California in the American Civil War

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Fort Humboldt, Fort Jones, Fort Crook, Benicia Arsenal, Presidio of San Francisco, Fort Miller, Fort Tejon, Point Loma, and Fort Yuma

U.S. Army units sent east, in the area west of the Rocky Mountains, maintaining and building numerous camps and fortifications, suppressing secessionist activity (many of these secessionists went east to fight for the Confederacy) and securing the New Mexico Territory against the Confederacy. The State of California did not send its units east, but many citizens traveled east and joined the Union Army
there, some of whom became famous.

Democrats had dominated the state from its inception, and Southern Democrats were sympathetic to secession. Although they were a minority in the state, they had become a majority in Southern California and Tulare County, and large numbers resided in San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Monterey, and San Francisco counties. California was home for powerful businessmen who played a significant role in Californian politics through their control of mines, shipping, finance, and the Republican Party but Republicans had been a minority party until the secession crisis. The Civil War split in the Democratic Party allowed Abraham Lincoln to carry the state, albeit by only a slim margin. Unlike most free states, Lincoln won California with only a plurality as opposed to the outright majority in the popular vote.

In the beginning of 1861, as the secession crisis began, the secessionists in San Francisco made an attempt to separate the state and Oregon from the union, which failed. Southern California, with a majority of discontented

Fort Mojave
).

Patriotic fervor swept California after the attack on

Confederate Army, evading Union patrols and hostile Apache. Others remaining in the state attempted to outfit a privateer
to prey on coastal shipping, and late in the war two groups of partisan rangers were formed but neither was successful.

Part of a series on the
History of California

Periods
Topics
Cities
Regions
Bibliographies
flag California portal
The Great Seal of the United States of America during the American Civil War
Union states
in the
American Civil War
Dual governments
Territories and D.C.

From statehood to the Civil War

When California was admitted as a state under the Compromise of 1850, Californians had already decided it was to be a free state—the constitutional convention of 1849 unanimously abolished slavery. As a result, Southerners in Congress voted against admission in 1850 while Northerners pushed it through, pointing to its population of 93,000 and its vast wealth in gold. Northern California, which was dominated by mining, shipping, and commercial elites of San Francisco, favored becoming a state.

In the 1856 presidential election, California gave its electoral votes to the winner, James Buchanan.

1856 Presidential Candidate Party Home State Popular Vote %
James Buchanan Democrat Pennsylvania 53,342 48.4
Millard Fillmore Know-Nothing New York 36,195 32.8
John Fremont
 Republican California 20,704 18.8

Southern California's attempts at secession from California

Following California's admission to the Union,

Pico Act of 1859, was passed by the California State Legislature, signed by the State governor John B. Weller, approved overwhelmingly by voters in the proposed Territory of Colorado and sent to Washington, D.C., with a strong advocate in Senator Milton Latham. However the secession crisis following the election of Lincoln in 1860 led to the proposal never coming to a vote.[2][3][4]

Secession crisis in California

In 1860 California gave a small plurality of 38,733 votes to Abraham Lincoln, whose 32% of the total vote was enough to win all its electoral votes; 68% voted for the other three candidates.[5][6]

1860 Presidential Candidate Party Popular Vote %
Abraham Lincoln Republican 38,733 32.3
Stephen A. Douglas Northern Democrat 37,999 31.7
John C. Breckinridge Southern Democrat 33,969 28.3
John Bell
Constitutional Union
 9,111 7.6

Conspiracy to form a Pacific Republic

During the secession crisis following Lincoln's election, Federal troops were under the command of Colonel (

Pacific Republic". The success of their plans rested on the cooperation of General Johnston. Johnston met with some of these Southern men, but before they could propose anything to him he told them that he had heard rumors of an attempt to seize the San Francisco forts and arsenal at Benicia, that he had prepared for that and would defend the facilities under his command with all his resources and to the last drop of his blood. He told them to tell this to their Southern friends.[7]

Meanwhile, Union men feared Johnston would aid such a plot and communicated their fears to Washington asking for his replacement. Brig. Gen. Edwin Vose Sumner was soon sent west via Panama to replace Johnston in May 1861. Johnston resigned his commission on May 31, and after Sumner arrived turned over his command and moved with his family to Los Angeles. He would soon travel with other Southerners across New Mexico Territory to Texas and become commander of the Confederacy's western armies. He died at the Battle of Shiloh.

