Editing Sonoma, California (section)

===Bear Flag Revolt===
{{main|Bear Flag Revolt}}
[[File:Raising_of_the_Bear_Flag_over_Sonoma,_June_14,_1846.jpg|thumb|The raising of the [[Flag of California|Bear Flag]] and proclamation of the new independent [[California Republic]] in Sonoma Plaza, following the so-called [[Bear Flag Revolt]] on June 14, 1846.]]
[[File:Lowering_the_Bear_Flag,_Raising_the_U.S._Flag_in_Sonoma_(1846).png|thumb|right|[[Joseph Warren Revere (general)|Joseph Revere]] of the [[United States Navy]] lowering the California Republic [[Bear Flag]] and raising the "Stars and Stripes" of the [[Flag of the United States|American flag]]]]

Before dawn on Sunday, June 14, 1846, thirty-three [[United States|Americans]], already in rebellion against the [[Alta California]] provincial government of [[Mexico]], arrived in Sonoma. Some of the group had traveled from the camp of [[United States Army]] Brevet Captain [[John C. Frémont]] (1813-1890), who had entered California illegally from across the [[Great Plains]] and through the [[Rocky Mountains]] chain from the east in late 1845 with his exploration and mapping expedition. Others had joined along the way. As the number of immigrants arriving in California had swelled, the Mexican government barred them from buying or renting land and threatened them with expulsion because they had entered without official permission.<ref>Bancroft; IV: 598-608</ref><ref>Richman p 308</ref> Mexican officials were concerned about the coming [[Mexican–American War]] of 1846-1848, with the [[United States]] coupled with the growing influx of American and other European immigrants into California, both by overland wagon trains from the east and by ship on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] and [[Pacific Ocean]].<ref>Hague p.118</ref>
[[File:Sonoma,_1846.jpg|left|thumb|Sonoma in 1846<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sonoma Democrat 9 September 1885 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SD18850909.2.2&e=------188-en--20--1081--txt-txIN-Bear+flag------- |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}</ref>]]
A group of rebellious Americans had departed from Captain Frémont's military camp on June 10 and captured a herd of 170 Mexican government-owned horses being moved by Californio / Mexican Army soldiers from San Rafael and Sonoma to Alta California's Commandante General José Castro in Santa Clara.<ref>Ide p. 112-3</ref> The insurgents next determined to seize the weapons, gunpowder and materiel stored in the [[Sonoma Barracks]] and to deny Sonoma to the Californios as a rallying point north of the San Francisco Bay.<ref name="Bancroft V:109">Bancroft V:109</ref>

Meeting no resistance, they approached the home of General Vallejo, who invited the [[filibuster (military)|filibuster]]s' leaders into his home to negotiate terms. However, when the agreement was presented to those outside they refused to endorse and accept it. Rather than releasing the Mexican officers under parole, they insisted they be held as hostages. [[William Ide]] (1796-1852), gave an impassioned speech urging the rebels to stay in Sonoma and start a new republic.<ref>Harlow p. 102</ref> Afterwards, Vallejo and his three associates were taken as prisoners and placed on horseback and taken to Captain Frémont.<ref>Bancroft V:117</ref>

The [[Sonoma Barracks]] became the headquarters for the remaining twenty-four rebels, who within a few days created their [[Flag of California|Bear Flag]]. After the flag was raised Californios called the insurgents ''Los Osos'' (The Bears) because of their flag and in derision of their often scruffy appearance. The rebels embraced the expression, and their uprising became known as the Bear Flag Revolt.<ref>SSHP-GP p. 82</ref> There were some small unit skirmishes between the Bears and the Californios but no major confrontations.

After hearing reports that General [[José Castro]] was preparing to attack Sonoma, Frémont left Sutter's Fort with his forces for Sonoma. There he called a meeting with "the Bears" and united his forces with the revolters to form a single military unit. Frémont then took the majority of the men back to Sutter's Fort and left fifty men to defend Sonoma. The Bear Flag Revolt ended and the [[California Republic]] ceased to exist on July 9 when Lieutenant [[Joseph Warren Revere (general)|Joseph Warren Revere]] of the U.S. Navy raised the United States flag in front of the [[Sonoma Barracks]].<ref>Bancroft V:185-86</ref>