William A. Slacum

Last updated
William A. Slacum
Born1799
Alexandria, Virginia
Died1839 (aged 3940)
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1829–1839
Rank Lieutenant
Unit USS Potomac
Other workworked for State Department

William A. Slacum (1799 - November 1, 1839) was an American sailor and diplomat. He served as a purser in the United States Navy and received a Presidential commission to gather information on the Oregon Country. At that time the region was under the jurisdiction of both the United States and Great Britain. Previously, Slacum served as a diplomat to Mexico.

Contents

Early life

Slacum was likely born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. Slacum's family included sister Mary Louisa Slacum Benham and brother George Washington Slacum who served as a consul in the State Department. [1]

On June 8, 1829, William Slacum joined the United States Navy. [2] During his naval career in 1831, Slacum was the purser aboard the USS Potomac as that ship spent four years at sea circumnavigating the globe. [3] Then from 1835 to 1836 Slacum served in Mexico as a Special Diplomatic Agent for the United States. [4] During this time Slacum sent a letter to President Andrew Jackson praising California, then under control of Mexico. This letter is credited with raising Jackson's interest in acquiring that region. [5]

Oregon

In 1835 Lieutenant Slacum was selected by President Jackson to travel to Oregon Country to gather information on the affairs of the region. [6] Dated November 11, 1835, Slacum was ordered to inquire about the inhabitants and prospects of those white inhabitants living along the Columbia River. [7] Slacum then sailed from Guaymas, Mexico on June 1, 1836, for the Sandwich Islands, arriving there on November 5, 1836. [7] There he chartered the ship Loriot for the trip to the Columbia River sailing on November 24. [7] On December 22, 1836, the Loriot sailed into the Columbia. [8]

Slacum then spent time interviewing Hudson's Bay Company officials such as Dr. John McLoughlin and James Douglas at Fort Vancouver. [9] After this he then spent four days on French Prairie with the missionary Jason Lee examining the settlements. [9] Here Slacum helped to convince pioneer Ewing Young to give up his efforts to build a distillery and travel to California in order to purchase cattle that would then be driven overland back to Oregon. [6] After this brief stay and information gathering, Lt. Slacum prepared to leave. On February 10, 1837, Slacum left the Columbia and sailed for California. [7] By February 19, the Loriot with Slacum and some settlers in tow arrived at Fort Ross in California. [10] Here the settlers and Slacum parted ways. [10]

Willamette Cattle Company

While in the Willamette Valley, Slacum noted the dependency of the pioneers on the Hudson's Bay Company. [6] This was especially true when it came to cattle, as the HBC only leased cattle to the settlers. [6] Any offspring were the property of the HBC. [6] So the lieutenant offered to take any of the settlers to California to buy cattle, and even provided $500 for the venture. [7]

Congress

After returning to the United States, William Slacum prepared a report on the information he gathered on the Northwest Coast. In his report that was read in Congress on December 18, 1837, Slacum details the activities in the region and advocated that the United States extend jurisdiction over this area with a border of no further south than the 49th parallel. [7] Amongst other things, one recommendation of his was to cut a channel through Cape Disappointment in order to improve accessibility to the Columbia River and avoid the dangerous bar of the river. [11]

On November 1, 1839, Slacum died. [2] After his death, Slacum's estate tried to receive funds from the United States government for Slacum's expenses from his trip to the Oregon Country. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Trail</span> Historic route connecting the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon

The Oregon Trail was a 2,170-mile (3,490 km) east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kansas and nearly all of what are now the states of Nebraska and Wyoming. The western half of the trail spanned most of the current states of Idaho and Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Lee (missionary)</span> Canadian missionary

Jason Lee was a Canadian Methodist Episcopalian missionary and pioneer in the Pacific Northwest. He was born on a farm near Stanstead, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hall J. Kelley</span> American settler and writer

Hall Jackson Kelley was an American settler and writer from New England known for his strong advocacy for settlement by the United States of the Oregon Country in the 1820s and 1830s. A native of New Hampshire, he was a school teacher in Maine and Massachusetts, and a longtime resident of the latter state after graduating from Harvard College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siskiyou Trail</span> Historic footpath in California and Oregon

The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. Originally based on existing Native American foot trails winding their way through river valleys, the Siskiyou Trail provided the shortest practical travel path between early settlements in California and Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogue River Wars</span> 1855-56 conflict between Native American tribes and U.S. soldiers and settlers in Oregon

The Rogue River Wars were an armed conflict in 1855–1856 between the U.S. Army, local militias and volunteers, and the Native American tribes commonly grouped under the designation of Rogue River Indians, in the Rogue River Valley area of what today is southern Oregon. The conflict designation usually includes only the hostilities that took place during 1855–1856, but there had been numerous previous skirmishes, as early as the 1830s, between European American settlers and the Native Americans, over territory and resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon pioneer history</span> Account of the founders Oregon

Oregon pioneer history (1806–1890) is the period in the history of Oregon Country and Oregon Territory, in the present day state of Oregon and Northwestern United States.

Ewing Young was an American fur trapper and trader from Tennessee who traveled in what was then the northern Mexico frontier territories of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and Alta California before settling in the Oregon Country. Young traded along the Santa Fe Trail, followed parts of the Old Spanish Trail west, and established new trails. He later moved north to the Willamette Valley. As a prominent and wealthy citizen in Oregon, his death was the impetus for the assemblies that several years later established the Provisional Government of Oregon.

