attacked the mission on November 29, 1847. Thirteen settlers were killed, including both of the Whitmans. All of the buildings at Waiilatpu were destroyed. The site is now a National Historic Site. For several weeks, 53 women and children were held captive before eventually being released. This event, which became known as the Whitman massacre, precipitated the Cayuse War. Ensuing violence The Provisional Legislature of Oregon and Governor George Abernethy called for "immediate and prompt action," and authorized the raising of companies of volunteers to go to war, if necessary, against the Cayuse Tribe. A fifty-person unit of volunteers was raised immediately and dispatched to The Dalles under the command of Henry A. G. Lee. Called the Oregon Rifles, they were formed on December 8, 1847, and then gathered at Fort Vancouver on December 10, where they purchased supplies from the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) post. The HBC would not extend credit to the Provisional Government, therefore the volunteer soldiers each pledged their individual credit to purchase supplies with the expectation that the government would repay them at a later time. The group was to protect the Wascopam Mission at The Dalles and prevent any hostile forces from reaching the Willamette Valley. In addition, the governor appointed a peace commission, consisting of Joel Palmer, Lee, and Robert Newell. The Oregon Rifles marched to The Dalles, arriving on December 21. Upon arriving there, they drove off a band of Native Americans, but not before the natives stole 300 head of cattle. There the troops built a stockade and named the post Fort Lee for the commander, though the small fortification was also called Fort Wascopam. In January 1848, a force of over 500 militiamen led by Colonel Cornelius Gilliam (who did not approve of the peace commission) marched against the Cayuse and other native inhabitants of central Oregon. These troops arrived at Fort Lee in February, and with a larger force, the militia forces pressed east towards the Whitman Mission. By March 4, the forces reached the mission after a battle at Sand Hollows. After reaching the mission, Colonel Gilliam set out to return to The Dalles with a small force to supply that settlement, before continuing to Oregon City to report to the governor. However, on the journey Gilliam was accidentally killed in camp, with Lee then continuing on to Oregon City with Gilliam’s body. Lee was then promoted to