Senator Gwin
Strange to say, this stalwart Union senator afterward entered the Confederacy, lost his prestige and large fortune, and, at the close of the war, drifted into Mexico and the service of the unfortunate Maximilian, by…
No Contract for Russell, Majors & Waddell
What had happened was this: the Post Office Department cut off mail service to California via steamer from New York with the expectation that the bill to forward it overland would pass Congress.…
Army Assurance for Pay
Russell had had experience trying to collect losses from the government and was not optimistic. He finally agreed, with the understanding that in the event of loss Captain Brent would assist him in…
Post Office as Government Representative
As America's frontier continually expanded, mail service played a major role in organizing the physical and social landscape, just as it had since colonial days back East. Washington, D.C., was a vague concept for pioneers,…
Post Office and Spoils System
Jackson took it to a new level by institutionalizing postal patronage and making it the financial engine of America's two-party system. For nearly a century and a half, the government would effectively…
California Disappoints the Confederacy
In conclusion, we may say that the loyal attitude which California as a State took towards the Civil War, although a profound disappointment to the Confederacy, "had a powerful effect upon the whole…
Ways California Supported the Union
It is evident that California produced able and loyal men during the national crisis from 1861-1865; that the vigilance and unceasing labor of these men kept the secessionists from establishing…
California Money for the Union
As has been mentioned, the Golden State was very liberal with her gold in aiding the national cause. No claim or demand made by the national government was ever delayed…
Union Sentiment in California
The beginning of actual hostilities indeed changed many a wavering person into a strong Union advocate. When news reached California in April, 1861, that Sumter had been fired upon, the…
Removal of General Johnson from California
Colonel E. D. Baker, although a Senator from Oregon (in 1861), was looked upon by Californians as being more a representative of their own state than of Oregon. And since…
Switch from Democrat to Republican in California
"When the Southern States began to secede, California was ruled by a Democratic Governor, a Democratic legislature occupied its capital, and four Democrats were its representatives in Congress. Her forts…
Federal Troops in California Cities
In several towns during the Civil War, the secessionists caused trouble to such an extent that the presence of federal troops was imperative at various times. Visalia, San Luis Obispo,…
Mail Restrictions and Destroying the Press
As early as 1862, Brigadier-General Wright (who was commanding the Department of the Pacific after Sumner was called back to the active scenes of the war in October, 1861) requested…
Inactivity of Pro-Union Public in California
The main danger in regard to the Pacific Republic movement was the inactivity of the loyal element of the population. General Sumner in April, 1861, wrote to the War Department…
Knights of the Golden Circle
Throughout the winter of 1860-61, the establishment of a Pacific Republic was talked about in a threatening manner. And when the Southern States seceded and the Civil War had actually…