The Puget Sound Agricultural Company (PSAC), with common variations of the name including Puget Sound or Puget's Sound, was a subsidiary joint stock company formed in 1840 by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Its stations operated within the Pacific Northwest, in the HBC administrative division of the Columbia Department. The RAC-HBC Agreement was signed in 1839 between the Russian-American Company and the HBC, with the British to now supply the various trade posts of Russian America. It was hoped by the HBC governing committee that independent American merchants, previously a major source of foodstuffs for the RAC, would be shut out of the Russian markets and leave the Maritime fur trade.

The Willamette Cattle Company was formed in 1837 by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present-day Oregon, United States. The company was formed with the express purpose of purchasing cattle in Mexican California. Nearly 750 head of cattle and 40 horses were purchased in total. Ewing Young led the overland party as they drove these animals north back to the Willamette Valley.

The Star of Oregon episode of American history began in 1840 and ended in 1843. This enterprise by pioneers in the Willamette Valley of present-day Oregon consisted of building a ship they named Star of Oregon and then sailing it to California in order to bring back cattle to Oregon Country. The group was led by Joseph Gale and received assistance from Captain Wilkes of the United States Navy prior to setting sail on the open ocean. These pioneers were able to procure nearly 4,000 head of cattle, sheep, and horses combined.

Loriot was an American sailing ship involved in exploration of the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. This brig took a member of a United States presidential expedition to survey land and the inhabitants of the area in the 1830s. The ship then transported members of the Willamette Cattle Company from Oregon Country to California in an effort to increase livestock in the Willamette Valley settlements.

William J. Bailey was a British-born physician who migrated to the United States, where he became a pioneer and politician in the Oregon Country, particularly the Willamette Valley. Bailey participated in the Champoeg Meetings that led to the creation of a provisional government in Oregon. He was selected as a member of that government, first on the executive committee and later in the Provisional Legislature of Oregon.

Webley John Hauxhurst Jr. was a pioneer in Oregon Country. He helped build the first grist mill in Oregon, participated in the Willamette Cattle Company, and was a participant at the Champoeg meeting where he voted for the creation of a provisional government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas J. Farnham</span> American explorer and author

Thomas Jefferson Farnham (1804–1848) was an explorer and author of the American West in the first half of the 19th century. His travels included interaction with missionary Jason Lee, and he later led a wagon train on the Oregon Trail. While in Oregon Country he wrote a petition to federal authorities that requested federal protection of the region from the United States government, which was signed by many of the local settlers who had come from the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George K. Gay</span> American fur trader (1810–1882)

George Kirby Gay was an English sailor and later settler in the Oregon Country. He was a member of the Willamette Cattle Company that brought livestock to Oregon and built the first brick house in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains. Gay also participated in the Champoeg Meetings that created a provisional government in what would become the U.S. state of Oregon.

James A. O’Neil was an American businessman and politician in the Oregon Country and later Oregon Territory. A New York native, he took part in the Champoeg Meetings and helped form the Provisional Government of Oregon. Prior to the formation of a government he participated in the Willamette Cattle Company, and later served as a judge in the Provisional Government.

Thomas McKay (1796–1849) was an Anglo-Métis Canadian fur trader who worked mainly in the Pacific Northwest for the Pacific Fur Company (PFC), the North West Company (NWC), and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). He was a fur brigade leader and explorer of the Columbia District and later became a U.S. citizen and an early settler of Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Sinclair (fur trader)</span>

James Sinclair was a trader and explorer with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). He twice led large parties of settlers from the Red River Colony to the Columbia River valley. These were both authorized by the HBC as a part of grandiose plans to strengthen British claims in the Oregon boundary dispute.

Michel Laframboise was a French Canadian fur trader in the Oregon Country who settled on the French Prairie in the modern U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Varennes, Quebec, he worked for the Pacific Fur Company, the North West Company, and the Hudson’s Bay Company before he later became a farmer and ferry operator. In 1843 he participated in the Champoeg Meetings. Though he voted against the measure to form a provisional government, the measure passed and led to the creation of the Provisional Government of Oregon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Turner (fur trapper)</span> American fur trapper and guide

John Turner was an American fur trapper and guide who first entered Oregon Country in 1828 and became an early resident of the Willamette Valley. Later he moved to California where he was part of the second attempt to rescue the Donner Party.

References

  1. Benham, Mary Louisa Slacum. Alexandria Library. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
  2. 1 2 US Navy Officers: 1798-1900. Naval Historical Center. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
  3. Reynolds, Jeremiah N. (1835). Voyage of the United States Frigate Potomac: Under the Command of Commodore John Downes. Harper & brothers.
  4. U.S. Diplomatic chiefs of mission to Mexico. The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
  5. Cleland, Robert Glass (1922). A History of California: The American Period. The Macmillan company.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ewing Young Route". Oregon's Historic Trails. End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marshall, William Isaac (1911). Acquisition of Oregon: And the Long Suppressed Evidence about Marcus Whitman. Lowman & Hanford Co.
  8. The Leviathan of the North. Oregon Historical Quarterly, Winter 2003. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
  9. 1 2 The Oregon Trail 1831-1840 at the Wayback Machine (archived July 30, 2009). Oregon Trail Time Frame. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
  10. 1 2 "Diary of Philip Leget Edwards". Historical California Longhorns. California Association of Texas Longhorn Breeders. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  11. Wong, Lisa. Open Wide: Examining the Mouth of the Columbia River. Oregon State University. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.
  12. Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789-1873 WEDNESDAY, February 7, 1849. Library of Congress. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.