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Camp Castaway

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Camp Castaway was a winter military encampment and shipwreck camp in the dunes near Coos Bay, on the Oregon coast.[1] It was established by the survivors of the wreck of the Captain Lincoln, a U.S. transport schooner, on January 3rd, 1852.[2] The ship began taking on water during a storm while en route from San Francisco Bay to Fort Orford (now Port Orford, Curry County, Oregon). To avoid sinking, the captain decided to beach the ship north of Cape Arago. All of the roughly 30 troops (U.S. 1st Dragoons, Company C, predecessors to the U.S. cavalry) on board and the ship’s crew survived the wreck and most of the cargo was salvaged.[3] At the time no U.S. settlement was present at Coos Bay, so commanding officer Lt. Henry Stanton decided to establish the camp to protect the cargo until it could be transported to Fort Orford, some 50 miles south on the Oregon coast. The troops and crew used spars, booms and sail cloth from the schooner to build tent structures for housing and to protect the cargo from winter rains and blowing sand. They named the temporary post Camp Castaway. The camp endured for four months in the open dunes with help from Coos Bay Indians who traded fresh foods to the soldiers for silverware, biscuits and other nonlocal goods.[4] Chief Hanis (Coos) and Tarheel (Miluk) are among the Native Americans who reportedly visited Camp Castaway while the soldiers were present.




References

  1. ^ http://fortwiki.com/Camp_Castaway
  2. ^ Dodge, Orvil (1898) Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, Oregon. Capital Printing Company (Salem). PP. 115-125.
  3. ^ Miller, Morris (1852) Letter Report to Major O. Cross, Chief Quartermaster, Pacific Division, U.S. Army, San Francisco. 32nd Congress, 1st Session, Senate Executive Document, No 1. pp. 102-121.
  4. ^ Ward, Beverly (1986) White Moccasins. Myrtle Point Printing. P. 47.
  • Dodge, Orvil (1898) Pioneer History of Coos and Curry Counties, Oregon. Capital Printing Company (Salem). PP. 115-125.
  • Miller, Morris (1852) Letter Report to Major O. Cross, Chief Quartermaster, Pacific Division, U.S. Army, San Francisco. 32nd Congress, 1st Session, Senate Executive Document, No 1. pp. 102-121.


  • Ward, Beverly (1986) White Moccasins. Myrtle Point Printing. P. 47.