As observance of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War continues across the Nation,  for information about Utah specific commemoration events please see our event calendar.

On October 26, 1862 Patrick Edward Connor and the soldiers of the 3rd California Volunteers established Camp Douglas on a ridge just outside the City of Great Salt Lake. Today, 150-years later, again the flag was raised over Fort Douglas in commemoration of its founding. In addition, Building 32 was named after long time supporter Zeke Dumke.

For a view of the celebration please visit.... please click here Founder's Day Celebration

Connor and his men were supposed to re-establish Fort Crittenden in the Cedar Valley. By the time the 3rd California soldiers had reached Fort Crittenden in late September/early October, the post had already been scavenged and the "owner" was asking for $15,000 to purchase the land! It is unknown if Connor chose the current site in Salt Lake City while visiting the city or not. It makes you wonder what the soldiers thought. They had a different treatment and reaction than Johnston's soldiers recieved only three years previous. The stage is now set for the establishment of Camp Douglas on 26 October 2012.

Sources have listed various dates in relation to General Patrick Edward Connor's arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. While trying to narrow this date down to the correct date, this much is known. This event occured sometime around the middle to the end of September, prior to the arrival of Federal troops and establishment of Camp Douglas on the 26th day of October 1862. This would not be the first stationing of troops in Utah. The first major military establishment was Camp Floyd in 1858. Connor's men were to re-establish Camp Floyd, which had been scavenged by the time the troops arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. This is the subject for a future post, as it will play a role in the reason

Also to note this week is the 150th anniversary of Antietam on September 17, 1862.

As the time is growing near to the official establishment of Camp Douglas, the feelings of the Utah settlers must have been heightened. To have one military occupation leave Utah would have been a relief, but was it fear when the news was received that Connor and his men were underway? 

Around this time Connor and his men would have been in Nevada on their way to Utah but it is not known what their thoughts were. It has been understood from later interpretations of history that many of the soldiers assigned to Utah would have rather been sent to the battlefields of the East than to the desert reaches of Utah Territory. 

In a few short weeks Camp Douglas would be established three miles outside of Salt Lake City where it would remain a military reservation for 129 years. As we look forward to reaching its sesquicentennial year a return to the thoughts and feelings of the area are only natural.