 In early 1855, on the eve of the Yakima War, the legislature of Washington Territory authorized the creation of the Washington Territorial Volunteers (WTV), the first militia raised in what would become the state of Washington.The defeat of the U.S. Army that year at the Battle of Toppenish Creek sparked panic throughout the territory that an Indian uprising was in progress; hastily organized WTV companies elected their own officers and quickly put to the field with little in the way of arms or provisions.Ignoring regulations, nearby U.S. Army posts supplied the territorial forces with firearms, as did the captains of two federal warships operating in the area