1st Oregon Cavalry The First Regiment , Oregon Cavalry was a regiment in the volunteer Union army that participated in the American Civil War . With many men recruited from California , the regiment primarily served to protect the state of Oregon and surrounding territories in the Pacific Coast Theater of the American Civil War . Background . In 1861 , Colonel George Wright requested permission from Oregon Governor John Whiteaker to form a cavalry company in the state , as Wright was commander of the District of Oregon that included the Washington Territory . Wright was motivated by the fact that there were a total of 700 soldiers and 19 officers in the Pacific Northwest at a time when there were often battles with Native Americans . Some volunteers joined up , asked to provide their own horse , but were later discharged when the organization failed before Wright was transferred to California . Lieutenant Colonel Cody replaced Wright late in 1861 as United States Army regular troops were returned east for the American Civil War . To replace those troops , Wright sent volunteers from California to protect Oregon from attacks by Native Americans . In response , Oregon then commissioned Thomas R . Cornelius in November 1861 as colonel and ordered him to raise ten companies of cavalry troops . Oregonians were unhappy with California volunteers protecting Oregon . Formation . The initial part of the regiment ( companies A through F ) was organized and mustered into the army in Oregon from February to April 1862 . In May 1862 , it was sent into the Washington Territory to the Walla Walla country to protect immigrants and miners along the Salmon River . The 1st Oregon occupied Fort Walla Walla in June 1862 and sent out various expeditions over the next two years to fight the Snake Indians and other threats . Hence , the regiment was rarely intact as a single unit for much of the war . Several companies scattered to other frontier forts , including Fort Vancouver and Fort Dalles ( see also The Dalles , Oregon ) for detached duty such as constructing roads through the wilderness . In January 1863 , the remaining portion of the regiment ( companies G , H , I , K , and M ) were authorized and activated for duty . Companies G and H served at Camp Watson on Rock Creek ; Company I was at Fort Klamath , Company K at Fort Dalles and Companies L and M at Fort Boise in Idaho Territory . The battalion came together for several skirmishes with local Indians in the Harney Lake Valley and other locations . Men signed up for a three - year tour of duty with the cavalry . Pay was $ 31 per month for each soldier , and at the end of service men were given a $ 100 bounty and of land . In addition to Col . Cornelius , other officers included R . F . Maury , C . S . Drew , Benjamin F . Harding as quartermaster , and J . S . Rinearson . Disbanding . In January 1865 , Col . Reuben F . Maury , 1st Oregon Cavalry , assumed command of the Federal District of Oregon . The 1st Oregon Cavalry mustered out November 20 , 1866 . The 1st Oregon Volunteer Cavalry Regiment did NOT muster out all at once but did so in stages beginning in November 1864 . Two years later there were only a handful of men remaining to muster out of service . Company assignments . Regiment mustered out November 20 , 1866 .