Fort Vancouver National Historic Site Feature

"Every March between 1826 and 1854, the York Factory Express began its journey from the Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters on the Pacific Ocean. From Fort Vancouver, the express-men paddled their boats up the Columbia River to the base of the Rocky Mountains at Boat Encampment, a thousand miles to the east. At Jasper's House they were 3,000 feet above sea level. Their river route would return them to salt water once more, at York Factory, on the shores of Hudson Bay. It was an amazing climb and an amazing descent, and they would do another climb and descent on their journey home. The stories of the York Factory Express, and of the Saskatchewan Brigades they joined at Edmonton House, are told in the words of the Scottish traders and clerks who wrote the journals. However, the men who made the journey possible are the invisible, unnamed Canadiens, Orkney-men, Iroquois, and their Métis children and grand-children, who powered the boats across the continent every year. The voyageurs did all the heavy work and were almost entirely responsible for the success of the 5,400-mile journey. But their history was oral. If the traders had not preserved the stories the voyageurs told them, we would not know this history today."-- Provided by publisher

295 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

To explore the sweep of human history at Fort Vancouver is to grasp some of the essentials of the North American experience. The fort has been part of the major historical trends of the Pacific Northwest for over 150 years, from the effects of colonialism native peoples to the role of the U.S. Army. Native Americans, traders, homesteaders, and soldiers lived and worked at the fort, their lives interwoven and their stories imbedded in the objects they left behind. Exploring Fort Vancouver uses some of the most intriguing objects from the fort's extensive archaeological and archival collections to tell the history of technology, material culture, globalization, health and diet, and the National Park Service at this significant place.

xii, 116 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps ; 26 cm

The U.S. Army, obeying the command, arrived May 13, 1849, to establish a military presence north of the Columbia River. The Hudson's Bay Co. moved from the Bastion to Victoria on Vancouver Island and slowly sold or abandoned its holding below the 49th parallel. A new chapter began in American history that year, as the bugle call was heard up and down the Columbia River. The United States extended from "sea to shining sea" and the country began to develop fully its economic, social, and cultural identity. Ch. 1 speaks of the Ninth Regiment stationed at Fort Vancouver and the famous Shanghai drill that was performed daily. The Indian Frontier (1849-1860) is the title of the first chapter. Ch. 2 talks of Volunteers Take Over (1861-1866) because the Civil War was beginning, and an early effect of that war was the removal of most regular Army units. Trained soldiers were required in the East. Some officers resigned and joined the Confede rates. This era at the fort was called the volunteer era. They had to let go of men like Sheridan, Augur, an Ingalls, and a Grant. Ch. 3 is about Pacifying The Natives (1867-1882) and the worry for Indian Tribes in the area. The troops at Vancouver were called out to curb tribes in the surrounding area. By 1882 the last Indian war of the Pacific NW was fought, and transition was under way into a different era. Ch. 4 speaks of Marking Time (1883-1898) because during this time the life of the fort was a round of dinner parties, dances, and theatricals. Ch. 5 is all about preparing troops for overseas duty, hence, Troops For Overseas (1898-1906). They were going "to the front" - artillery troops were leaving for Cuba from Vancouver. And later for the Philippines. Ch. 6 is called, Heading to Armageddon (1907-1916). Germany was exercising an expanding role in Europe at this time. Initially there were no big concerns about building up armed forces. 7 yrs. later this all changed.

xii, 110 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, map ; 22 x 28 cm

Raymond W. Settle’s edited collection, The March of the mounted riflemen, chronicles the grueling 1849 military expedition across the vast plains, treacherous Rocky Mountain passes, and the rugged Columbia River Gorge along the full length of the Oregon Trail. Set against the formidable continental divide and the regiment's eventual terminus at Fort Vancouver, these primary journals detail how the cavalry operated as a tightly knit, mobile community tasked with protecting the massive influx of pioneer families migrating toward the Willamette Valley. By documenting the shared physical hardships of navigating arid deserts and swollen river crossings, the text reveals how these soldiers and the civilian wagon trains they escorted forged deep cooperative bonds essential for surviving the overland journey. Ultimately, this firsthand military record demonstrates how securing this immense geographic corridor paved the way for the enduring domestic settlements and deeply rooted agricultural communities that would soon define the Pacific Northwest.

The March Of The Mounted Riflemen, First published in 1940, is important as the only complete record of one of the longest marches ever made

378 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Katharine Berry Judson’s presentation of Dr. John McLoughlin's last letter to the Hudson's Bay Company, as chief factor, in charge at Fort Vancouver, 1845 provides a critical primary source documenting the geopolitical tipping point of the Pacific Northwest. Written from the administrative hub of Fort Vancouver—a massive fur-trade headquarters strategically mapped onto the ancient Columbia River trade corridors of the Chinookan peoples—McLoughlin’s correspondence details the inevitable collapse of the British fur monopoly in the face of mass American migration. The letter fiercely defends his controversial decision to extend vital credit, seeds, and supplies to waves of starving overland immigrants, emphasizing how these desperate homesteaders relied on unexpected interdependent alliances with the Hudson's Bay Company to survive the final, brutal stretch of the Oregon Trail. Ultimately, this foundational document captures the tense transition from a corporate resource-extraction frontier to an agricultural territory, highlighting how McLoughlin’s pragmatic humanitarianism and local community bonds inadvertently laid the civic infrastructure for American dominion over the region.

pages 104-134