James Freeman Curtis Jr. was born in Boston MA on December 19, 1825. His father died in a train accident in 1839. Not much is known about his father, except he was a midshipman on the USS Constitution in the War of 1812.
Curtis came to California in early 1850, not looking for gold himself, but wanting to be part of the action. The young 24 year old got a job and joined a volunteer fire company. The young firebrand became member #37 of the “Executive Committee of the First Committee of Vigilance.” A group of approximately 800 vigilantes formed to combat "corrupt law enforcement authorities" and the courts. In fact he became “secretary pro tem” of the organization. These men knew they were completely outside the law, but saw no other way to keep their community livable for law-abiding citizens. The records show that this period of time in San Francisco history were very turbulent times.
The vigilantes were disbanded in 1856, and Curtis was elected the first Police Chief of San Francisco at age thirty-one. He served a very stormy two-year term, receiving both criticism and praise from both sides of the law. He resigned in November of 1858 after a dispute with the Board of Supervisors about treatment of ‘undesirables'.
By this time, Curtis was a Major in the State militia. He was called upon to deal with the raiding Piaute Indians near present day Pyramid Lake in Nevada near Carson City, and was fully prepared to complete this assignment. In approximately 1859-1860, Curtis led a volunteer unit called the Truckee raiders.
In August of 1861 Lincoln issued the call for 75,000 volunteers and James Curtis was right there. He mustered in on September 2nd of 1861 at the Presidio with the rank of Major. He was assigned to the 2nd California Infantry with orders to take two companies and relieve the regulars for duty in the east at Fort Colville in Washington above present day Spokane. He arrived with his 200 men and took charge of the Fort. He did things that would be typical of his firmness and dedication to law and order wherever he served. It is not known if he was a teetotaler but in April of 1862 he directed the destruction of all the whiskey stock at Shaw’s Distillery and banned he sale of liquor in the town. As one might imagine this caused great resentment among people as liquor was a way of coping with the hardships of the frontier. However it was noted in the history of the town things were much quieter, people spent the same amount of money, and families were better housed and clothed. He was relieved in July of 1862 (maybe for his style of command). It was noted that his replacement immediately rescinded the ban on strong spirits.
After a few weeks at Fort Vancouver (across from present day Portland, OR) as senior officer, Curtis was ordered back to the Presidio for reassignment to Fort Lincoln in Crescent City, CA. After a year of trying to keep the hostile Hupa Indians from going back to their homes on the Trinity River, he was again ordered to the Presidio for reassignment. On June 25, 1863, James F. Curtis Jr. was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of 4th California Infantry at Camp Drum in Wilmington, CA and command of the Military District of Southern California.
It was reported that at about this time, Curtis married Maria Louisa Westfall, a native of St Louis in Oakland, CA. There is no record of her accompanying him to his next duty station, or of her ever living at Camp Drum. There is a record of her being with him in New York City when she died in 1871.
Lieutenant Colonel Curtis arrived in San Pedro late in the afternoon of July 7th 1863 aboard the side-wheeler Senator. He received welcoming handshakes and salutes from the post adjutant Lieutenant W. Scobey, Captains Benjamin West & E. W. Hillyer of companies C & E 4th Infantry, and surgeon S. S. Todd. After a 30-minute trip by small lighter to Banning’s Warf, Curtis was given a tour by wagon of the small town of Wilmington by Todd who had been there the longest. The town in the summer of 1863 was small by today’s standards, but never the less it contained all the necessary establishments for daily life. Close to Banning’s Warf on the left was the huge Government Depot built a year earlier to receive and dispatch the supplies needed to support the California Column in it’s march to the Rio Grande. Beyond the depot were a mill and a warehouse that could hold 90,000 sacks of grain, then a blacksmith and wagon repair shop (as indispensable then as hardware stores and car repair shops are today). North of “B” street or Harry Bridges Avenue was a store that doubled as a post office and then the two story “Exchange Hotel” and a hardware and building supply warehouse next to a large lumberyard. It was noted that most of the aforementioned businesses were owned and operated by Phineas Banning and his employees.
On the east side of the road (later called Canal street after the canal Banning dredged to allow ships to dock at his new Warf and after that Avalon Blvd.) was Banning’s Machine shop, a rooming house, an adobe saloon at the corner of “B” street and then a harness shop. Next was a large and pungent establishment, which was a combination beef jerky, soap and tallow works that rendered the suet from cattle of neighboring ranches for their meat and hides. Then there was an open area and the Drum post property.
Colonel Curtis took command of the post the next day in a formal ceremony on a very neat cleared and leveled parade ground. This was done in front of a fifty-foot flagpole with a flag of 34 stars, technically out of date as West Virginia had been admitted to the Union as the 35th state two weeks before.
