06/08/2026
December 1855 became a turning point in the Pacific Northwest after Oregon Governor George Law Curry ordered volunteer forces into the Walla Walla Valley against tribes that had largely stayed neutral during the growing regional conflict.
Many eastern tribes, including the Walla Walla, Cayuse, Palouse, and Umatilla peoples, had avoided fully entering the war despite rising tensions across Oregon and Washington Territory.
Instead of waiting for negotiations or clear attacks, Oregon militia forces crossed into tribal lands and launched military operations first.
The campaign quickly escalated into the Battle of Walla Walla, where Native leaders who had attempted diplomacy were captured and killed during the fighting.
Even U.S. Army commander General John Wool criticized the offensive, arguing the attack had unnecessarily widened the conflict and pushed neutral tribes into open war.
The violence transformed a regional crisis into a far larger frontier war that spread across the Columbia Plateau and reshaped relations between Native nations and American authorities for years afterward.
The conflict also accelerated removals, military campaigns, and the collapse of Native control across large parts of the Northwest.