USA > California > Lassen County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 12
USA > California > Plumas County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 12
USA > California > Sierra County > Illustrated history of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra counties, with California from 1513 to 1850 > Part 12
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"On the third of January the expedition was reinforced by fifty-nine mounted Monterey volunteers, under command of Capt. Wm. A. T. Maddox, and on the seventh of the same month, by the arrival of Lieut. Grayson with fifteen men. On the eighth a treaty was concluded by which the enemy surren- dered Lieut. Bartlett and the other prisoners, as well as all their arms, including a small field-piece, their ammunition and accoutrements, and in return were permitted to go peaceably to their homes and the expedition returned to their respective ports. Since the above was put in type, we have learned from persons from Santa Clara that it has been ascertained that four Californians were killed and five badly wounded."
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With the capitulation of Sanches there was nothing left of the rebellion except the force under General Flores, possibly 1,000 strong, camped at Los Angeles, that was being rapidly approached from both north and south by our little armies.
Stockton's forces had moved from San Diego on the twenty-ninth of December, and consisted of :-
Commodore R. F. Stockton. Commander-in-Chief.
General S. W. Kearny
Commanding Troops.
Commanding Marines. 60
Capt. Turner, one Co. Ist U. S. Dragoons (Kearny's)
Capt. Tilghman, one Co. artillery with six guns.
(3) - -- , Co. A, Cal. Battalion Mounted Rifles
(3) ---- , Co. B, “ 66 66
7 ... ... 540
Detachment U. S. Marines.
Kit Carson and his scouts.
Total
600
As Stockton advanced, propositions were received from Flores, asking negotiations, but his messen- gers were informed that no communication would be held with him ; on the contrary, that if he or any of his coadjutors who had forfeited their. paroles were taken, they would be unceremoniously shot. On the evening of the seventh of January, they arrived near the south bank of the San Gabriel river, and on the following morning found the enemy on the north bank of that stream, ready to dispute their pas- sage. The guns were all discharged and freshly loaded. The command formed in a hollow square, with the baggage and cattle in the centre, and moved towards the ford.
On the opposite side, on an elevation of about fifty feet, the enemy's artillery was placed some fifty yards from the crossing. The Americans were thrown into line as they approached the stream, and were ordered to refrain from firing a gun until the river was crossed. General Kearny, with the advance, sent word to Stockton that the bed of the stream was quicksand and the artillery could not cross, though the water was only about four feet deep. Stockton immediately repaired to the front, and seizing the rope himself helped to land the guns on the opposite side. The line of battle was again formed, and the artillery, trained by the commodore, so effectually silenced the enemy's guns that they were deserted, and General Kearny started to bring them in, but the Californians rallied and carried them off before he could reach the point where they were abandoned. Stockton's left was then violently assailed, but the attack was repulsed. Again they formed on the high ground, and the artillery being brought into play, the commodore sighted his own guns, and the enemy's lines were again broken. They made a charge and were repulsed, when a detachment crossed the stream and attempted to capture the stores and bag- gage and stampede the cattle, but were driven back again in confusion by Captain Gillespie. They then retreated from the field, carrying their dead and wounded with them. Our loss was trifling, only two having been killed and nine wounded. What the Californians lost was never known. On the following day, Stockton marched about six miles towards Los Angeles, finally coming upon the enemy, posted upon the plains of the Mesa. He again formed in a hollow square, with the cattle, horses and baggage in the center, and awaited the result. The charge made by the Californians and their gallant and repeated effort to penetrate that square is thus described in the Annals of San Francisco :-
(3) .. Bryant places these two companies with Fremont ; Commodore Stockton names them in his marching orders as being at San Diego on December 23, 1846, and unless there were at that time two A and B companies recognized as belonging to the California Battalion of Mounted Rifles, then Bryant is in error, and they were with Stockton and not with Fremont.
A. B JAR
SUTTER'S FORT, NEW HELVETIA (SACRAMENTO), IN 1847.
