USA > California > History of California, Volume XXII > Part 20
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Naturally, holding these views, Ide regarded Fre- mont's 'unwarrantable interference' as a grievous wrong. His theory was that Fremont, finding that his original plan of provoking an attack by Castro had failed, and that the revolutionists had succeeded without his aid, had deliberately plotted with other United States officers to obtain command of the move- ment. His purpose was believed to be twofold: first, to gain for himself glory as conqueror of California; and second, to give the country to the United States without the troublesome negotiations and treaty stip- ulations which would be necessary in dealing with an independent government.12 As to the means by
11 Ide's Biog. Sketch, 191, etc. He says three men had arrived on July Ist, with news of preparations sonth of the bay. He at once made ready a boat to send arms and other aid; but Frémont managed to prevent the measure on one pretext and another, really to prevent the complete success of the revolu- tion until he conld obtain exclusive control. Ide's editor, his brother, says: 'The civil and military authority of Mexico had been thoroughly wiped out; California was not, and had not been, from the 15th of June to the 5th of July under Mexican rule. She was what her rude national flag had from day to day proclaimed, the California Republic. During these 20 days there was no obstruction, by a conflicting party to the exercise by the Bear Flag gov- ernment of its entire functions and prerogatives of national independence'! p. 207.
12 Ide's version of the 'second edition revised and corrected' of Fre- mont's plan is as follows: 'Ist, secure the command of the independent forces of the Bear Flag republic. 2d, hoist the U. S. flag, and follow up to the entire conquest. 31, if no war between Mex. and the U. S. ensne,
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BEAR FLAG REVOLT-FREMONT'S CAMPAIGN.
which the plot was carried out, Ide gives the follow- ing explanation : The people were assembled at Sal- vador Vallejo's house, Frémont's 72 men, with eight or ten 'gentlemen officers' from the ships, under arms in one room; and about 280 of the Bears un- armed in another, with an armed sentry between the two. Then Fremont entered the larger room with Gillespie and others, and made a speech. He still declined to meddle in California polities, but was willing to render aid against Castro, whom he de- nounced as a usurper, on condition that the insur- gents would pledge themselves to " abstain from the violation of the chastity of women," to conduct the war honorably, and to obey their officers implicitly. Ide then made a speech, consenting to the pledge of obedience, to draft which a committee was chosen. The larger assembly named Ide on this committee, whereupon the smaller, 'the council of friends,' named two of their number. In committee meeting the ma- jority, being and representing men who were not con- nected with the Bear Flag movement at all, favored setting aside all that had been done in the past and starting anew; and this idea was embodied in their report. The reasons urged were: 1st, that July 5th immediately follows the 4th; 2d, that Frémont, as 'advisory leader,' should begin with the beginning; and, 3d, that in changing the 'administration,' a new organization was proper-" or, more definitely, that we who are out of office may have a chance to get in." After an ineffectual attempt to get possession of the chair by the representatives of the smaller body, the majority report was first submitted for approval; and then that of the minority-but here Ide's narra- tive abruptly terminates. We have no means of
sell out all the military stores of the U. S. to the govt of Cal., and obtain Cal. by treaty with the new govt; but in the event of a war, to seize and acquire the whole by the right of conquest.' The officer who should thus violate national honor would naturally be cashiered by his govt ; 'yet as a solace for his dishonor [to use the language of our informant, who was one of said U. S. officers], he will be in town with a pocket full of rocks.' Biog. Sketch, 195. Ford's narrative does not include these matters.
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FRÉMONT AND IDE.
knowing this author's version of the final result, or of the methods by which Frémont succeeded in his main purpose of obtaining the command, notwith- standing the numerical strength of the Bears as com- pared with the 'council of friends.' Perhaps Ide would have represented the adoption of Bidwell's brief pledge as a victory over those who wished to blot out all that had been done before July 5th, and his own withdrawal in favor of Frémont as a com- promise intended to prevent dissensions; or perhaps his claim might be to have resigned in disgust, be- cause his policy could not be fully carried out.
