Camp Downy

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Camp Downey was an early training camp for California Volunteers, overlooking Lake Merritt, on what is now Seventh Avenue in Oakland, California.

Lake Merritt lagoon in Oakland, California, USA

Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon in the center of Oakland, California, just east of Downtown. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. It is historically significant as the United States' first official wildlife refuge, designated in 1870, and has been listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1963, and on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966. The lake features grassy shores; several artificial islands intended as bird refuges; an interpretive center called the Rotary Nature Center; a boating center where sailboats, canoes and rowboats can be rented and classes are held; and a fairy tale themed amusement park called Children's Fairyland. A popular walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter. The circumference of the lake is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) and its area is 155 acres (63 ha).

Oakland, California City in California, United States

Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port city, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the San Francisco Bay Area, the eighth most populated city in California, and the 45th largest city in the United States. With a population of 425,195 as of 2017, it serves as a trade center for the San Francisco Bay Area; its Port of Oakland is the busiest port in the San Francisco Bay, the entirety of Northern California, and the fifth busiest in the United States of America. An act to incorporate the city was passed on May 4, 1852, and incorporation was later approved on March 25, 1854, which officially made Oakland a city. Oakland is a charter city.

Camp Downey was established on August 31, 1861 by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph R. West with the 1st Infantry, California Volunteers. After September 15, 1861 the camp was abandoned as the Volunteers took ship for Camp Latham in Southern California to suppress secessionists disturbances there. [1]

Joseph R. West American Union Army general and politician

Joseph Rodman West was a United States Senator from Louisiana, a union general in the United States Army during and after the American Civil War and the Chief Executive of the District of Columbia. As a commander of militia, he gave the order to torture and murder Apache chief Mangas Coloradas who had come to meet with him under a flag of truce to discuss terms of peace. He also allowed the decapitation and desecration of the body.

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California's involvement in the American Civil War included sending gold east, recruiting volunteer combat units to replace regular forces in territories of the Western United States, maintaining and building numerous camps and fortifications, suppressing secessionist activity and securing the New Mexico Territory against the Confederacy. The State of California did not send its units east, but many citizens traveled east and joined the Union Army there, some of whom became famous. California's Volunteers also conducted many operations against the native peoples within the state and in the other Western territories of the Departments of the Pacific and New Mexico.

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References

  1. Historic California Posts: Camp Downey from militarymuseum.org accessed Dec. 31, 2013.]

Coordinates: 37°47′44″N122°15′53″W / 37.79556°N 122.26472°W / 37.79556; -122.26472

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.