HJG Maxon crossed the Oregon Trail in 1845 with his wife and children and settled in the Willamette Valley. He served in the Oregon Rifles and as a commander in the 1848 Cayuse War. In 1849 he traveled to California to mine gold but returned in 1850 and took up a new claim near present Camas, WA.
In 1855 natives across Washington Territory, angered by the encroaching American settlers, organized fighters to oust them by force. In 1856 Maxon formed the 2nd Regiment of Washington Mounted Volunteers and entered the fight. After campaigns in Eastern WA, Maxon and his troops returned to the Puget Sound Region in 1856 where fighting continued.
In late March 1856 Maxon led his Company up the Nisqually River searching for hostile Indians. At the confluence of the Mashel and Nisqually Rivers Maxon's company attacked a Nisqually village comprised mainly of women, children and elderly people on the grounds it was a "safe haven" for fighting Indians. Estimates of the dead range from 17 to 35. Maxon's Rangers suffered no casualties.
After the war Maxon served in the WA Territorial Council (Senate) from 1857-59. In 1860 he secured government contracts to help survey land in WA. By the end of the decade the Maxon family were living in Ada Co Idaho and identified themselves as farmers in the Census.
Sources:
Hamilton Jordon Goss Maxon (1813-1884) by Jerry Olson
"Pioneer is Laid to Rest" Idaho Statesman, 16 January 1913.
Mashel (sometimes Maxon) Massacre, (March 1856) at Historylink.org
In 1855 natives across Washington Territory, angered by the encroaching American settlers, organized fighters to oust them by force. In 1856 Maxon formed the 2nd Regiment of Washington Mounted Volunteers and entered the fight. After campaigns in Eastern WA, Maxon and his troops returned to the Puget Sound Region in 1856 where fighting continued.
In late March 1856 Maxon led his Company up the Nisqually River searching for hostile Indians. At the confluence of the Mashel and Nisqually Rivers Maxon's company attacked a Nisqually village comprised mainly of women, children and elderly people on the grounds it was a "safe haven" for fighting Indians. Estimates of the dead range from 17 to 35. Maxon's Rangers suffered no casualties.
After the war Maxon served in the WA Territorial Council (Senate) from 1857-59. In 1860 he secured government contracts to help survey land in WA. By the end of the decade the Maxon family were living in Ada Co Idaho and identified themselves as farmers in the Census.
Sources:
Hamilton Jordon Goss Maxon (1813-1884) by Jerry Olson
"Pioneer is Laid to Rest" Idaho Statesman, 16 January 1913.
Mashel (sometimes Maxon) Massacre, (March 1856) at Historylink.org
HJG Maxon crossed the Oregon Trail in 1845 with his wife and children and settled in the Willamette Valley. He served in the Oregon Rifles and as a commander in the 1848 Cayuse War. In 1849 he traveled to California to mine gold but returned in 1850 and took up a new claim near present Camas, WA.
In 1855 natives across Washington Territory, angered by the encroaching American settlers, organized fighters to oust them by force. In 1856 Maxon formed the 2nd Regiment of Washington Mounted Volunteers and entered the fight. After campaigns in Eastern WA, Maxon and his troops returned to the Puget Sound Region in 1856 where fighting continued.
In late March 1856 Maxon led his Company up the Nisqually River searching for hostile Indians. At the confluence of the Mashel and Nisqually Rivers Maxon's company attacked a Nisqually village comprised mainly of women, children and elderly people on the grounds it was a "safe haven" for fighting Indians. Estimates of the dead range from 17 to 35. Maxon's Rangers suffered no casualties.
After the war Maxon served in the WA Territorial Council (Senate) from 1857-59. In 1860 he secured government contracts to help survey land in WA. By the end of the decade the Maxon family were living in Ada Co Idaho and identified themselves as farmers in the Census.
Sources:
Hamilton Jordon Goss Maxon (1813-1884) by Jerry Olson
"Pioneer is Laid to Rest" Idaho Statesman, 16 January 1913.
Mashel (sometimes Maxon) Massacre, (March 1856) at Historylink.org
In 1855 natives across Washington Territory, angered by the encroaching American settlers, organized fighters to oust them by force. In 1856 Maxon formed the 2nd Regiment of Washington Mounted Volunteers and entered the fight. After campaigns in Eastern WA, Maxon and his troops returned to the Puget Sound Region in 1856 where fighting continued.
In late March 1856 Maxon led his Company up the Nisqually River searching for hostile Indians. At the confluence of the Mashel and Nisqually Rivers Maxon's company attacked a Nisqually village comprised mainly of women, children and elderly people on the grounds it was a "safe haven" for fighting Indians. Estimates of the dead range from 17 to 35. Maxon's Rangers suffered no casualties.
After the war Maxon served in the WA Territorial Council (Senate) from 1857-59. In 1860 he secured government contracts to help survey land in WA. By the end of the decade the Maxon family were living in Ada Co Idaho and identified themselves as farmers in the Census.
Sources:
Hamilton Jordon Goss Maxon (1813-1884) by Jerry Olson
"Pioneer is Laid to Rest" Idaho Statesman, 16 January 1913.
Mashel (sometimes Maxon) Massacre, (March 1856) at Historylink.org
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