The truth is that Ide greatly overrated his influence and achievements. He believed himself entitled to the glory of having organized a great revolution, won a great victory, and founded a great republic. His com- panions of the original Bear party looked upon him as an honest, zealous, but eccentric and somewhat fa- natical old man, whose zeal, good sense, and education rendered him as well fitted for the command as any of their number after the departure of Semple and Grigsby, and whose eccentricities and mania for theo- rizing and writing and making speeches could not be regarded as a serious fault on the part of a garrison commander. They cared nothing for his political theories, and never thought of him as in any sense a rival of Frémont. It was on the latter's cooperation that they had founded their hopes of successful revolt from the first, and they were ready to welcome his accession to the active command at any time, regard- ing it as practically an alliance with the United States. Sympathy is naturally excited in Ide's behalf by reason of his many good qualities, by his devotion to what seemed to him a worthy cause, by the earnest- ness with which he presents his wrongs, and by the fact that Frémont did unquestionably rob him of a certain portion of what both parties and the world at large regarded as fame. But it must be borne in mind that his cause was in reality a bad one-mere filibus-
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BEAR FLAG REVOLT-FREMONT'S CAMPAIGN.
terism; that his influence in promoting the revolt had been much less than that of Fremont; and that, far from having conquered California as he believed, he had really accomplished little or nothing toward that conquest. Moreover, it is not easy to comprehend that his plan of giving the country to the United States was in any way more honorable than that by which the annexation was effected, and which he so violently denounces.
Respecting the military organization effected on July 5th at Sonoma, I have found no contemporary records whatever. All that is known of the Califor- nia battalion as it was at first organized is that it nun- bered about 250 men of the Bear Flag party and Fre- mont's explorers; formed into three companies under John Grigsby, Henry L. Ford, and Granville P. Swift respectively as captains; all under the command of Frémont, though it does not appear what was the exact rank and title-perhaps acting major-assumed by that officer; and with Lieutenant Gillespie appar- ently as adjutant.13 About the terms of enlistment we have only Bidwell's memory of the paper signed by the volunteers. Ide seems to have joined the force · as a private. Something more of detail about the battalion in a later stage of its development will appear in the annals of the conquest. Captain Grigsby with 50 men or more remained at Sonoma. The rest of the
13 Frémont says nothing of the force; simply mentions that it was organ- ized under his command, that officers were elected, Grigsby and 50 men being left at Sonoma. Niles' Reg., Ixxi. 191. Gillespie, Fremont's Cal. Claims, 28, says that four companies were organized, one being left at Sonoma, and that the whole force was 224. Hensley, Id., 35, says: 'We organized the " Califor- nia Battalion," adopting the "grizzly bear" as our emblem, requesting Capt. Fremont to take command of the battalion, and of all the forces and resources of the country, which command he accepted.' In a contribution to the Alta, July 3, 1866, Gillespie gave the force as 250, 70 being left at Sonoma; and names himself as adjutant and inspector, with rank of captain. Followed by Lancey's Cruise, 73, 102. In the Bear Flag Hist., we read that the volunteers were 'organized into three companies under captains Grigsby, Ford, and Swift, leaving a small artillery company to take charge of the fort.' Ide says nothing of the organization, but states that there were about 350 men at Sonoma. Bidwell mentions the election of captains Ford and Swift only. Baldridge says there was some rivalry for the post of senior captain; but Grigsby was chosen. By different authorities the force of the battalion on arrival at Monterey is given as 160 or 180 men.
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THE BATTALION AT NEW HELVETIA.
force under Fremont started July 6th for the Sacra- inento, there to make preparations for an advance upon Castro, taking with them such horses, cattle, and other needed supplies as the Bears had accumu- lated, or as they could find in the adjoining ranchos.
