In the 1850s, the Anglo settlers of the Honey Lake Valley routinely petitioned the U.S. Military for aide and protection. Many of those pleas went ignored. The Civil War changed that. In the future we will explore the various encampments, and some non-military sites such as Fort Janesville.
Today, we examine Camp Susan, the nearest appearance of a military encampment the town would experience. In late August 1864, the 1st Nevada Territorial Infantry, a mobile military unit from Fort Churchill, under the command of Malachi R. Hassett, established a base camp near Susanville. Their mission was to scout the territory from Susanville, north to Surprise Valley and east to the Humboldt mines. In October 1864, the unit was ordered back to Fort Churchill. On September 12, 1864, Private Ebenezer Williams died at Camp Susan. Williams, a native of Wales, had just enlisted in February 1864.