Struggle for control of the militia

As the secession crisis developed in early 1861, several

Clarence E. Bennett[11] for intelligence and help to hold the pro-Southern San Bernardino County
for the Union in late 1861 as Federal troops were being withdrawn and replaced by California Volunteers.

Secessionist militias

Notable as the only successfully formed pro-Southern militia unit, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles was organized on March 7, 1861, in

Tomas Avila Sanchez. Its leader was one of his Undersheriffs Alonzo Ridley and included several of his deputies.[12]

San Pedro held them up, preventing the activation of the Monte Mounted Rifles.[14]

On March 28, 1861, the newly formed

Arizona Territory
voted to separate from New Mexico Territory and join the Confederacy. This had increased Union officials' fears of a secessionist design to separate Southern California from the state and join the Confederacy. This fear was based on the demonstrated desire for separation in the vote for the Pico Act, the strength of secessionists in the area and their declared intentions and activities, especially in forming militia companies.

Outbreak of the Civil War

Bear Flag flown by Southern California secessionists
The J. P. Gillis Flag
Digital reproduction of the Gillis Flag

Reaction to the outbreak of war in California

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Southern California secession seemed possible; the populace was largely in favor of it, militias with secessionist sympathies had been formed, and

Fort Mojave and Fort Tejon to Camp Fitzgerald
in Los Angeles in May and June 1861.

Suspected by local Union authorities, General Johnston evaded arrest and with

Confederate Territory of Arizona, on July 4, 1861. The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles disbanded and members joined the Confederate Army shortly after they reached the Confederate Arizona Territorial capital of Mesilla (in what was then part of the United States' New Mexico Territory and is now New Mexico). Like other pro-Confederates leaving California for the Confederacy, the Rifles joined up principally with Texas regiments. However General Johnston joined the fight in the east as a general with the Confederacy and was later killed leading their army at the Battle of Shiloh. Armistead died leading Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg
.

The only capture of a Confederate flag in California during the Civil War took place on July 4, 1861, in

Sacramento. During Independence Day celebrations, secessionist Major George P. Gilliss, an engineer and Mexican War veteran, celebrated the independence of the United States from Britain as well as the southern states from the Union. He unfurled a Confederate flag of his own design and proceeded to march down the street to both the applause and jeers of onlookers. Jack Biderman and Curtis Clark, enraged by Gilliss' actions, accosted him and "captured" the flag.[16] The flag itself is based on the First National flag of the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars. However, the canton contains seventeen stars rather than the Confederate's seven.[17]
Because the flag was captured by Jack Biderman, it is often also referred to as the "Biderman Flag".

California volunteers called up

California (along with Oregon and Kansas) was not included in

Sierra Nevada Mountains
; few recruits came from the counties of Southern California. These volunteers replaced the regular troops transferred to the east before the end of 1861.

Turmoil in Southern California

Charged with all the supervision of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Santa Barbara Counties, on August 14, 1861, Major

First U.S. Dragoons and a howitzer. Except for frequent sniping at his camp, Ketchum's garrison stifled any secessionist uprising from Belleville and a show of force by the Dragoons in the streets of San Bernardino at the end of election day quelled a secessionist political demonstration during the September gubernatorial elections in San Bernardino County.[18]

Thereafter, with the Democrats split over the war, the first

Republican governor of California, Leland Stanford, was elected on September 4, 1861.[19]

1861 Gubernatorial Candidate Party Popular Vote %
Leland Stanford Republican 56,056 46.4
John R. McConnell Southern Democrat 33,750 28.0
John Conness Northern Democrat 30,944 25.6

Following the elections on September 7, there was a gunfight resulting from a robbery of travelers to Bear Valley and Holcomb Valley on the pack trail in the Upper Santa Ana Canyon where the Santa Ana River runs out of the San Bernardino Mountains. It was suspected by Union men that secessionists had been the culprits, doing the robbery as part of a larger plan of robberies in the valleys of Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. However, no such plan materialized.[20]

Civil War conflicts within California

Securing Southern California

As the California Volunteer regiments formed, some were sent south with

1st California Volunteer Infantry Regiment
replaced Wright as commander in the south. Detachments were soon sent out by Carleton to San Bernardino and San Diego Counties to secure them for the Union and prevent the movement of men, horses and weapons eastward to the Confederacy.

