What is the significance of bear flag republic

Todd who painted, on a piece of brown cotton, a yard and a half or so in length, with old red or brown paint that he happened to find, what he intended to be a representation of a grizzly bear.

This was raised to the top of the staff, some seventy feet from the ground. More than thirty years afterwards I chanced to meet Todd on the train coming up the Sacramento Valley.

He had not greatly changed, but appeared considerably broken in health. The original Bear Flag was destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake and fire. The site on Sonoma Plaza of the raising of the original Bear Flag is commemorated with its designation as a California Historical Landmark. Bears and grapes have long been important in California history and this is reflected in the Great Seal of the State of California, which was adopted by the he Constitutional Convention of The seal was designed by Major R.

The Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva, has at her feet a grizzly bear and clusters of grapes representing wildlife and agricultural richness. A miner works near the busy Sacramento River, below the Sierra Nevada peaks. The Greek word "Eureka" meaning "I have found it", probably refers to the miner's discovery of gold. Unlike Americans living in Monterey or Los Angeles, who had intermarried and become friends with the old California families, those in the Sacramento Valley had kept separate.

They worried about what might happen to them if they fell completely under Mexican rule, and felt the treatment of certain fur traders in the past, and more recently the expulsion of Fremont supported their concern.

Concern worsened when the false news that Mexican-Californians were marching on Sacramento. A number of Americans went to Marysville Buttes, where Fremont had encamped on his return from Oregon. Early in June, Ezekial Merritt and a dozen other Americans seized a large number of government horses that were being driven to San Jose.

The central feature of the flag became a grizzly bear. The bear designed on the flag was the source of much entertainment, due to its closer resemblance to a hog. The original flag was eventually destroyed in the San Francisco fire in Because of their flag, the insurgents immediately became known as the Bears and their uprising became known as the Bear Flag Revolt. In addition to his forces, many new settlers joined, bringing the force at Sonoma to about 90 men.

In late June of , Fremont advanced to San Solito, present day Sausalito, and launched and assault on the undefended Castillo de San Joaquin , on the south side of the Bay entrance. The seven cannon stationed at the Castillo were spiked to prevent them from being used. Fremont also dispatched a small contingent to patrol the narrows of the Bay, preventing any communication or passage of Mexican forces. When Fremont joined the revolt in Sonoma, their control over the area was assured.

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