22 W. C. WOODWARD States of America. 16 It was well understood in Oregon that the plotters for a Pacific Republic were merely biding tfyeir time, waiting to strike until the further success of the Confed- erate armies should render the Union cause hopelessly des- perate. 17 It was for this reason, together with the danger of Indian outbreaks, that the companies of the Oregon volunteer regiment of cavalry, which had been enlisted for service in the war, were retained in the Northwest. The organization of secession sentiment in Oregon was rep- resented in the Knights of the Golden Circle. There were about ten circles in the state among them two at Portland, two at Salem and one each at Scio, Albany, Jacksonville and in Yam- hill County. 18 Fortunately, their operations were seriously handicapped, as two spies employed by Oregon's Adjutant- General, C. A. Reed, kept him fully informed of the work and plans of the Knights. A plan to assassinate Reed and capture the arsenal and several attempts to capture government arms are declared by him to have been apprehended and frustrated. Complete lists of the membership of the order were secured and on these lists appeared the names of nearly all the prominent Democratic 19 editors and politicians. The Knights divided on the question of the overt act in connection with the scheme of a Pacific Republic. Some were anxious to raise the standard of revolt in Oregon while others dissented. But in the dark days of 1863 the secession Democrats were not the only ones to whom the idea of an independent govern- ment on the Pacific Coast, appealed. One of the very promi- nent men in the state, both then and for nearly a half century afterward, a leading participant in the Union movement, argued openly in the state house with the state secretary and treasurer and before the Adjutant-General, in behalf of a Pacific 'Re- 16 Reported in Statesman, Dec. 8, 1862. 17 Conversation with Judge Williams. 1 8 Statements relative to the Golden Circle are based on a personal interview with C. A. Reed, of Portland, who was Adjutant-General for Oregon during the war. 19 In this period the term "Democratic," unmodified, refers exclusively to the Democrats who remained in the party organization and opposed the Union movement the Democrats known as Copperheads and Secession Democrats.
