Reflections on the second annual Edward Dickinson Baker Day, and the 203rd Anniversary of the birth of our second United States Senator...

On the second annual Edward Dickinson Baker Day held in Oregon, and the 203rd Anniversary of the birth of our second United States Senator, and as my fellow historians review the reports of 150 years ago; we have become painfully reacquainted with the accumulated high costs (in human lives, broken families, devastated communities, lost artifacts, architecture and art) of the Civil War. Colonel Edward Baker's untimely demise at the Battle of Ball's Bluff on the afternoon of October 21, 1861 took place six months into the first year of the Civil War as General McClellan was still trying to make up for the fiasco of the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) and was in the process of building up the Army of the Potomac for a full-scale incursion into Virginia. 

It is possible that Senator Baker had some presentiment or portent about his death in a future battle as he debated with his colleagues in the Senate chambers on the morning of July 11, 1861 as that august body considered the rate of pay for the Union Volunteers. "...Make war upon a scale as vast as the emergency that calls it forth," said Senator Baker in a quote published during the first session of the Senate in the 37th Congress by the reporters for The Congressional Globe. "Let it be sharp, sudden, bold, determined, forward."

The Senator continued his oration to his spellbound audience. "I believe with most gentlemen that the Union sentiment will yet prevail in the southern States. Bayonets are sharp remedies but they are very powerful. I am one of those who believe that there may be reverses. I am not quite confident that we shall overrun them without severe trials of our courage and patience..." 

Two months and 10 days later, and exactly one month to the day of the Union defeat at Ball's Bluff,  Colonel Edward Baker was in his tent in camp, writing a note of condolence to the mother of another  fallen Oregonian, Captain James W. Lingenfelter. Lingenfelter had practiced law in Jacksonville, Oregon, as a graduate of New York University who had come to the Pacific coast following  the lure of the California gold fields before settling down in Oregon. When Baker formed the 1st California Regiment in June of 1861, Lingenfelter promptly enlisted and mustered in as the Captain of Company B, a position he held until he was killed by a rebel sharpshooter while on picket duty. One score and 10 days later would find Oregon bereft of its own leading statesman, orator and warrior. As the Senator was laid at rest  on his own funeral bier,surrounded by his grieving family and friends (including his best friend Lincoln) Baker's death became a mournful harbinger of the carnage and tragedies yet to come.

To honor the life and achievements of Senator Edward Dickinson Baker, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber signed Senate Bill 809 into law on May 19, 2011, designating every February 24 as Edward Dickinson Baker Day in Oregon. Thanks to the efforts and testimonies of lobbyist Greg Leo, members of the Oregon Sons of Union Veterans, Baker Camp 6, PSU Vice Provost Mike Burton, distinguished Lincoln actor and playwright Steve Holgate, the Oregon Civil War 150th and Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commissioner K.C. Piccard,our Oregon State Legislators and others, this honor to our fallen pioneer/statesman/warrior became a reality. Requiesat en pace, Colonel Baker!