off from Lincoln County less than a month later. In 1896 Davenport was chosen as Lincoln County’s seat, and today the county is one of the largest wheat producers in the United States.

Plus: Today is Tomorrow’s History

This current battle with the coronavirus is one of the most significant events in our history. Our region is joined with the world in the effort to stop its spread and save the lives of those affected. The impacts are many—only this week we learned that schools across our state will be doing distance learning for the remainder of the school year. HistoryLink will be documenting the impact of this pandemic in several ways. This week we will begin to archive images from around the state. If you would like to join us in this effort, follow HistoryLink on Instagram beginning Saturday, April 11.

We cannot wait for this to be history! We intend to capture and preserve these historic events now, in real time, so future generations can come to HistoryLink to learn what happened.