Rufus Henry Ingram

Rufus Henry Ingram was a bushwhacker who led Captain Ingram's Partisan Rangers in California during 1864. In 1863, he met George Baker, a Confederate sympathizer from San Jose, who complained about the lack of experienced leaders for secessionists in California. Ingram claimed to have fought with Quantrill's Raiders and decided to return to California with Baker to recruit soldiers for the Southern cause. In early 1864, Ingram arrived in Santa Clara County with a Confederate commission as captain and organized about fifty local Knights of the Golden Circle into his partisan ranger group. Facing difficulties in raising funds, he planned a raid on San Jose to rob banks and stores, similar to Quantrill's raid on Lawrence. However, an internal quarrel exposed the plan to the sheriff, forcing its abandonment. Ingram then targeted silver shipments from the Comstock Lode to Sacramento. On June 30, he and his men robbed two stagecoaches near Placerville, seizing gold and silver and leaving a letter claiming their actions were military operations for the Confederacy. A posse pursued them, leading to a shootout at Somerset House where Deputy Sheriff Joseph Staples was killed and Ingram's associate Tom Poole was wounded and captured. After a two-day chase, the posse lost their trail, and Ingram's group evaded capture in Santa Clara County. On July 15, an attempt to rob the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine payroll failed, resulting in a shootout with Sheriff John Hicks Adams' posse near San Jose. Two of Ingram's men were killed, and one was ...