The Silver Maltese Cross: Indian War Veterans of the North Pacific Coast

September 15, 2018

Glen received an email from a Hamilton cousin, a Civil War historian and Gettysburg tour guide, confirming that the medal Supplina was wearing in the family photo (recently published in True West magazine) was the silver membership medal of the Indian War Veterans of the North Pacific Coast -- a veterans group founded in Portland in 1885, not dissimilar to the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic). A newspaper article documents the founding of a branch (or 'camp') in Walla Walla in June of 1887, listing all the veterans present including 'S. Hamilton, Private, Co H, Oregon Vols, 1855.' The attached two-page document shows the medal close up (image courtesy of Heritage Auctions and eBay) and includes a page from one of the IWVNPC publications illustrating how the veterans felt about their service and why they fought -- written 30+ years after the wars, at a time when the Portland group was lobbying the US Congress for recognition and benefits for these citizen volunteers.

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