South Bay History: Civil War tensions led to the creation of Wilmington’s Drum Barracks

The Drum Barracks in Wilmington was the first U.S. military base to be built in Los Angeles County. It takes its name not from the percussion instrument, but from Lt. Col. Richard Coulter Drum, the Adjutant General based in San Francisco who commanded California’s militia forces.

Drum played a key role in the creation of the U.S. Army camp established north of San Pedro in 1861. Its first location was in an area then called “New San Pedro” in present-day Wilmington.

The dry, sandy...