— Officers Row —

Until the late 19th century, the U. S. Army awarded sales commissions to civilian traders, known as sutlers. Each post or regiment was authorized to appoint one. Described as "a combination of saloon keeper and general store operator," the sutlers supplied troops with goods and food to supplement army rations.

The first sutler at Vancouver Barracks was Elisha Camp, who came with the 4th Infantry in 1852. By all accounts, Camp rana profitable enterprise selling diverse items such as coffee, flour, liquor, tobacco, crockery, wool socks, and toothbrushes. However, after less than a year in Vancouver, his store mysteriously "exploded." Camp returned to the East Coast leaving behind at least one unhappy investor: a young Brevet Captain named Ulysses S. Grant. A successor soon rebuilt the store, and the sutler tradition continued until being replaced by a post canteen, the first in the military.

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Show me all markers in:  Vancouver, WA  |  Clark County  |  98661  |  Washington  |  United States of America

The Artillery Barracks
St. James Mission
The Red Cross Convalescent House
Clark County Veterans Memorial
The Post Hospital
The Infantry Barracks
The O. O. Howard House
The Vancouver Farm
Congressional Medal of Honor Monument
Cannon Replica Project

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