{{Short description|American sailor and diplomat}} {{Infobox military person |name= William A. Slacum |birth_date= c. 1799 |death_date= November 1, {{death year and age|1839|1799}} |image= |caption= |nickname= |birth_place= [[Alexandria, Virginia]] |death_place= |allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]] |branch= [[United States Navy]] |service_years= 1829–1839 |rank= [[Lieutenant]] |unit= [[USS Potomac (1822)|USS ''Potomac'']] |commands= |battles= |awards= |relations= |other_work= worked for State Department }} '''William A. Slacum''' (c. 1799 - November 1, 1839) was an American sailor and diplomat. He served as a purser in the [[United States Navy]] and received a Presidential commission to gather information on the [[Oregon Country]]. At that time the region was under the jurisdiction of both the United States and [[Great Britain]]. Previously, Slacum served as a diplomat to [[Mexico]].
==Early life== Slacum was likely born and raised in [[Alexandria, Virginia]]. Slacum's family included sister Mary Louisa Slacum Benham and brother George Washington Slacum who served as a consul in the [[U.S. State Department|State Department]].<ref>[http://www.alexandria.lib.va.us/lhsc_online_collection_guides/archive/box_062.pdf Benham, Mary Louisa Slacum.] Alexandria Library. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.</ref>
On June 8, 1829, William Slacum joined the [[United States Navy]].<ref name=navy>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060623174803/http://www.history.navy.mil/books/callahan/reg-usn-s.htm US Navy Officers: 1798-1900.] Naval Historical Center. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.</ref> During his naval career in 1831, Slacum was the [[purser]] aboard the [[USS Potomac (1822)|USS ''Potomac'']] as that ship spent four years at sea circumnavigating the globe.<ref name="potomac">{{cite book | last = Reynolds | first = Jeremiah N. | title = Voyage of the United States Frigate Potomac: Under the Command of Commodore John Downes | url = https://archive.org/details/voyageunitedsta00reyngoog | publisher = Harper & brothers | year = 1835 }} </ref> Then from 1835 to 1836 Slacum served in Mexico as a Special Diplomatic Agent for the United States.<ref>[http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/ZZ/MX.html U.S. Diplomatic chiefs of mission to Mexico.] The Political Graveyard. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.</ref> During this time Slacum sent a letter to President [[Andrew Jackson]] praising [[California]], then under control of Mexico. This letter is credited with raising Jackson's interest in acquiring that region.<ref name="california">{{cite book | last = Cleland | first = Robert Glass | title = A History of California: The American Period | url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_4WdgAQbv13EC | publisher = The Macmillan company | year = 1922 }} </ref>
==Oregon== In 1835 Lieutenant Slacum was selected by President Jackson to travel to Oregon Country to gather information on the affairs of the region.<ref name="OrTr1">{{cite web | title = Ewing Young Route | work = Oregon's Historic Trails | publisher = End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center | url =http://www.endoftheoregontrail.org/oregontrails/ewingyoung.html | access-date = 2007-03-25 }} </ref> Dated November 11, 1835, Slacum was ordered to inquire about the inhabitants and prospects of those white inhabitants living along the [[Columbia River]].<ref name="Oregon">{{cite book | last = Marshall | first = William Isaac | title = Acquisition of Oregon: And the Long Suppressed Evidence about Marcus Whitman | url = https://archive.org/details/acquisitionoreg00marsgoog | publisher = Lowman & Hanford Co. | year = 1911 }} </ref> Slacum then sailed from [[Guaymas, Mexico]] on June 1, 1836, for the [[Hawaiian Islands|Sandwich Islands]], arriving there on November 5, 1836.<ref name="Oregon"/> There he chartered the ship ''[[Loriot (ship)|Loriot]]'' for the trip to the Columbia River sailing on November 24.<ref name="Oregon"/> On December 22, 1836, the Loriot sailed into the Columbia.<ref>[http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ohq/104.4/swagerty.html The Leviathan of the North.] ''Oregon Historical Quarterly'', Winter 2003. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.</ref>
Slacum then spent time interviewing [[Hudson's Bay Company]] officials such as Dr. [[John McLoughlin]] and [[James Douglas (Governor)|James Douglas]] at [[Fort Vancouver]].<ref name=pioneer>{{Cite web |url=http://geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5531/oregontrailsecond.html |title=The Oregon Trail 1831-1840 |access-date=October 9, 2010 |archive-date=July 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730082652/http://geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5531/oregontrailsecond.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}. Oregon Trail Time Frame. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.</ref> After this he then spent four days on [[French Prairie]] with the missionary [[Jason Lee (missionary)|Jason Lee]] examining the settlements.<ref name=pioneer/> Here Slacum helped to convince pioneer [[Ewing Young]] to give up his efforts to build a distillery and travel to California in order to purchase cattle that would then be driven overland back to Oregon.<ref name="OrTr1"/> After this brief stay and information gathering, Lt. Slacum prepared to leave. On February 10, 1837, Slacum left the Columbia and sailed for California.<ref name="Oregon"/> By February 19, the ''Loriot'' with Slacum and some settlers in tow arrived at [[Fort Ross]] in California.<ref name="catl">{{cite web | title = Diary of Philip Leget Edwards | work = Historical California Longhorns | publisher = California Association of Texas Longhorn Breeders | url =http://www.catl.com/diary.html | access-date = 2007-03-24 }} </ref> Here the settlers and Slacum parted ways.<ref name="catl"/>
===Willamette Cattle Company=== {{main|Willamette Cattle Company}} While in the [[Willamette Valley]], Slacum noted the dependency of the pioneers on the Hudson's Bay Company.<ref name="OrTr1"/> This was especially true when it came to cattle, as the HBC only leased cattle to the settlers.<ref name="OrTr1"/> Any offspring were the property of the HBC.<ref name="OrTr1"/> So the lieutenant offered to take any of the settlers to California to buy cattle, and even provided $500 for the venture.<ref name="Oregon"/>
==Congress== After returning to the United States, William Slacum prepared a report on the information he gathered on the Northwest Coast. In his report that was read in [[United States Congress|Congress]] on December 18, 1837, Slacum details the activities in the region and advocated that the United States extend jurisdiction over this area with a border of no further south than the [[49th parallel north#The Canada .E2.80.93 United States border|49th parallel]].<ref name="Oregon"/> Amongst other things, one recommendation of his was to cut a channel through [[Cape Disappointment (Washington)|Cape Disappointment]] in order to improve accessibility to the Columbia River and avoid the dangerous [[Columbia River Bar|bar]] of the river.<ref>Wong, Lisa. [http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/fw470/Columbia%20River.pdf Open Wide: Examining the Mouth of the Columbia River.] Oregon State University. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.</ref>
On November 1, 1839, Slacum died.<ref name=navy/> After his death, Slacum's estate tried to receive funds from the United States government for Slacum's expenses from his trip to the Oregon Country.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hlaw:@field(DOCID+@lit(sj04046)) Journal of the Senate of the United States of America, 1789-1873 WEDNESDAY, February 7, 1849.] Library of Congress. Retrieved on February 26, 2008.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{US Ambassadors to Mexico}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slacum, William A.}} [[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:Sailors from Virginia]] [[Category:19th-century American explorers]] [[Category:People from Oregon Country]] [[Category:1790s births]] [[Category:1839 deaths]] [[Category:Military personnel from Alexandria, Virginia]] [[Category:Ambassadors of the United States to Mexico]]