Drum Barracks

California was not neutral ground. Southern sympathy ran strong in Los Angeles, and in 1862 the Army laid out a sixty-acre post here to hold the region for the Union and guard a harbor that moved federal gold, supplies, and men. Drum Barracks became the headquarters for Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and the planning ground for the California Column, which marched some 2,300 volunteers across the deserts to the Rio Grande. The junior officers' quarters is the last wooden building standing, and it holds the museum.

What the plaque says

Established at Wilmington in 1862, Drum Barracks became the United States military headquarters for Southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. A garrison and base for supplies, it was a terminus for camel pack trains operated by the army until 1863. Abandoned in 1866, its site remains a landmark of the Civil War in California.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Santa Monica Pier — 21 mi
  Where the Mother Road runs out of continent, and where the End of the Trail sign gives the drive somewhere to finish.
• Mission San Gabriel Arcangel — 23 mi
  The fourth Alta California mission, built on Tongva land with Tongva labor, rebuilt after arson and now telling that story straight.

More markers nearby

• Banning Park — 0.3 mi
• S.S. Catalina — 2.6 mi
• Site of Home of Diego Sepúlveda — 2.9 mi
• Liberty Hill Site — 3.3 mi