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" It is said, by those who witnessed it, to have been a brilliant spectacle. Gayly caparisoned, with banners flying, mounted on fleet and splendid horses, they bounded on, spurring to the top of their speed, on to the small but compact square into which the American force was compressed. The very earth appeared to tremble beneath their thundering hoofs, and nothing seemed capable of resisting such cavalry. But, inspired with the cool courage and dauntless heroism of their leader, his men patiently awaited the result. The signal was at length given, and a deadly fire, directed, according to orders, at horses, was poured into the ranks of the advancing foe, which emptied many saddles and threw them into complete confusion. Retreating a few hundred yards, they again formed, and, despatching a part of their force to the rear, they attacked simultaneously three sides of the square. Orders were renewed to reserve fire until the enemy's near approach, and with the same decisive result, their ranks breaking up and retreating in disorder. A third time, having rallied, they returned to the charge, but once more their ranks were thinned by the deadly aim of the assailed ; and, despairing of their ability to cope with men so cool, unflinching and resolute, confused and discomfited, they scattered and fled in every direction."
On the tenth, the American forces entered Los Angeles as the enemy retreated towards San Fer- nando, in the direction from which the California battalion was approaching under Fremont, and Major Gillespie again raised the flag in the little Spanish town where he had been forced to lower it three months before.
In the meantime, Fremont had been making haste to reach the scene of action from the north. On the ninth, he had received a dispatch from Stockton, advising him to avoid a collision with the enemy until he (Stockton) was within striking distance. The dispatch bore date of January 5, three days before the battle had begun. On the eleventh, as the battalion was on the march and entering the head of Couenga plain, news came to Fremont of the battles of the eighth and ninth and the occupation of Los Angeles, and also a letter from General Kearny. That night he camped at the mission of San Fer- nando, and the next morning Don José de Jesus Pico, accompanied by two of the enemy's officers, entered camp to treat for peace. The terms were partially arranged, and they departed about noon. The march was resumed, and the next halt was made twelve miles out from the town, at the foot of the Couenga plains, where the peace commissioners from Fremont met those from the hostile force, and the terms of a capitulation were entered into, of which the following is a copy :--
ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION. Cahuen
Made and entered into at the ranch of Couenga, this thirteenth day of January, 1847, between P. B. Reading, Major ; Louis McLane, Jr., commanding Third Artillery ; Wm. H. Russell, Ordnance - Officer, commissioners appointed by J. C. Fremont, Colonel U. S. Army and Military Commander of California, and José Antonio Carrillo, Commandante Squadron, Augustin Olivera, Deputado, com- missioners appointed by Don Andreas Pico, Commander-in-Chief of the California forces under the Mexican flag.
Article Ist-The commissioners on the part of the Californians agree that their entire force shall, on presentation of themselves to Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, deliver up their artillery and public arms, and that they shall return peaceably to their homes, conforming to the laws and regulations of the United States, and not again take up arms during the war between the United States and Mexico, but will assist and aid in placing the country in a state of peace and tranquility.
Article 2d-The commissioners, on the part of Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont, agree and bind them- selves, on the fulfillment of the first article by the Californians, that they shall be guaranteed protection of life and property, whether on parole or otherwise.
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Article 3d-That until a treaty of peace be made and signed between the United States of North America and the Republic of Mexico, no Californian, or other Mexican citizen, shall be bound to take the oath of allegiance.
Article 4th-That any Californian, or citizen of Mexico, desiring, is permitted by this capitulation to leave the country without let or hindrance.
Article 5th-That, in virtue of the aforesaid articles, equal rights and privileges are vouchsafed to every citizen of California as are enjoyed by the citizens of the United States of North America.
Article 6th-All officers, citizens, foreigners, or others, shall receive the protection guaranteed by the second article.
Article 7th-This capitulation is intended to be no bar in effecting such arrangements as may in future be in justice required by both parties.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLE.
CUIDAD DE LOS ANGELES, January 16, 1847.
That the paroles of all officers, citizens, and others, of the United States, and of naturalized citizens of Mexico, are by this foregoing capitulation canceled, and every condition of said paroles, from and after this date, are of no further force and effect, and all prisoners of both parties are hereby released.
P. B. READING, Major California Battalion. LOUIS MCLANE, Commanding Artillery. WM. H. RUSSELL, Ordnance Officer. JOSE ANTONIO CARRILLO, Commandant of Squadron. AUGUSTIN OLIVERA, Deputado.
