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In This Section... Before the World Rushed In Juan Bautista de Anza Jedidiah Smith John Sutter buys Fort Ross John Bidwell John C. Fremont Kit Carson, Fremont's Guide Donner Party Ranch and Mission Days Ranch and Mission Days, part 2 Joaquin Miller Mexican Period 1821-1846 Rancho Era Experience 1820-1848 Mission Era 1769-1820

John C Fremont

Guided by Kit Carson, John C. Fremont launched an ambitious expedition into the West, traveling from the Great Salt Lake north into Oregon, then across the Sierra Nevada Mountains into California. Fremont's second exploration report, published in 1844, by Congressional order, became a best-seller, and his map of the West became a travel guide to pioneers on the Oregon Trail.

In March of 1846, John C. Fremont, on his third expedition through the West, raised the American flag over California at an improvised fort near Monterey, but he soon abandoned his impetuous efforts and turned toward Oregon. On the way, however, he received word of the impending Mexican War and returned to California to play a part in its conquest.

In June, Fremont joins forces with a group of Americans who capture Mariano Vallejo, the amicable commandante of the Sonora region, and proclaim California an independent republic. But their "Bear Flag Revolt," named for its distinctive banner, comes to an end in July, when American naval forces arrive in Monterey and take control of the port without firing a shot.

Over the following months, American troops under Commodore Robert F. Stockton, aided by Fremont's so-called California Battalion, capture San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles without bloodshed. In Los Angeles, however, the American occupation force stirs up violent resentment, and by October they are driven out by a guerrilla force led by Anrés Pico, brother of the departed California governor. Stockton's first attempt to regain control of Los Angeles is repulsed, and while he regroups, an American force arrives from New Mexico, commanded by General Stephen Kearny. Attacked by Pico's insurgents at San Pascual, Kearny's troops suffer heavy losses, but with Stockton's aid they reach safety in San Diego. Early the next year, Stockton, Kearny and Fremont combine forces to recapture Los Angeles, with Fremont accepting the insurgents' surrender in the Capitulation of Cahuenga on January 13. In 1847, John C. Fremont is appointed governor of California by Commodore Stockton, but he is soon arrested by General Kearny, who is under orders to act as governor of the province himself. Kearny ships Fremont back to Washington, where he is convicted of disobeying orders and dismissed from the Army.