© Kathy Duncan, 2026
Part Two
Six days after William H. Piper was released from San Quentin, he re-enlisted in the army on 28 January 1869 and served in the 23rd Infantry, Company C. After receiving a pardon from the governor, he had a second chance to get things right. That lasted about a year and a half.
Once again, when he enlisted, William H. Piper listed his occupation as musician. From that, I am guessing that he served in the band.
The 23rd Infantry's band was stationed with the infantry. Mostly, they were in Portland, Oregon, but occasionally they relocated to Fort Vancouver, Washington. The band was highly thought of by the Portland community. So much so that their activities were followed in the local newspapers. The band also did their own recruiting:
They marched in the funeral processions of officers. They marched in a parade to honor Washington's birthday:
They played in the evening in the plaza of Portland, and their program was published in the newspaper in advance. They performed twice a week:
They competed at the State Fair:
William H. Piper deserted on 9 July 1871 at Fort Vancouver. Where he went from there and what he did is unknown. He remained on the run for around four months before he was arrested on 8 November 1871. This clipping states he deserted on 9 August, which is different from William H. Piper's military records.
On 7 November 1871, the same paper reported that a deserter from the 23rd was apprehended but escaped in route to Vancouver. Were these reports both about William H. Piper, or were there two deserters? If there were two, why were so many deserting?
My bigger question is, why did William H. Piper stay in the area? He could have cleared out, gone back east, but he stuck around. Why?
William H. Piper was court-martialed in Vancouver in December of 1871 and sentenced to serve time at Fort Alcatraz. Because he deserted in peacetime, his sentence was light. If he had deserted during the Civil War, he would have been executed.
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| Alcatraz, 1895 |
At the time of William H. Piper's incarceration, Alcatraz was a fort and military prison. William entered Alcatraz on 12 January 1872 and served his time there even though he was given a dishonorable discharge on 12 December 1871. A notation in his records refers to estimates for repairs to a hospital.
William H. Piper was released from Alcatraz in June 1873, even though he did not serve his full sentence. He may have been released early for good behavior.
I have no further records of William H. Piper. As far as I can tell, he did not re-enlist in the army. That might be because the U.S. military had tightened its standards. Previously, men deserted for a variety of reasons - not enough food, low pay, slow pay, or general unhappiness. Then they could take advantage by re-enlisting and collecting a signing bonus. The military stopped allowing deserters to reenlist about the same time William was released from Alcatraz.
When William H. Piper left Alcatraz in the summer of 1873, he was 25 years old. For nine years, from the age of 16 to 25, he had either been in military service or serving in prison. He had been too young to learn any facet of the construction business from his father, and he was not raised on a farm. Therefore, he laced these skills. His marketable skills would have as a laborer or as a musician. The future probably looked bleak to him.
I have no evidence that William H. Piper tried to rejoin his father and brother, who were in Texas in 1873. It is possible that he had completely lost touch with them.
If William were a character in a novel, I would predict a very bad end for him. Probably a life of crime. But California was a place where people reinvented themselves and started over. Anything was possible.
Elizabeth (Powers) Piper, Plot Twist
James S Piper Goes to Philadelphia, 1876
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