Approved :
J. C. FREMONT,
Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. Army, and Military Commandant of California.
ANDREAS PICO,
Commandant of Squadron and Chief of the National Forces of California.
On the morning of the fourteenth, the brass howitzer that Kearney had lost at San Pasqual was brought in and delivered over to Fremont, and the same day he entered Los Angeles, and the insurrec- tion had ended. There was no longer an armed enemy to the United States in California, and from that day to this there has been none.
CHAPTER XI.
California after the Conquest, until Admitted into the Union as a State, in 1850.
Peace Having Been Restored with the Enemy, Hostilities Commence between the Army Officers-Stockton's Views- Kearny's Opinion-Fremont in a Difficult Position-What Kearny Wished him to do, and what Stockton Expected of him-Fremont Decides against Kearny-Stockton and the General both Leave Los Angeles-Fremont Made Governor-Commodore Shubrick Arrives, and Assumes Command-He Joins Kearny in an Order Declaring that the General is Governor-Kearny Issues his] Proclamation-How it was Received-Fremont Becomes Satisfied that he will not be Sustained-He Yields to Kearny, and is Taken by that Officer a Prisoner to the States-The Result-Colonel R. B. Mason Becomes Governor-His Distinguished Subordinates-The Effects of the Discovery of Gold upon the Californians-The Tidal-wave from Abroad-The Necessity of a Change in the Government- Chronological Events-General Riley Succeeds Mason as Governor-The Condition of the Country at that Time- A Convention Frames a Constitution-The Vote upon its Adoption-Officers Elected-The Struggle among the Titans in Congress over the Admission of California-The Territorial Legislation-What it did-State Admitted into the Union-Final.
Stockton, Kearny and Fremont, having conquered peace, at once inaugurated war among them- selves. No longer having a common enemy to fight, they became hostile to each other. General Kearny, as we have before stated, came from New Mexico with orders if he subdued the country on the Pacific coast to establish a civil government there. He had entered the territory, met the enemy at San Pas- · qual, and, but for the timely assistance from Stockton, would have been theirs ; therefore, he was not in a position to assume the right to civil control at the establishment of peace, on the grounds of having conquered the country. The commodore claimed that the general could set up no other reason for au- thority, as conquest was a condition precedent in the government orders to him ; that, the conditions not having been complied with, the whole was null and void, and, consequently, the general was only " a looker-on-here in Vienna."
General Kearny was not of the same opinion regarding the orders, under which he claimed the right to assume command and control on land. He interpreted them to be the expression on the part of our government of an intention, not that control should be given as a reward for services in gaining battles, or subjugating the land, but that he (Kearny) should establish a civil government in California after it had been conquered ; and that the condition precedent was, that the country should be subdued, not that he should do it. The country being now at peace, he claimed to be its governor and to be en- titled to assume command. He also believed it to be his right by virtue of his rank as general.
This difference of opinion had arisen immediately upon the occupation of Los Angeles, and Fremont had become aware of the fact before entering the place. He was outranked by both those officers, and the question became a serious one with him as to which of them he should report and thus recognize as the head of the western or Pacific department. The one to whom he reported for orders would be placed in a position to maintain his supremacy by force of arms, if necessary, by the support of the California battalion. General Kearny said, " Recognize my authority, and eventually I will leave you here as governor." Commodore Stockton said, "You have been acting under my orders ; there is a doubt as to who is entitled to control ; give me the benefit of the doubt, and I will make you governor at once." Fremont reported to Stockton on the fourteenth of January, 1847, and received his appoint-
y
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ment as governor from that officer two days later, with Col. W. H. Russell as secretary of state. On the eighteenth of January, Kearny left for San Diego with his dragoons. On the nineteenth, Stockton also departed for San Pedro, where he embarked and sailed for Mexico. On the twenty-second, Fremont issued at Los Angeles his proclamation, signing it as "Governor and Commander-in-chief of California." On the next day, Com. W. B. Shubrick arrived at Monterey, and assumed the title and duties of com- mander-in-chief, as evinced in his proclamation of February 1, 1847. One month later he joined Gen- eral Kearny in the following circular order, it being practically a notice to Fremont that he was an usurper, and that if he played at being governor any longer, it would be at his own peril :-
CIRCULAR.
To all whom it may concern, be it known-That the president of the United States, desirous to give and secure to the people of California a share of the good government and happy civil organization en- joyed by the people of the United States, and to protect them at the same time from the attacks of foreign foes and from internal commotions, has invested the undersigned with separate and distinct powers, civil and military, a cordial co-operation in the exercise of which, it is hoped and believed, will have the happy result desired.
To the commander-in-chief of the naval forces the president has assigned the regulations of the import trade-the conditions on which vessels of all nations, our own as well as foreign, may be admitted into the ports of the territory, and the establishment of all port regulations.
To the commanding military officer the president has assigned the direction of the operations on land, and has invested him with administrative functions of government over the people and territory occupied by the forces of the United States.
Done at Monterey, capital of California, this first day of March, 1847.
W. BRADFORD SHUBRICK, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces.
S. W. KEARNY, Brigadier-General U. S. A. and Governor of California.
On the same day Kearny issued the following proclamation as Governor, in which he ignored the existence of the treaty of Couenga, and notified the Californians that they were citizens of the United States and were absolved from allegiance to Mexico :-
PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA.
The president of the United States having instructed the undersigned to take charge of the civil government of California, he enters upon his duties with an ardent desire to promote, as far as he is able, the interests of the country and the welfare of its inhabitants.
The undersigned has instructions from the president to respect and protect the religious institutions of California, and to see that the religious rights of the people are in the amplest manner preserved to them, the constitution of the United States allowing every man to worship his Creator in such a manner as his own conscience may dictate to him.
The undersigned is also instructed to protect the persons and property of the quiet and peaceable inhabitants of the country against all or any of their enemies, whether from abroad or at home ; and when he now assures the Californians that it will be his duty and pleasure to comply with those instruc- tions, he calls upon them all to exert themselves in preserving order and tranquility, in promoting har- mony and concord, and in maintaining the authority and efficiency of the law.
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It is the wish and design of the United States to provide for California, with the least possible delay, a free government, similar to those in her other territories, and the people will soon be called upon to exercise their rights as freemen in electing their own representatives to make such laws as may be deemed best for their interest and welfare. But, until this can be done, the laws now in existence, and not in conflict with the constitution of the United States, will be continued until changed by competent authority ; and those persons who hold office will continue in the same for the present, provided they swear to support the constitution and to faithfully perform their duty.
The undersigned hereby absolves all the inhabitants of California from any further allegiance to the Republic of Mexico, and will consider them as citizens of the United States. Those who remain quiet and peaceable will be respected in their rights and protected in them. Should any take up arms against or oppose the government of this territory, or instigate others to do so, they will be considered as enemies and treated accordingly.
When Mexico forced war upon the United States, time did not permit the latter to invite the Cali- fornians as friends to join her standard, but compelled her to take possession of the country to prevent any European power from seizing upon it, and, in doing so, some excesses and unauthorized acts were no doubt committed by persons employed in the service of the United States, by which a few of the inhabitants have met with a loss of property. Such losses will be duly investigated, and those entitled to remuneration will receive it.
California has for many years suffered greatly from domestic troubles. Civil wars have been the poison fountains which have sent forth trouble and pestilence over her beautiful land. Now those fountains are dried up, the star-spangled banner floats over California, and as long as the sun continues to shine upon her, so long will it float there, over the natives of the land as well as others who have found a home in her bosom ; and, under it, agriculture must improve, and the arts and sciences flourish, as seed in a rich and fertile soil.
The Americans and Californians are now but one people. Let us cherish one wish, one hope, and let that be for the peace and quiet of our country. Let us, as a band of brothers, unite and emulate each other in our exertions to benefit and improve this beautiful, and, which soon must be, our happy and prosperous home.
Done at Monterey, capital of California, this first day of March, A. D. 1847, and in the seventy- first year of independence of the United States.
S. W. KEARNY,
Brigadier-General U. S. A. and Governor of California.
