page_title: John M. Drake
section_title: Military service
hierarchical_section_title: John M. Drake / Military service
caption_attribution_description: Sheep Rock, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon
context_page_description: John Miller Drake was a Union Army officer in the 1st Oregon Cavalry and the 1st Oregon Infantry regiments during the American Civil War. He eventually reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He led one of the first campaigns to respond to the threat Chief Paulina posed to settlers and rival Indians in central Oregon. Later he was a purchasing agent for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company.
context_section_description: Drake served as an officer in both the 1st Oregon Cavalry and 1st Oregon Infantry volunteer regiments during the Civil War.  When the American Civil War began, he volunteered for service in the United States Army.  On November 29, 1861, Drake was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the 1st Oregon Cavalry.  He was quickly promoted to captain, taking command of the cavalry regiment's D Company.
  Drake and several other cavalry officers led lengthy explorations through eastern Oregon, northern Nevada, and southwestern Idaho searching for Indian raiders. Most of these patrols were unsuccessful in finding hostile Indians.  However, Drake was involved in several minor skirmishes.
  In May 1864, Drake was leading several companies of cavalrymen in the upper Crooked River area of eastern Oregon.  The expedition was in response to Chief Paulina's raids on settlers and rival Indians in that region.  Late in the evening of May 17, Warm Springs Indian scouts working with the 1st Oregon Cavalry found Chief Paulina's camp about twelve miles from Drake's camp, a site that later became Camp Maury.  Before dawn the next morning a small group of soldiers and Warm Springs Indian scouts led by Lieutenant Stephen Watson attacked Paulina's camp from three sides.  Chief Paulina and his men quickly retreated to a rocky cliff.  In the ensuing battle, Lieutenant Watson, two soldiers, and several Indian scouts were killed.  Before Drake's main force could reach the site of the battle, Paulina escaped leaving behind three dead.
  During an expedition to resupply Army posts in eastern Oregon, Drake discovered fossilized bones in the hills southwest of Sheep Rock in the upper John Day basin.  On July 19, 1864, Drake wrote to Thomas Condon about his discovery.  On his way back to Fort Dalles, Drake loaded empty wagons with fossils to deliver to Condon.  Condon, a pastor living at Fort Dalles, had an active interest in the natural sciences.  Based on Drake's directions, Condon explored the area that is now the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.
  In late 1864, Drake was promoted to lieutenant colonel and transferred to the newly established 1st Oregon Infantry as the regiment's second highest-ranking officer.  While some detachments of the 1st Oregon Infantry occasionally skirmished with hostile Indian bands, most companies spent their time in garrison duty at small posts in eastern Oregon, southeast Washington, and southern Idaho.  They protected immigrant trails and escorted wagon trains from Fort Boise to the Willamette Valley. Two companies escorted survey parties; and another, led by Captain Franklin B. Sprague, constructed a road in southwestern Oregon.
  In the fall of 1865, Drake's regiment was planning a winter campaign against the Indians in eastern Oregon.  However, the end of the Civil War in the east had freed up many regular officers for duty in the west.  As a result, most of the volunteer officers and men of the 1st Oregon Infantry regiment were released from service in November, so the planned winter campaign never got started.  Drake was mustered out of the Army a month later, in December 1865.
caption: Sheep Rock in John Day Fossil Beds
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