Oregon, California and the western territories of the United States played little roles in the devastation seen in the East known as the American Civil War.  In the era before transcontinental rail, the two Pacific states were simply too far away to matter much in the conflagration.  To reach the far west, six months needed to come into play, whether the journey was overland or by sea – choice there of around Cape Horn or across the disease-ridden Isthmus of Panama.  A surprisingly number of men with Oregon ties did play roles in the titanic struggles.  Most of those men had military ties to the Northwest, spending time on duty in the 1850’s helping bring order and stability to the newly settling lands of Oregon, California and Washington Territory.  The most famous soldiers who spent time in Oregon, one Ulysses S. Grant.