The Bear Flag Revolt
What I learned on the first adventure of my sabbatical was something about California history. In Napa, at an historic house, I saw an unusual flag, framed in glass and hanging on a wall. I asked about it, and the story was fascinating. Known as the flag of The Bear Flag Revolt, the flag dated from 1846, and was recently discovered in the attic of a home. This was a lucky find, as several other original flags were kept in a safe in San Francisco, and were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Since 1896 an replica has been on display at the Presidio de Sonoma. The original flag raised in the Sonoma Plaza, one of the flags that was lost in the earthquake, became the model for several other hand made flags, and it was one of these that I saw on display.
In 1846, while California belonged to Mexico, thirty-three settlers in Sonoma declared an independent republic, and their rebellion took the name of the flag they made that symbolized the new California Republic. Their republic lasted from June 14 until July 9, 1846, less than a month, and then the young republic became part of the USA. But the flag became the basis for the flag we know. Do you see any similarities?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment