 |
| The Bear Flag Revolt ends when the US flag is run up the flagpole in Sonoma, CA (1846) |
It seems that the history of California is full of
surprises. In particular, when
California seceded from Mexico it became for a short while (26 days) an
independent republic.
This was proclaimed by creating a new flag to mark the start
of the republic, and it was ceremoniously run up the flag pole in the city of
Sonoma, now the center of a robust wine-growing region.
But that flag has a history all its own, and leads to our
search challenge…
1. Who did the vexillographic design of the flag? (And why is he a surprise?)
2. What unusual ink did he use for the star?
3. In a flag with only two words on it, which word was (temporarily) misspelled?
4. What’s the connection between the flag and a famous American patriot and dentist?
5. For extra credit (and fun!), when the flag was raised at the start of the revolt, it signaled that the Commodore should move his United States troops onto land to support the annexation of California to the US. In nearby San Francisco, there is a monument to this Commodore. Where is it?
This isn’t an especially hard search challenge, but it’s
good fun to find these connections between people and events that you didn’t
know where there.
Search on!
Wikipedia search for California
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California
Third paragraph mentions California Republic, with link to Wikipedia article on same.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Republic
Article discusses, briefly, the flag of the California Republic:
1. Who did the vexillographic design of the flag? (And why is he a surprise?)
William L. Todd, nephew of Mary Todd Lincoln
Caption of photograph of the original flag in that article links to more detailed article on the Bear Flag, including a letter from William Todd describing the process of making the flag, which answered 2 and 3.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_Flag
2. What unusual ink did he use for the star?
Blackberry Juice
3. In a flag with only two words on it, which word was (temporarily) misspelled?
Republic (ibid)
The "The Original Bear Flag" section of the Bear_Flag article identifies the US navy lieutenant who replaced it with the Stars and Stripes, and who has a familiar last name, with link to his article.
4. What’s the connection between the flag and a famous American patriot and dentist?
It was hauled down and replaced with the Stars and Stripes by Joseph Warren Revere, grandson of Paul Revere
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Warren_Revere_(general)
The Bear_Flag article also mentions the navy commodore who responded to the signal, John Drake Sloat, with a link to his article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Drake_Sloat
5. For extra credit (and fun!), when the flag was raised at the start of the revolt, it signaled that the Commodore should move his United States troops onto land to support the annexation of California to the US. In nearby San Francisco, there is a monument to this Commodore. Where is it?
I'm not sure one exists.
There is a monument to him in the Presidio in Monterey, CA.
A street and an elementary school in San Francisco are named after him, but no mention of a monument in San Francisco.
found these sites useful -
ReplyDeletebear flag
bf museum
NSGW
thought #4 was pretty interesting - Revere's grandson could be the model for the Dos Equis most interesting man in the world:
JWR
the sourcing on the pigments seems a bit fuzzy, but blackberry juice for the star and pokeberry for the text is what's indicated…
the most interesting XCervezaX man
PearBear
false authority
38°17′37″N 122°27′12″W
NE corner
and just to dispel the bloodless idea, two associated events:
"On June 14, they hoisted the flag over Sonoma's plaza and, because the flag had a drawing of a bear, the episode became known as the Bear Flag Revolt.
More than a week later, U.S. Army Lt. Col. John C. Fremont rode into Sonoma, determined to support the rebels. But Fremont and Ben Kelsey didn't get along. When Fremont ordered Kelsey to kill a Mexican "resister," he refused; the man was a neighbor and a friend. So Fremont ordered Indian scout Kit Carson to shoot the man, which Carson did. Fremont and Kelsey became enemies on the spot."
