Although Eugene, Oregon is a long way away from where the Civil War fighting was going on, there were Confederate sympathizers in the North West state. When news of Abraham Lincoln’s death on April 15th 1865 reached Oregon, Philip Henry Mulkey set off what is known as the “The Long Tom Rebellion” by yelling “Hurrah for Jeff Davis, and damn the man that won’t” in the streets of Eugene. Mulkey was arrested and placed in jail.
A pro-Union mob broke into the jail and came close to lynching Mulkey. Friends of Mulkey’s from the town of Long Tom, Oregon, who shared his Confederate feelings, prepared to fight. The military in Oregon finally had to take Mulkey 130 miles away to Fort Vancouver so things would settle down. Mulkey would spend three months in jail.
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