Frémont and his battalion arrived at Sutter's Fort, and moved up to the old camp on the American River on the 9th and 10th of July. It was the avowed in- tention to march with the least possible delay against Castro in the south; and it is of course impossible to prove that such was not Fremont's real purpose. I suspect, however, that he would have found a plausi- ble pretext for delaying the movement for several weeks, in expectation of news that war had been de- clared. He was by no means afraid of Castro's forces, nor was he averse to a fight in which old scores might be settled; but his position as an officer of the United States was a delicate one. By postponing hostile ac- tion until the news of war should come, he might, thanks to his past caution, set up the plea, if by rea- son of official censure or other motives it should seem safest, that he had not instigated the revolt or taken any active part in it, but had taken the nominal com- mand at the last for any one of a dozen reasons which his fertile brain would suggest. It is by no means impossible that he might have found it politic under certain circumstances to assume the ground imputed to him by Ide, that he had gained control of the move- ment solely to remove obstacles, in the shape of an independent government, to the military conquest of the country. The desired tidings arrived, however, on the very day that the battalion camped on the American; so that the movement even from its be- ginning at Sonoma has been known as a 'pursuit of Castro,' news of whose retreat from Santa Clara reached the Sacramento at about the same time. With the news of Sloat's operations at Monterey, there came a U. S. flag, which was raised next morning, July 11th, over Sutter's Fort; the stars and stripes had already
186
BEAR FLAG REVOLT-FRÉMONT'S CAMPAIGN.
been floating at Sonoma for two days; the Bear Flag revolt was at an end.
In an introductory chapter to the general subject, and in the course of my narrative, I have already said quite enough respecting the causes, effects, and general character of the Bear Flag revolt, and I do not propose to reopen the subject even en résumé. Neither do I deem it best to notice, except in a pass- ing glance, the actions of the insurgents respecting private persons and property while in possession of Sonoma and the surrounding region. It is not possi- ble to ascertain the exact truth in this matter. Those connected with the movement, almost without excep- tion, both in statements of the time and in later tes- timony, declare that no outrage or excess was com- mitted; that but little private property except horses was taken, and these always with the consent of the owners, who took receipts to prove their claims against the new government later. It is not necessary to be- lieve that all this was literally true; there can be no doubt that small quantities of plunder were taken by the insurgents from many citizens without any for- malities whatever; and it is not likely that the ran- cheros were eager to part with their horses and cattle, even in exchange for the Bears' promises to pay. Yet it is certain that the leaders did their best to restrain their somewhat unruly followers; and their efforts were, all circumstances considered, successful. Rarely if ever has a filibuster revolt been conducted with so much moderation in respect of private rights. I might introduce here a long list of statements by Californians about outrages committed by the hated Bears; but it would serve no good purpose. Many of these accusations are evidently and absurdly false; others are grossly exaggerated; and I have no means of distinguishing accurately the comparatively few that are well founded. As to the obligations con- tracted by the insurgents for horses and other supplies
187
BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTES.
from June 14th to July 9th, they were turned over to U. S. officials, together with the so-called public property designed as security for their payment. The matter of 'California claims' in congress is too com- plicated to be noticed here. These early claims were, however, acknowledged by the United States, in con- nection with more numerous and important obliga- tions of similar nature incurred during the conquest. The two classes of claims are so blended that it is not easy to determine from existing records the fate of any particular claim of the earlier period. Many of the rancheros lost their receipts; others sold theirs to third parties at nominal prices; and others still pre- sented fictitious claims. Few if any bona fide orig- inal claimants ever received payment for the property lost.14 I append in closing some notes on the bibliog- raphy of the Bear Flag revolt.15
14 In Bear Flag Papers, MS., 21, is a memorandum of sundries taken from some one on June 21st and July 5th. It is marked 'taken by order of Capt. Fremont.' In Vallejo, Hist. Cal., MS., v. 141-6, and Mrs Leese's Ilist. Bear Party, there are somewhat vague accounts of troubles between the Bear lead- crs and Mrs Vallejo and family, the latter being accused of sending arms and ammunition to Padilla and Carrillo.
13 [ name different sources of information-already often referred to in the preceding chapters-approximately in the order of their importance. The Bear Flag Papers is a collection of about 80 original documents of 1846 bearing on the capture and occupation of Sonoma, the imprisonment of Va- llcjo and his companions at Sutter's Fort, and other topics closely connected with the revolt. Almost without exception, these papers contain information not existing elsewhere. Of especial value are the original capitulations and parole papers signed at Sonoma ou June 14th, a contemporary narrative by Leese, official reports of Lieut Misroon's visit to Sonoma, and some corre- spondence of the prisoners. I have no hesitation in putting this collection at the head of the list. For the preservation of such valuable historic records the public is indebted, as I am for their possession, to Gen. M. G. Vallejo. Lecse's Bear Flag; Statement of Jacob P. Leese to Col. J. C. Fremont. Pro- ceedings in Upper C'alifornia previous to the declaration of the war in this de- partment, is one of the papers of the collection just mentioned, and merits special notice. It is a narrative of 12 large and closely written pages in Leese's hand; prepared probably in 1847, under circumstances not definitely known; and containing a more defailed account of the taking of Sonoma, in certain respects, and especially of the journey of the captives to Sacramento, than any other. Leese's statements are confirmed by other evidence in some parts; and there is no reason to doubt their accuracy in others.