One of the earliest conflicts related to the Civil War in California occurred on November 29, 1861, at Minter Ranch, in the hills just south and west of the San Jose Valley, where Warner's Ranch and the military post of

Temecula by a Volunteer Cavalry patrol from the camp, intercepted and captured without shots being fired. Later after being imprisoned at Fort Yuma, Showalter and the others were released after swearing loyalty to the Union, but they made their way to the Confederacy later.[22]

United States Marshal for Southern California, Henry D. Barrows
, wrote to the commander of Union Army Department of the Pacific in San Francisco, complaining of anti-Union sentiment in Southern California. The letter says such sentiment "permeates society here among both the high and the low", and reports:

Volney E. Howard as counsel, and I have but little hope that he will be retained in custody.[23]

Naval incidents

During and after the 1862 Confederate

Confederate navy
to seize gold and silver for the Confederacy.

J. M. Chapman plot

In 1863,

J. M. Chapman as a Confederate privateer in San Francisco Bay. Their object was to raid commerce on the Pacific coast carrying gold and silver shipments, to capture and carry it back to support the Confederacy. Their attempt was detected and they were seized on March 15, during the night of their intended departure, by the USS Cyane, revenue officers and San Francisco police.[24][25]

Salvador pirates

In spring of 1864, the Confederate navy ordered Captain

Panama Railroad steamer Salvador, a force from the USS Lancaster arrested them and brought them to San Francisco. Tried by a military commission, they were sentenced to be hanged, but General Irvin McDowell commuted their sentences. To prevent any further attempts to seize Pacific coast shipping, General McDowell ordered each passenger on board American merchant steamers to surrender all weapons when boarding the ship and every passenger and his baggage was searched. All officers were armed for the protection of their ships.[26][27]

Partisan Rangers in California

Late in the war, local secessionists in California made attempts to seize gold and silver for the Confederacy. In early 1864,

bandits but carrying out a military operation to raise funds for the Confederacy.[28]

Also in early 1864, secessionist Judge George Gordon Belt, a rancher and former alcalde in Stockton, organized a group of partisan rangers including John Mason and "Jim Henry" and sent them out to recruit more men and pillage the property of Union men in the countryside. For the next two years the Mason Henry Gang, as they became known, posed as Confederate partisan rangers but acted as outlaws, committing robberies, thefts and murders in the southern San Joaquin Valley, Santa Cruz County, Monterey County, Santa Clara County, and in counties of Southern California.[29] However, despite all these efforts no captured gold was sent to the Confederacy.

1864 election

In July 1864, with many Douglas Democrats having deserted their party over the war, the remaining Democrats formed a fusion party behind the former governor

Frederick F. Low.[19]

1864 Gubernatorial Candidate Party Popular Vote %
Frederick F. Low
 Republican 64,447 58.9
John G. Downey Democratic 44,843 41.1

Lincoln won the

1864 election with almost 59% in California.[30]

1864 Presidential Candidate Party Popular Vote %
Abraham Lincoln Republican 62,053 58.6
George B. McClellan Northern Democrat 43,837 41.4

Civil War Era forts and camps in California

At this time, the U.S. had a number of military forts to defend against the Indian threat, and to solidify the U.S. claim to the state. As the conflict began, new forts and camps were founded to protect ports and communications, carry out operations against the Indians, to hold off Confederate soldiers and suppress their sympathizers.

Mustering and training camps for the California Volunteer units were organized at

Benicia Barracks, Camp Downy and Camp Merchant near Oakland and Camp Alert near San Francisco, Camp Lyon,[31] Camp Sumner,[32] and the Presidio
in San Francisco.

Of the ports,

New San Diego Depot[35]
occupied in 1860.

In the northwest of the state were several forts,

Fort Iaqua, Fort Anderson,[39] and Fort Seward which were the base of operations for the soldiers in the Bald Hills War. Camp Lincoln was established north of Crescent City near the Smith River to guard the native people on the Smith River Reservation
from settlers and keep prisoners of war from the Bald Hills War settled there from escaping.

In the Northeast were

Fort Bidwell was established in the far northwestern corner of the state in 1863 to guard against the Snake Indians
.

