Drum Barracks (Wilmington, California)

Wilmington · California · Civil War

History & Significance

Established as a five company post originally named Camp San Pedro in January 1862, the post was renamed Camp Drum in December 1863 and thereafter designated as Drum Barracks. The facility is named for Richard Coulter Drum, Assistant Adjutant General of the Army's Department of the Pacific, who supervised construction from his office and visited the post only after its completion in 1863.

Built adjacent to San Pedro Bay and 25 miles south of Los Angeles, it was constructed in response to Union security concerns; the land was donated by Union sympathizers Phineas Banning and Benjamin Wilson, and the construction cost eventually reached $1 million. The California Column, organized from available Union troops, marched east from this base and confronted Confederates at Picacho Pass, Arizona.

From 1862 to 1863, Drum Barracks provided corrals for Army camels brought down from Fort Tejon and later sold at auction. The garrison fluctuated from 200 to 6,000 men during the war years. By 1870, the post had been deactivated and fallen into disrepair; in October 1871, the Los Angeles Star reported that all remaining troops had been ordered to Fort Yuma, and in 1873, the government returned the land to its original donors, Phineas Banning and Benjamin Davis Wilson, after auctioning off the buildings.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_Barracks
• https://www.militarymuseum.org/DrumBks.html
• https://battlefields.org/visit/heritage-sites/drum-barracks-civil-war-museum
• https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/169
• https://www.loc.gov/item/ca0222/
• https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-169
• https://recreation.parks.lacity.gov/museum/drum-barracks-civil-war-museum

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