Historic California
Posts, Camps, Stations and Airfields
Camp Union
by Robert B. Roberts
Originally a training
ground established in 1861 for California Volunteers, Camp Union
at Sacramento became California's most prominent provider of
troops for camps in the West throughout the years of the Civil
War. A third of the state's 15,000 volunteers trained here.
Toward the end of the conflict, the camp became a discharge or
separation center for returning troops
The camp's first site,
which had to be evacuated in October 1861 because of river no
flooding, was located across the Sacramento River from the old
community of Sutterville, on what was once a race track. The
second camp was across the river at what is now the intersection
of Sutterville Road and Land Park Drive, adjacent to the Sacramento
Zoo. Camp Union was abandoned in 1866.
Extracted
from Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer,
and Trading Posts of the United States
The 5th Infantry Regiment
California Volunteers, was organized here on 8 October, 1861
and trained by Brevet Brigadier General George W. Bowie for duty
in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas against the Confederate forces.
Since this was the year of the great flood, the troops aided
the flood-stricken capital. Company F (Sacramento Rangers) 2d
Cavalry Regiment, California Volunteers, was organized in Sacramento
25 August 1861 and later served here. This company furnished
a large number of officers for other units of the California
Volunteers.