To the south there was

Fresno County, and Camp Babbitt[41] outside the town of Visalia, in Tulare County. Fort Tejon in the Grapevine Canyon (La Cañada de las Uvas) had protected the southern San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. It had been the headquarters of the First U.S. Dragoons until those regular army troops were transferred in July 1861 upon the outbreak of war. Fort Tejon was reoccupied by California volunteer troops in 1863 to guard Paiute Indians from the Owens Valley at the nearby Sebastian Indian Reservation and then it was abandoned for good on September 11, 1864. Camp Independence was established on Oak Creek nearby modern Independence, California on July 4, 1862, during the Owens Valley Indian War.[42]

At the beginning of the war Union authorities were worried that the large number of secessionist sympathizers in Southern California might rise in an attempt to join the Confederacy. In June 1861 troops withdrawn from Fort Tejon and Fort Mojave established Camp Fitzgerald outside Los Angeles in various locations as each proved unsuitable.[43]

In late September 1861, troops from Northern California landed in San Pedro and marched to establish a new camp at a more suitable location at

San Diego County to watch the southern overland approach to California across the Colorado Desert
from Fort Yuma, located on the west bank of the Colorado River.

In March 1862, all the troops that were drilling at Camp Latham were transferred to Camp Drum, leaving a company of soldiers to observe the Los Angeles area. Following flooding at Camp Carleton, the garrison moved to New Camp Carleton, built near the secessionist hotbed of El Monte in 1862.

Civil War military units associated with California

Main articles:
California Civil War Confederate Units

Due to its location, the state's local militia companies remained under state status because of the great number of Southern sympathizers, the Indian threat, and possible foreign attack. The state followed the usual military practice of mustering militia companies into regiments. These Volunteers maintained military posts vacated by the regular army units that were ordered east. However a number of state militias disbanded and went east. Several of these companies offered their services and were accepted by the Union Army.

Company Guidon, Company A ('California' 100), raised in Massachusetts

In 1862, five companies of the

California Cavalry Battalion
) were enrolled and mustered into service, and sent to Massachusetts. They left San Francisco by sea for service in the east. The California Battalion consisted of Companies A, C, F, L, and M. They participated in 51 battles, campaigns, and skirmishes.

32nd New York Infantry
, also known as the 1st California Regiment.

In October 1861, Colonel Baker was authorized to increase his command to a brigade. The additional regiments were commanded by Colonels

II Corps, Army of the Potomac. They had a distinguished service career, highlighted by their actions at the Battle of Antietam and their prominent position in the defense against Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg
.

Military units associated with California included:

  • Los Angeles Mounted Rifles (Confederate)
  • Monte Mounted Rifles (Confederate)
  • Captain Ingram's Partisan Rangers (Confederate)
  • Mason Henry Gang (Confederate)
  • 2nd Regiment of Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers
    Company A, E, F, L, and M (the later four called the "California Battalion")
  • 32nd Regiment of New York Volunteers
  • "Philadelphia Brigade" of Pennsylvania Volunteers
    • 1st California Infantry -
      71st Pennsylvania Infantry
    • 2nd California Infantry -
      69th Pennsylvania Infantry
    • 3rd California Infantry -
      72nd Pennsylvania Infantry
    • 5th California Infantry -
      106th Pennsylvania Infantry

Regiments of the California volunteers in federal service

The California Volunteer units recruited 15,725 volunteers for Federal service. Nearly all served inside California and in the Department of the Pacific and the Department of New Mexico.

Redwood forests and Bald Hills of Northwestern California. California's Volunteers conducted many operations against the native peoples within the states of California and Oregon, and in the western territories within the Departments of the Pacific and New Mexico, to secure these lands for the Union. Some of most significant of these were the Snake War, Bald Hills War, Owens Valley Indian War, Chiricahua Wars and Carson's Campaign against the Navajo
.

List of California Civil War units

The California Volunteers most directly in action against the Confederacy were known as the

Navajo, Comanche
and other tribes.

The command composed of

Shoshoni Indians at the Bear River Massacre near what is now the city of Preston, Idaho, on January 29, 1863.[47]

Detachments from the 2nd Regiment California Volunteer Cavalry from Camp Latham under

Lieutenant Colonel George S. Evans, fought in the Owens Valley Indian War
, and established Camp Independence in 1862.

The

1st Battalion California Volunteer Mountaineers provided internal security in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington Territory. 2nd and 6th Volunteer Infantry Regiments and the 1st Battalion California Volunteer Mountaineers served in the Bald Hills War and some other companies in the Snake War
.

Also the

1st Regiment Washington Territory Volunteer Infantry, had eight companies that were recruited in California during 1862, for service in Washington Territory.[48] They were mustered out at Fort Vancouver
in 1865.

The navy and the Civil War in the Pacific

  • Pacific Squadron Operations

Past residents of California in the Civil War

The following famous people visited or lived in California before, during or after the Civil War.

