A Ragtag Army of Thirty-Three Men Changed History Forever
Picture this: thirty-three scruffy Americans invading a Mexican outpost on a Sunday morning in 1846, armed with nothing but crude weapons and a wild dream of independence. What sounds like the plot of a B-grade Western movie actually happened in Sonoma, California, where a group of settlers decided they’d had enough of Mexican rule. Robert Semple, a member of the group and later co-publisher of California’s first newspaper, noted in his memoirs that the party “was as rough a looking set of men as one could imagine.” These weren’t polished soldiers or sophisticated revolutionaries—they were hunters, adventurers, and ordinary Americans who made an extraordinary decision. At dawn on June 14, 1846, this ragtag group entered Sonoma, prepared to take the town by force, but instead sat for brandy with Col. Mariano Vallejo of the Mexican army and accepted his surrender. Who would’ve thought that California’s independence would begin over drinks?
The Bear Flag That Almost Wasn’t
With a cotton sheet and some red paint, they constructed a makeshift flag with a crude drawing of a grizzly bear, a lone red star (a reference to the earlier Lone Star Republic of Texas) and the words “California Republic” at the bottom. The idea was suggested by William Ford, that a grizzly bear should be used as the motto of the flag, chosen as an emblem of strength and unyielding resistance. The flag-making was overseen by William L. Todd, who happened to be Mary Todd Lincoln’s cousin—yes, the future president’s wife had family involved in this wild California adventure. Todd painted the flag on domestic cotton cloth, roughly a yard and a half in length. Little did they know they were creating what would become one of America’s most recognizable state flags. A sad irony to the symbol of the grizzly bear is that grizzly bears were hunted to extinction in California by the Twentieth Century, with black bears inhabiting the state but not grizzlies.
The Most Awkward Prison Break That Never Happened
Merritt and his men surrounded the home of the retired Mexican general Mariano Vallejo and informed him that he was a prisoner of war, though Vallejo, who was actually a supporter of American annexation, was more puzzled than alarmed by the rebels and invited Merritt and a few of the other men into his home to discuss the situation over drinks. Can you imagine? The guy they came to arrest ended up hosting a wine tasting! Vallejo quickly donned his dress uniform, then opened the door and invited three representatives of the group in for breakfast and wine, his military bearing and immaculate uniform contrasting starkly with the clothing of his “visitors.” After several hours passed, Ide went in and spoiled what had turned into pleasant chat by arresting Vallejo and his family. Talk about being a party pooper—William Ide literally crashed the world’s most civilized rebellion. General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, for example, in 1846 had a private estate of over 175,000 acres.
The Republic That Nobody Asked For
For the next 25 days, California was an independent nation: the California Republic, known as the Bear Flag Revolt, a reference to the short-lived republic’s flag. The rebels didn’t exactly have a master plan for running a country—they were making it up as they went along. The party rallied around Ide and declared him “President” of the new Republic of California. Picture William Ide, a carpenter from Massachusetts, suddenly finding himself the leader of his own nation without any real government structure, army, or budget. Three weeks later, on July 5, 1846, the Republic’s military of 100 to 200 men was subsumed into the California Battalion commanded by Brevet Captain John C. Frémont, and the Bear Flag Revolt and what remained of the California Republic ceased to exist on July 9 when U.S. Navy Lieutenant Joseph Revere raised the United States flag. It’s like they were playing government for less than a month before the real army showed up.
John Frémont: The Man Behind the Chaos
In the spring of 1846, the American army officer and explorer John C. Fremont arrived at Sutter’s Fort with a small corps of soldiers, and whether or not Fremont had been specifically ordered to encourage an American rebellion is unclear—ostensibly, he and his men were in the area strictly for the purposes of making a scientific survey, however, the brash young officer began to persuade a motley mix of American settlers and adventurers to form militias and prepare for a rebellion against Mexico. Frémont was like that friend who eggs you on to do something crazy and then steps back to watch the show. Fremont and his soldiers did not participate, though he had given his tacit approval of the attack. When they stopped at Frémont’s camp, Vallejo asked Frémont why they had been arrested, and the captain claimed that he was not involved, but nevertheless ordered Vallejo and the others imprisoned. Classic move—deny involvement while simultaneously giving orders. John C. Fremont became one of California’s first two U.S. senators in 1850, and in 1856, he was the Republican Party’s first-ever presidential candidate, but lost the election to Democrat James Buchanan.
Why Americans Were Angry in the First Place
In 1846 approximately 500 Americans were living in California, compared with between 8,000 and 12,000 Mexicans. Despite being outnumbered, tensions were running high between the growing American population and Mexican authorities. The political situation in California was tense in 1846—though controlled by Mexico, California was home to a growing population of American settlers, and Mexican leaders worried that many of these settlers were not truly interested in becoming Mexican subjects and would soon push for annexation of California to the United States. By May 24, when the captain and his men arrived in the Upper Sacramento Valley, stories were circulating among Americans that José Castro wanted to attack and expel all Anglo settlers, and rumors only increased in early June when Commander Castro traveled to Sonoma to organize a force to defend against the American invasion of northern Alta California. It was like a powder keg waiting to explode, with both sides suspecting the other of planning attacks.