Kelsey
Bloody Island/Andrew Kelsey
CA. flag
Good day, Dr. Russell, fellow SearchResearchers
ReplyDeleteSearched:
[california independent republic flag]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Republic
http://www.history.com/topics/bear-flag-revolt
http://www.history.com/topics/bear-flag-revolt
http://www.mapsofworld.com/pages/us-trivia/california-republic-and-the-bear-flag-revolt/
[california bear flag ink]
www.bearflagmuseum.org/ToddinLAExpress1878.html
[john d. sloat monument]
[William L. Todd bear flag design surprise]
http://californiapioneer.org/historic-events/bear-flag-revolt
[robert semple bear flag revolt ]
[ california bear flag AROUND(3) Robert Baylor Semple]
http://www.norcalmediamuseum.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=142
Answer
1. Who did the vexillographic design of the flag? (And why is he a surprise?)
A: Granville P. Swift, Peter Storm, Henry L. Ford and William L. Todd. William was nephew of Abraham Lincoln.
2. What unusual ink did he use for the star?
A: blackberry juice, brick dust & oil. Source: http://www.bearflagmuseum.org/JHusseyArticle.html
3. In a flag with only two words on it, which word was (temporarily) misspelled?
A: Republic
4. What’s the connection between the flag and a famous American patriot and dentist?
A: Robert Baylor Semple captured Gen. Vallejo and founded The Californian (the first newspaper ever published in California) who carried the news of the declaration of war with Mexico.
5. For extra credit (and fun!), when the flag was raised at the start of the revolt, it signaled that the Commodore should move his United States troops onto land to support the annexation of California to the US. In nearby San Francisco, there is a monument to this Commodore. Where is it?
A. Presidio of Monterey, California
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteQuery [Republic of California. 1846]
ReplyDelete1. Who did the vexillographic design of the flag? (And why is he a surprise?)
Just to confirm "vexillographic" I looked it up "A person who designs flags is a vexillographer." Interesting on Wikipedia's page on famous flag designers you won't find the name William L. Todd. It may be surprising to find he was the cousin/nephew to Mary Todd Lincoln wife of Abraham Lincoln.
2. What unusual ink did he use for the star?
A.H. Greenly's article in the "Yale University Library Gazette" of 1953, gave details on how the ink was made. He boiled Linseed Oil with Venitan Red Pigment after the "blackberry juice, brick dust and linseed oil turned purple". Others reference the blackberry juice being used in their articles.
Todd had a difficult time creating a bear which many thought looked like a pig due to what was referred to as poke juice used for the drawing.
3. In a flag with only two words on it, which word was (temporarily) misspelled?
When Todd lettered in "CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC," he left out the "I" so the two final letters had to be redrawn.
4. What’s the connection between the flag and a famous American patriot and dentist?
Members of the civilian group known as Osos (bears in spanish) included twenty individuals. One member was Robert Semple who was trained as a printer, dentist, lawyer, M.D., and riverboat pilot (depending on which article you believe).He published the first newspaper in California. After the revolt he was appointed Secretary of the Republic.
5. For extra credit (and fun!), when the flag was raised at the start of the revolt, it signaled that the Commodore should move his United States troops onto land to support the annexation of California to the US. In nearby San Francisco, there is a monument to this Commodore. Where is it?
John C. Fremont U.S. Military Officer provided unofficial support to the Osos. The monument is located at the Fremont_Peak_State_Park. It memorializes General Fremont's raising of the 1st American flag on California soil on this spot on March 4th 1846 or March 6th 1846 which provoked the Bear Flag Revolt.
Sources were
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Republic
http://www.bearflagmuseum.org/JHusseyArticle.html
http://jimsfortheloveofhistory.blogspot.ca/2011/01/recreating-california-bear-flag-of-1846.html
http://californiapioneer.org/historic-events/bear-flag-revolt
http://www.sonomanews.com/News-2011/The-039real-039-Bear-Flag-Story/
http://www.militarymuseum.org/fremont.html
RM, I might quibble with some of your results and suppositions, but the new format is intriguing > response = reveal
Deleteseems you are honing your results presentation — the organization of data & structure has appeal.
doing any looking at Jony Ive? ;^)
just for ))):
pokeberry
maybe they just weren't adept at drawing what would become Monarch? or maybe it was suppose to be Sus scrofa domesticus
Monarch
or
S-P
my guess on 4 -
#2