The following excerpts and first hand accounts (FHA) are from reports and diaries and published memoirs by soldiers and officers of the Oregon Mounted Volunteers who participated in the Battle of Walla Walla, December 7-10, 1855. This collection does not include any Indigenous accounts of those events.

As you can see, there seems to be some confusion of just when some things occurred as within the different reports (some days are off, some events are different)…typographical errors???!

Some narrations are short and to the point…others are very detailed. Some were given during and shortly after the battle occurred, others were given months, even years later. What was seen on the right, was not seen on the left and vise-versa; what was seen up front was not seen in the rear and vise-versa; and maybe some failing memories by some over the years…who knows for sure.

All accounts are from original “first-hand” accounts (FHA) by those who took part in the battle. True or false, one must make up his or her own mind as to what happened during this time period before and during The Battle of Walla Walla.

All spelling errors in the official documents have been corrected.

OBJECT OF THIS: To try to determine the routes, if possible, taken and the spots for which the incidents happened before and during the main battle. Also to give the reader an idea of the events that took place during a certain day.

Known area Native American Indian Tribes that participated in the battle were believed to be the Palouse, Walla Walla, Umatilla, Cayuse, and Stock Whitley’s band of Deschutes.

The First Regiment of the Oregon Mounted Volunteers was created on October 11, 1855. It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James K. Kelly. It consisted of 10 companies, all from counties in the Oregon Territory. Those counties which participated in the upcoming events were: Companies A (Multnomah County); B (Wasco County); F (Marion County); H (Linn/Benton County); I (Benton County); and K (Marion County) with Companies D (Washington County) and E (Yamhill County) coming up from Fort Henrietta on the last day of the battle, December 10, 1855, with supplies.

The Muster Rolls for the First Regiment Oregon Mounted Volunteers were found in the book “Indian Wars of Oregon” by Francis Victor Fuller and the originals are located in the Oregon State Archives located in Salem, Oregon. It is unknown if there is more to the story concerning the Muster Rolls listed in this book. The following chart is a list of the number of men in each company of troops per Fuller’s book.

TROOPS WITH KELLY’S COMMAND

THROUGHOUT THE BATTLE

COUNTY	COMPANY	NUMBER OF TROOPS	EXTRA TROOPS LISTED	TOTAL	KILLED	WOUNDED
Multnomah	A	73	14	87	2	2
Wasco	B	76	06	82	0	2
Marion	F	69	09	78	1	2
Linn/Benton	H	63	27	90	2	8
Benton	I	62	08	70	1	2
Marion	K	42	27	69	0	1
TOTAL		385	91	476	6	17

TROOPS LEFT AT FORT HENRIETTA

WHO CAME UP ON DECEMBER 10, 1855

WITH SUPPLIES

COUNTY	COMPANY	NUMBER OF TROOPS	EXTRA TROOPS LISTED	TOTAL	KILLED	WOUNDED
Washington	D	87	24	111	0	0
Yamhill	E	87	42	129	0	0
TOTAL		174	66	240	0	0

These Muster Rolls leave a lot to be desired. These are a list of men who

enlisted in the First Regiment Oregon Volunteers who enlisted on a certain date. Also in relation to this, there are many mis-spellings among names.

Then there are those “extra” men who are also listed but without an enlistment date. Did these men enlist before or after the battle? Did those “extra” troops participate in the battle itself? That is unknown at this time. Therefore it is hard to tell just who and who did not participate except for those named in the narratives which follow.