The California Republic’s “Government” Was a Hot Mess
Henry L. Ford was elected First Lieutenant of the company and obtained promises of obedience to orders, while Samuel Kelsey was elected Second Lieutenant, and Grandville P. Swift and Samuel Gibson were made Sergeants. The new “republic” had about as much structure as a college fraternity, with roles assigned based on who was available rather than actual qualifications. During the night of June 14–15, 1846, William B. Ide wrote a proclamation announcing and explaining the reasons for the revolt, and there were additional copies and some more moderate versions distributed around northern California through June 18. Ide was literally writing their constitution on the fly, probably by candlelight. Sonoma was a small pueblo at the time with only about fifty inhabitants, while Monterey had about 700 non-Indian inhabitants, San Francisco had a little over 100 non-Indian inhabitants, and Los Angeles had only a little over 2,000 non-Indian inhabitants. They’d basically taken over a village and declared themselves rulers of an enormous territory.
The Prison Experience That Almost Broke Vallejo
Conditions for the prisoners were good, until Frémont discovered they were well fed and allowed to walk around the fort several times a day, so he replaced the jailer, instructing the replacement to treat them “no better than any other prisoner,” and Mariano contracted malaria while being held at the fort. What started as a gentlemanly arrest turned into a nightmare when Frémont decided the prisoners were being treated too well. Inasmuch as my jailors did not have any great respect for officials of the United States, they paid no attention to the passport and locked señor Carrillo up in the same room in which I was enjoying Captain Sutter’s hospitality, along with Victor Prudon, Jacob Leese and Salvador Vallejo, and I regretted very much the imprisonment of that friend who, moved by a desire to put an end to my wife’s worry, had undertaken the dangerous mission. After agreeing to remain neutral during the remainder of the war with Mexico, Mariano was released on August 2, 1846, and arrived at Casa Grande a day or two later, weighing only 96 pounds, while Salvador Vallejo and Jacob P. Leese were released about a week later. The poor guy lost so much weight he was basically skin and bones.
The War That Made It All Official
On May 13 of 1846, the United States Congress passed a declaration of war against Mexico, and after hearing the news, it did not take long for Frémont to return to California. The timing was almost too perfect—like the Bear Flaggers had a crystal ball. Six days later, Fremont learned that American forces under Commodore John D. Sloat had taken Monterey without a fight and officially raised the American flag over California, though the United States had declared war against Mexico on May 13, 1846, and this news apparently had not reached the Bear Flaggers at the time of their revolt. On July 2nd, Commodore John Sloat announced that the United States and Mexico were officially at war and raised the American Flag over the customs house at Monterey, then sent Lt. Joseph W. Revere with two American Flags for Sonoma and Sutter’s Fort, and Revere arrived at Sonoma, replaced the Bear Flag and flew the Stars and Stripes there on July 7, 1846. So much for their independent republic—Uncle Sam came knocking with official paperwork.
Vallejo’s Surprisingly Diplomatic Response
Although Vallejo was sympathetic to the advent of American rule, he deemed the perpetrators of the Bear Flag Revolt to be mere lowlife rabble, writing in his five-volume history: “if the men who hoisted the ‘Bear Flag’ had raised the flag that Washington sanctified by his abnegation and patriotism, there would have been no war on the Sonoma frontier, for all our minds were prepared to give a brotherly embrace to the sons of the Great Republic, whose enterprising spirit had filled us with admiration. Ill-advisedly, however, they placed themselves under the shelter of a flag that pictured a bear, an animal that we took as the emblem of rapine and force.” Vallejo basically said the rebels chose the wrong symbol—if they’d used the American flag from the start, everyone would’ve been cool with it. Vallejo noted that “if the men who hoisted the ‘Bear Flag’ had raised the flag that Washington sanctified by his abnegation and patriotism, there would have been no war on the Sonoma frontier,” but “they placed themselves under the shelter of a flag that pictured a bear, an animal that we took as the emblem of rapine and force, and this mistake was the cause of all the trouble.” The guy who got arrested and imprisoned was more diplomatic than his captors!
William Todd’s California Reality Check
Todd initially was disillusioned by what he found in California, writing a letter back to his father in Springfield in April 1846, two months before what became known as the Bear Flag Rebellion, though the letter didn’t reach Dr. Todd until that August, more than a month after the revolt. He wrote: “If there are any persons in Sangamon who speak of crossing the rocky mountains to this country, tell them my advice is, to stay at home. There you are well off. You can enjoy all the comforts of life – live under a good government, and have peace and plenty around you – a country whose soil is not surpassed by any in the world, having good seasons and yielding timely crops. Here everything is on the other extreme – the government is tyrannical, the weather unseasonable, poor crops, and the necessaries of life not to be had except at the most extortionate prices.” In another letter home, Todd said he regretted his 1846 letter discouraging people from moving to California, writing: “The letter I wrote you last spring, was written in haste, and before I had seen enough of the country to form a correct opinion about it.” Talk about buyer’s remorse—the guy helped create California’s flag but initially wanted to warn people away from the place!
The Republic That Faded Into History
Since the ultimate goal of the Bear Flaggers was to make California part of the United States, they now saw little reason to preserve their “government,” and three weeks after it had been proclaimed, the California Republic quietly faded away, with California joining the Union in 1850, though the Bear Flag itself proved far more enduring than the republic it represented and was officially adopted as California’s state flag in 1911. Though the fighting was limited and the country it established lasted less than a month, the Bear Flag Revolt led directly to the American acquisition of what is now its most populous state. Twenty-five days of independence might seem like nothing, but it changed the course of American history. Ironically, the Bear Flag itself proved far more enduring than the republic it represented: it became the official state flag when California joined the union in 1850. Who would’ve thought that a crude drawing on a cotton sheet would outlast the country it represented by over 150 years?
Can you imagine if more states had gotten their start this way? What would’ve happened if those thirty-three rebels had decided to stick with their independent republic instead of joining the United States?