Lieut. E. Bryant records that "The proclamation of General Kearny gave great satisfaction to the native as well as the immigrant population of the country." That was probably true as regarded the immigrants and some of the natives, but as to a majority of Californians it was not correct. They had been forced to surrender upon agreed conditions, signed at Couenga, and those conditions had been ignored. It was a breach of faith, and they were justified in doubting the integrity of those into whose hands they had fallen.
On the eleventh of March, orders reached Fremont that satisfied him of the intention on the part of the home government to sustain neither Commodore Stockton nor himself. He received orders to either disband the California battalion or muster it into the United States service ; and that force refused to be mustered, and asked for their pay. Fremont immediately visited Kearny at Monterey, to see if his men could be paid, and was ordered to return and ship by water such of his command to Monterey as would not muster, and to follow it by land.
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Upon Fremont's return to Los Angeles, he found that Col. P. St. George Cook, of the Mormon battalion, had arrived during his absence and demanded possession of his artillery, the demand not hav- ing been complied with. Col. R. B. Mason (afterwards governor) visited Los Angeles with the inten- tion of mustering out or into the United States service the battalion. He was followed early in May by General Kearny, when Fremont yielded to the pressure, and on May 31, 1847, started with General Kearny overland for the east, a prisoner. He was tried at Fortress Monroe, and convicted by a military court-martial of having been guilty of mutiny, disobedience and disorderly conduct, and was sentenced to forfeit his commission in the army. The president approved the finding of the court, but ordered him on duty again. This he declined, and abandoned the military service. A few years later he narrowly escaped being made president of the United States, because of the opinion that had become rooted in the minds of the people, that he had through jealousy been made a victim by his superiors in rank, because of his justly-earned fame in the acquisition of California. At present (1881) he is gov- ernor of Arizona.
With Fremont's departure dissentions ceased, and Col. R. B. Mason, of the first United States dragoons, assumed the duties of governor, with W. T. Sherman (now one of the world's great captains), as his adjutant-general, and H. W. Halleck (the late commanding general of the United States army), as secretary of state. Colonel Mason died of cholera in St. Louis, in 1849, and his widow married Gen. D. C. Buell, and is now living in Kentucky.
The administration of Governor Mason commenced May 31, 1847, and ended April 13, 1849. It was, therefore, during his administration that gold was discovered at Coloma, on the nineteenth of Jan- uary, 1848. Fourteen days later, a treaty was made between the United States and Mexico, that gave to the former the territory of California and New Mexico, for which the United States government paid that country $15,000,000, besides assuming an indemnity debt of $3,500,000, which Mexico owed citizens of our republic ; neither of the contracting parties knowing, at the time, of the discovery of gold, for the particulars of which the reader is referred to another chapter devoted to that subject.
When the people on this coast began to realize that the royal metal lay hidden away in the foot- hills and along the mountain streams of the Sierra, a change, sudden and absolute, " came o'er the spirit of their dream," leaving the desire for sudden wealth as the only predominent impulse that moved the masses and controlled their acts. Those who had come to California intent upon making in this country their permanent homes, suddenly lost sight of that fact, and became possessed of an irresistible desire to abandon them that they might dig wealth from nature's secret places, and then return to enjoy the fruits of their brief labors. During 1848, those only were benefited by the gold discovery who were residents of the country, or upon the coast. But the herald had gone forth into the highways and by-places of earth to summon the adventuresome of all countries to the El Dorado of the world.
The news of the discovery of gold in 1848 did not reach Oregon until the last of August, when it was brought by a vessel that sailed into the Columbia from the Sandwich Islands. Immediately there was great excitement, and a company with twenty wagons started overland to California, while as many as could get passage on the few vessels that were accessible went to San Francisco by sea. Others passed down the old trail through Shasta valley. The wagons turned off in the Rogue River valley and followed up the emigrant road to Pit river, where they came upon the wagon trail made by Peter Lassen and a party of emigrants a few weeks before. This they followed, and overtook them near Lassen's Peak, at the head of Feather river, out of provisions and unable to move. By the aid of the Oregonians the party reached the valley, being the first company to enter California by the Lassen road, and the Oregonians being the first to take wagons from Oregon to California.
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