Montana in the American Civil War Montana in the American Civil War The area that eventually became the U.S. state of Montana played little direct role in the American Civil War. The closest the Confederate States Army ever came to the area was New Mexico and eastern Kansas, each over a thousand miles away. There was not even an organized territory using "Montana" until the Montana Territory was created on May 26, 1864, three years after the Battle of Fort Sumter. In 1861, the area was divided between the Dakota Territory and the Washington Territory, and in 1863, it was part of the Idaho Territory. Nevertheless,
Bombardment of Fort Stevens Bombardment of Fort Stevens The Bombardment of Fort Stevens occurred in June 1942, in the American Theater and the Pacific Theater of World War II. An Imperial Japanese submarine fired on Fort Stevens, which defended the Oregon side of the Columbia River's Pacific entrance. The Japanese submarine , commanded by Tagami Meiji, had been assigned to sink enemy shipping and attack the enemy on land with its 14 cm deck gun. Transporting a Yokosuka E14Y seaplane, the submarine was manned by a crew of 97. On 21 June 1942, "I-25" had entered U.S. coastal waters, following allied fishing boats to