[The Enemy Never Came: The Civil War in the Pacific Northwest by
Scott McArthur (Caxton Press, 2012). Softcover, map, photos,
notes, appendices, bibliography, index. Pages
main/total:250/286. ISBN:978-0-87004-512-7 $18.95] McArthur
begins with a brief history of the settlement of the Pacific
Northwest and the response of its residents to the outbreak of
Civil War. A significant number of settlers were from the border
states and the South, and Democratic governor John Whiteaker was
not especially keen on participating in the conflict. The author
cites the insular political climate, the great distance to the
fighting fronts, and the proximity of newly discovered gold
fields in Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia as important
factors in the generally poor response to the call for troops
(at least in Oregon). Only three regiments, the 1st Oregon
Volunteer Cavalry, 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry, and the 1st
Washington Territorial Infantry, were raised in the Pacific
Northwest. Unlike the Washington unit, the Orego