See also

References

  1. ^ "10 Facts: California during the Civil War". Civil War Trust. 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  2. ISBN 9780933280168
    . Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. ^ Guinn, J.M. (1901). The Quarterly (vol 5-6) How California Escaped State Division. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Civil War: How Southern California Tried to Split from Northern California". KCET. 2011-04-13. Archived from the original on 2011-11-20. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  5. ^ Johannsen, Robert W. Lincoln, the South, and Slavery: The Political Dimension, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1991.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-08-25. Retrieved 2005-10-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ Harpending, Asbury (1913). The Great Diamond Hoax: And Other Stirring Incidents in the Life of Asbury Harpending. James H. Barry Company. p. 36. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Index to Militia Units of the State of California 1847–1881". Militarymuseum.org. 2009-01-30. Archived from the original on 2012-01-14. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  9. ^ "Inventory of the Military Department. Militia Companies Records, 1849–1880" (PDF). Online Archive of California. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  10. ^ "Petaluma Guard". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  11. ^ "San Bernardino Rangers (San Bernardino Mountain Rangers, San Bernardino Mounted Rifles)". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  12. ^ "California's Confederate Militia: The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles". Militarymuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  13. ^ "Monte Rangers". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  14. ^ Scammmell, J.M. "Military Units in Southern California, 1853–1862" (PDF). Library – Military Department, State of California. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  15. ^ Tinkham, George Henry (1915). California men and events: time 1769–1890 (2nd revised ed.). Record Publishing Company. pp. 194–195.
  16. ^ "The Biderman Flag". The California Military Museum. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  17. ^ The maker may have been counting all the later members of the Confederacy, the border states and the "Pacific Republic" states of California and Oregon.
  18. ^ a b Lazelle, Henry Martyn; Perry, Leslie J. (1897). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. U.S. Government Printing Office. Retrieved 15 October 2016. Ketchum.
  19. ^ a b "Tinkham Chapter XVI". Usgennet.org. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  20. ^ The War of the Rebellion Series I, Volume L, Chapter LXII - Operations on the Pacific Coast, Part I, pp. 612, 615, 617
  21. ^ "Historic California Posts: Camp Wright". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  22. ^ "The Affair at Minter's Ranch | San Diego History Center". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  23. ^ Roger M. Grace (2006-08-15). "Candidate With Pro-Slavery Views Elected District Attorney in 1863". Metnews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  24. ^ "California Naval History: The Pacific Squadron of 1861–1866". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  25. ISBN 0806125101
    . Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  26. ISBN 9780811729789
    . Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  27. ^ "Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion; Series I – Volume 3: The Operation of the Cruisers (April 1, 1864 – December 30, 1865)". Digital.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  28. ISBN 0806125101
    . Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  29. ISBN 978-1884995514
    . Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  30. ^ "Presidential Election of 184 Popular Vote Carried". Multied.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  31. ^ "Historic California Posts: Camp Lyon". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  32. ^ "Historic California Posts: Camp Sumner". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  33. ^ "Historic California Posts: Drum Barracks:(Including Camp San Pedro, Camp Drum, and Wilmington Depot)". Militarymuseum.org. 2012-05-01. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  34. ^ Historic California Posts: Fort MacArthur - Military Museum
  35. ^ "Historic California Posts: San Diego Barracks (Including New San Diego Depot)". Militarymuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  36. ^ "Historic California Posts: Fort Wright". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  37. ^ "Historic California Posts: Camp Curtis". Militarymuseum.org. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  38. ^ "Historic California Posts: Fort Baker (1861–1863)". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  39. ^ "Historic California Posts: Fort Anderson". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  40. ^ "Historic California Posts: Fort Crook (Including Camp Hollenbush)". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  41. ^ "Historic California Posts: Camp Babbitt". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  42. ^ "California and the Indian Wars: The Owens Valley Indian War, 1861–1865". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  43. ^ "Historic California Posts: Fort Moore (Including Camp Fitzgerald)". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  44. ^ "Historic California Posts: Camp Latham". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  45. ^ "Historic California Posts: Camp Morris". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  46. ^ "California Military History: California and the Civil War". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  47. ^ Edwin C. Bearss (January 30, 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bear River Massacre / Massacre at Boa Ogoi, Battle of Bear River". National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 1 photo from 1973 (135 KB)
  48. ^ "California and the Civil War: Regiments of the California Volunteers in Federal Service". Militarymuseum.org. 2016-02-08. Retrieved 2016-10-15.

Further reading

See also: Bibliography of California history

Primary sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
California in the American Civil War.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=California_in_the_American_Civil_War&oldid=1192618389"