His duties and responsibilities was three fold and overlapped. First as commander of the Military District of Southern California, he was responsible for installations from Visalia to Owens Valley to San Diego and Forts Yuma and Mojave (near present day Laughlin Neveda) on the Colorado River. Second he was to maintain civil law and order in lieu of competent police or sheriffs forces anywhere in his domain. This was very vital because of the continued threat of fanatic secessionist elements (and there were many) in the city Los Angeles, the miners settlements of El Monte, San Bernardino, Holcomb Valley and Big Bear Lake. His third duty was more political than military, consisting of support of the Federal government and it’s elected representatives which, in the 1860s, meant backing loyal Unionists against “Copperheads” or the Northern Democrats who advocated a quick peaceful settlement and concessions to the Confederacy.
There was a real need in Los Angeles to maintain an unmistakable pro Union presence. The election of 1860 in Los Angeles County showed Lincoln coming in a distant third behind Democrats Breckenridge and Douglas, so there was no love in L.A. of the Republican Lincoln when he was elected. There were many secret factions on both sides in the state, one called “Knights of the Golden Circle” which boasted of over 100,000 membership and advocated armed rebellion if necessary for secession. So it was needed to “show the flag’ for the Union at all times and back it up with displays of armed troops. Curtis had close ties with the “Union Club,” a group of loyal Angelenos led by Phineus Banning. They participated in July 4th and other holiday celebrations, giving rousing patriotic speeches and parading at the head of a detachment of troops and the regimental band thru the streets of Los Angeles and Wilmington.
The Drum Barracks reached its zenith under Colonel Curtis’ command. He officially changed the name to the Drum Barracks in December of 1863. It was a very active post until the end of the Civil War as a training station for new recruits and rendezvous point for troops, as well as quartermaster supply for the over 200 posts strung out in the Arizona and New Mexico territories. The garrison normally consisted of three companies of the 4th Infantry, about 260 men, plus one company of the 1st California Cavalry, for around 350 men at any one time. From time to time in 1864 the total raised to 500 due to returning troops who completed their three-year enlistments and troops on their way to Arizona and New Mexico. Then there were two companies of Native (Spanish speaking) California Cavalry temporarily stationed here for part of 1864 and 1865. It has been estimated that 7,000 of the 17,000 California volunteers raised between 1861 and 1865 passed thru the Drum Barracks.
During Curtis’ time troop detachments were frequently sent to quell secessionist demonstrations around Southern California. Due to their greater mobility, the Cavalry units chased outlaws and Indians regularly after attacks on travelers and ranchers. Hostile Indian tribes were widespread ranging from the Yumas and Mojaves on the Colorado River to the Paiutes at Camp Cady near present day Barstow and in the Owens valley near Lone Pine. A number of 4th Infantry soldiers were killed in skirmishes with Indians.
Colonel Curtis had a stern attitude toward law and order. It was shown in letters to a friend that he fully supported the Los Angeles Vigilance Committee, which like his San Francisco Vigilantes replaced an ineffectual sheriff. It was noted in his letter that in November of 1863 the L.A. Vigilantes broke into the jail, seized three defendants, and “strung em up” while the ineffective sheriff “ shook in his boots.”
Curtis was determined to bring law and order to both civilian population and his command. It generally brought respect from all except the “free souls” who must have chafed under his heavy hand. His attitude toward strong drink and heavy drinkers kept the guardhouse well inhibited. There is no evidence that he ever attempted to close the saloons in Wilmington (and there were many). This probably would not have sat well with Banning, as he had no aversion to anyone spending money in his establishments before embarking on or arriving at his warf.
It can be said of Curtis that he took his duties seriously. He gained additional respect and affection from his men as a result of several personal inspection tours to the fringes of his far-flung empire, during which time he shared the same hardships they endured in their travels to and from duty stations.
Curtis was promoted to full colonel on April 11, 1864. He officially transferred command to Captain Philip A Owens of the 9th US Infantry on November 13, 1865. He left immediately for the Presidio where he was discharged on November 30th. On June 22, 1867 he was promoted to Brevet Brigadier General retroactive to May 13, 1865 for “faithful and meritorious service to his country.”
James F. Curtis went on the do many more things after his command at the Drum Barracks and while under great stress at times he performed with great dignity, competence, and courtesy. He returned to Boston in 1896 to reside with his sister Isabella and the widowed wife of his brother Greely. He died there on March 1, 1914.
Curtis would be quite a controversial man by today‘s standards, but no more so than most men of that stormy time period. He rose to the occasion when patriotic duty and love of country called and he performed with astounding quality and professionalism. He was not a professional soldier nor was he trained as such. He was just a man of average status and average intelligence doing his duty in a time of great need.
If you desire to find out more about Lieutenant Colonel James F. Curtis, his bio can be found in a book entitled “James F Curtis, Vigilante” by Dr. Albert Shumate of San Francisco. He graciously permitted Don McDowell to quote from it in his treatment of Curtis in his book, “The Beat of the Drum” by Don McDowell 1993, which is were most of this above text and photos were obtained. It is presented here for museum informational purposes only.
Floyd Farrar, Drum Volunteer. May 2001
