Department of the West

For the Confederate organization with a similar name, see: Army of the West (1862)

The Department of the West, later known as the Western Department, was a major command (Department) of the United States Army during the 19th century. It oversaw the military affairs in the country west of the Mississippi River to the borders of California and Oregon.

Organization

The Department was first organized on October 31, 1853. It reported directly to the headquarters of the Army in Washington, D.C. It succeeded the Army of the West, which had fought the Mexican-American War and was headquartered at Fort Leavenworth. In an 1853 reorganization the Department of the Pacific was created for California and Oregon. The Department of the West's headquarters after the Mexican War were at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, Missouri, although it moved briefly to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, during the Bleeding Kansas skirmishes.

During the American Civil War the department was organized to include the country west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, except for Texas, Utah Territory, and New Mexico Territory, including Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas Territory (the state of Kansas after January 29, 1861), Nebraska Territory, Colorado Territory (after February 28, 1861), Dakota Territory (after March 2, 1861), Indian Territory(later the state of Oklahoma), and Louisiana west of the Mississippi River. On June 6, 1861, Missouri was transferred to the Department of the Ohio.

On July 31, 1861, the Department of the West was merged into the Western Department of Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont. The Western Department, which had been organized on July 3, 1861, also included Missouri and Illinois from the Department of the Ohio and New Mexico Territory from the Department of New Mexico. Western Kentucky was added from the Department of Kentucky on August 15, 1861. Frémont was relieved by Maj. Gen. David Hunter under the orders of President Abraham Lincoln, contingent upon the circumstance that Frémont did not lead an army into battle by October 24, 1861. The Western Department was discontinued on November 9, 1861, with New Mexico Territory being transferred to the Department of New Mexico, and the rest being divided between the Departments of Missouri and Kansas.^[1]

Command history

Department commanders were:^[2]

Department of the West

Western Department

See also

• Army of the West (1846)
• Department of the Pacific
• Department of the Missouri

References

• Eicher, John H., & Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
• Military History at rootsweb.com

Notes

1. ^ Eicher, pp. 851-53.
2. ^ Eicher, pp. 851-53, Rootsweb.com