On June 14, 1846, approximately 30 Americans who lived in the vicinity of Sutter’s Fort and fearful of General Jose Castro’s proclamation to deport undocumented Americans from Alta California by the end of the year, commandeered the Mexican Army’s headquarters in Sonoma, and proclaimed California an independent nation. This became known to history as the Bear Flag Revolt. General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was taken prisoner and sent to Sutter’s Fort two days later.
Many know the story of how the original Bear Flag that flew over Sonoma was made by William Todd, the nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln. The Bear Flag consisted of a red star, a very crude looking bear that many thought looked more like a pig, the words “California Republic,” and a red stripe on the bottom. This flag was the precursor for California’s current state flag.
What is often not mentioned in history books, and we must add that there are MANY conflicting oral accounts of the revolt, is all the people that helped Todd make the flag. Mrs. John Sears and Nancy Kelsey both supplied the white fabric and helped sew the flag, along with Elizabeth Patton Eliot who contributed the red stripe of flannel. According to some accounts, John Grider, a Black man present during the rebellion, found paint in an old barn near the Sonoma Barracks so Todd could paint the star and bear on the flag. The Bear Republic lasted just over three weeks until July 7th when the U.S. Navy under the command of Commodore Sloat arrived in Monterey and began the U.S. occupation of California and the Mexican-American War on the Pacific coast.
For today, Jared letterpress printed an image from an electrotype of the original Bear Flag designed by William Todd on June 14, 1846.
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30 сен 2024
