OREGONSCAPE

OHS org. lot 533, digital no. ba021813
CAMP HARNEY WAS ESTABLISHED by the United States Army on August 16, 1867, near the mouth of Rattlesnake Creek, a few miles north of present-day Harney, Oregon. The camp was one of several the Army built in eastern Oregon to manage Indian unrest in the area, and it was originally called Camp Steele. The name was soon changed to honor Brigadier General William S. Harney, whose name also graced nearby Harney Lake. The Army officially designated the site as Fort Harney in April 1879.	1
During the Bannock Indian War of 1878, Camp Harney served as the Army's headquarters for settling disputes between Natives and settlers in the region. By January 1879, 543 Bannock and Paiute prisoners were held there, but the fort was abandoned by the military in June of the following year. Still, the land on which it stood was retained as military property until March 1889. The only remnants of the camp today are two civilian graves.	2
This image is one of few known photographs of the camp and was taken in 1870 or 1871. It originally belonged to First Lieutenant William Russell Parnell (1836–1910), who was stationed there with Troop H of the First United States Cavalry. Parnell's signature is inscribed on the mat of the photo, along with the following notes in his hand: "Troop 'H' — First Cavalry was stationed at this Post from August 1868 to June 1875. About 360 miles SSE of the Dalles, Ore. Snowed in from Dec. to June each year. Abandoned 1879 or 80." Parnell later won the Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in the Battle of White Bird Canyon, the opening battle of the U.S. Army's Nez Perce War, on June 17, 1877. — Megan K. Friedel, Archivist, OHS Research Library	3

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