The manuscripts contained in Larkin's Doc. Ilist. Cal. and Larkin's Off. Correspondence, which bear upon the matter would, if brought together, form a collection much larger, and in some respects more important, than that just mentioned. They consist of more than 200 documents, chiefly cor- respondence of Larkin, Stearns, Leidesdorff, Fremont, Montgomery, Gillespie, Maish, and other prominent men, dated in the first half of 1846. They are
ISS
BEAR FLAG REVOLT-FREMONT'S CAMPAIGN.
invaluable in fixing dates; and they throw much light on every phase of what was occurring in all parts of the country. Buchanan's Instructions to Larkin is the most important single document, though belonging only indirectly to the Bear Flag revolt. Sawyer's Documents consist of copics made from the Larkin papers before they came into my possession; but it includes a few papers that have been lost from the originals. They were given me by the late Charles H. Sawyer.
Other private archives particularly rich in material on the revolt are Castro, Doc. Ilist. Cal .; Documentos para la Hist. de C'alifornia; and Vallejo, Doc. Hist. Cal. Very many important papers, official and nnofficial, are found in these collections and nowhere else, to say nothing of the hundreds of petty communications which, in the aggregate, help so much to perfeet the historic record. The smaller collections of Doc. Hist. Cal., bearing the names of Guerra, Pico, Bandini, Olvera, Moreno, Coronel, and Carrillo respectively, also contain each its original and contemporary contributions to current his- tory, with special reference to affairs in the south. The Cal. Pion. Soc. Archives and the Monterey Consulate Archives furnish each a few items not obtainable elsewhere.
The public archives of the Californian government furnish but meagre information respecting the events of this period. There is hardly anything of value relating to events on the northern frontier in June and July. The archives-notably the Legislative Records; Depart. St. Papers, tom. vi .- viii .; Los Angeles, Arch .; and San Jose, Arch .- are richer in matters about events preceding the outbreak; though even in this respect they are much less com- plete than the private archives.
Among personal narratives-that of Leese having been noticed, and after a passing glance at four Letters from California, signed 'The Farthest West,' written in June 1846 from Yerba Buena, intended for a New York paper, but originally published in the Honolulu Friend, Oct. 15-Dec. 1, 1846, and containing much interesting information on current events-that of Will- iam B. Ide merits our first attention. It is found in A Biographical Sketch of the Life of William B. Ide; with a minute and interesting account of one of the largest emigrating companies (3,000 miles over land) from the East to the Pacific coast. And what is claimed as the most authentic and reliable account of 'the virtual conquest of California in June 1846, by the Bear Flag Party,' as given by its leader, the late Hon. William Brown Ide. Published for the subscribers. n. p., n.d. (probably Claremont, N. H., 1880), 16mo, 240 p. This little work was edited and printed by Simcon Ide, a brother of William B., and may be noticed in three distinct parts. Ist, biographical matter contributed by different mem- bers of the family, and including original letters; a most praiseworthy sketch of the life of a prominent pioneer, containing interesting reminiscences of the overland trip by Ide's daughter, Mrs Healey. 2d, an account of the revolu- tion compiled by the editor from various sources, and of no value whatever; since the aged brother in his New Hampshire home had no facilities for ac- quiring accurate information; and the men in California to whom the proofs were submitted for revision-or at least those of them whose ideas were fol- lowed-were not well qualified for the task. And, 3d, Ide's Letter to Senator Wambough, a narrative of the revolt supposed to have been written before 1848, and devoted mainly to a vindication of the author's reputation as the real 'Conqueror of California' against the rival elaims of Capt. Fremont. This is by far the most important part of the work. In many respects it is a more complete record than any other narrative. It is most eloquently though quaintly written. There is every reason to believe, from the narra- tive in question and from other sources, that Ide was an honest and well meaning man. This letter, however, is a piece of special pleading, every- where colored by a violent prejudice, sometimes amounting to a mania, against Frémont, whom Ide honestly believed to have robbed him of his fame as a conqueror and founder of a republic. The merits of the case have been discussed elsewhere; but the author's grievance and bitter prejudice doubtless lead him at several points away from strict accuracy in the presentation of
189
AUTHORITIES ON THE REVOLT.
minor facts, and thus detract from the merit of the narrative. The Wam- bough letter, with some editorial comments, containing nothing not in the Biog. Sketch, was issued separately under the title, Who Conquered California, etc. Claremont, N. H. (1880), 12mo, 137 p. Mr Ide quotes once or twice a diary kept by him at Sonoma. It is not very unlikely that this manuscript may some day be brought to light. I have also a MS. copy of Ide's Biog. Sketch made before the work was published.
A manuscript report signed by John H. Nash, John Grigsby, and Win B. Ide as a 'committee' of citizens, and dated Sonoma, May 13, 1847, was fur- nished to the Sangamon (Ill.) Journal, which paper published a ' brief résumé' of its contents reprinted in Niles' Register, Ixxiii. 110-11, 157. It is not known what has become of the original. I have quoted the summary as liistory of the Bear Flag Revolt. The original had an appendix containing 'matters and things which onght not to be published at the present time,' say the cd- itors. From the closing paragraph, it appears that the report was written to favor the payment of the 'California claims,' and to obtain a 'land premiumn' and other remuneration for revolutionary services. It was probably written chiefly by Ide, and in general purport does not differ materially from the Wambough letter. Henry L. Ford's Bear Flag Revolution in Cal. is a MS. narrative written by the author in 1851, for Rev. S. H. Willey, who pub- lished a summary of its contents in the S. F. Bulletin and Sta Cruz Sentinel. My copy was made from the original in 1877. Ford was a prominent man in the revolt from the beginning, and may be regarded as a trustworthy witness. As he wrote from memory, his dates are inaccurate; and there are some indi- cations that in his recollections he sometimes confounded what he saw and what he read in the early papers; still his statement must be regarded as one of the most important extant.
Among the statements written by Bear Flag men from memory expressly for my nse, William Baldridge's Days of '46 is by far the most valuable and complete; though some useful items are given by Knight, Hargrave, Fowler, McChristian, Marshall, Gregson, and others. Bidwell, California 1841-8, gives testimony that has been of great service to me, being somewhat disap- pointing, however, in comparison with his testimony on other matters, and with what might naturally be expected from a gentleman of Bidwell's intelligence and opportunities. John A. Sutter's Personal Reminiscences are not very val- uable in this connection, except as showing the author's views on certain points. John C. Frémont has repeatedly promised and as often failed to give me his testimony on the subject. Thomas S. Martin's Narratire, by one of Frémont's men, is quite extensive and interesting; but is unfortunately so in- accurate on many matters susceptible of proof as to destroy its value on other affairs.
Original statements by native Californians, of which I have many besides the claborate histories of Vallejo, Osio, Alvarado, Pico, and Bandini, and the briefer recollections of Manuel Castro, Francisco Arce, Francisco Rico, Esté- van de la Torre, and Luis German, with contributions of Antonio F. Coronel and Narciso Botello in the south, are on this subject as on most others very uueven in quality. Side by side in the same narrative are found the most absurd and evident inaccuracies on one point and valuable testimony on an- other. The Bear Flag revolt is on an average more fairly presented by these gentlemen than are many other topics of California history. Their statements in the aggregate are very valuable when used in connection with and tested by contemporary records; without such accompaniment they would lead the historian far astray on many points. Of course I have no space here to par- ticularize the merits and weaknesses of so many narratives; and no one of them is, on this special subject, notably superior or inferior to the rest.
The New Helvetia Diary, MS., is a record of the time which fixes several dates, and is otherwise of considerable value. Sutter's Diary is substantially in mnost respects a résumé of the same record. Clyman's Diary, MS., contains some items bearing indirectly on the general topic. In Niles' Register of 1846- 7, vol. Ixx. p. 161, lxxxi. p. 173-4, 187-91, is a valuable collection of corre-
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