Kearny and California

Stephen W. Kearny may not have been a sweetheart, but he was perhaps the top pre-Civil War officer in the US Army. He is important for his part in the conquest of California. The Kearny ("Kar-ney") code for governing government behavior towards Californios may not have been great, but was many times better than what that behavior became. What it became may not have been as bad as government behavior during Reconstruction, but it was comparable.

Kearny was born in 1794 in New Jersey and died in Missouri in 1848. He was of good family, being able to trace his roots back through general William Alexander and Sara(Lady Sterling)Livingston.

In 1826 he was appointed as fist commander of Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. While there he married Mary Radford, the stepdaughter of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

While at the Jefferson Barracks, Kearny organized a regiment of dragoons on the lines of a cavalry unit. The U.S. Cavalry eventually grew out of that unit.

Kearny left for California with a fighting force of 300. Arrived tired in California and was stopped dead in his tracks by Capitan Leonardo Cota of the Californio-Mexican cavalry under Andres Pico at the battle of San Pasqual where Kearny was wounded. Even after Kearny was helped by Commodore Stockton's naval force at San Diego it remained a 'Mexican Stand-off, for some time. After the Battles of San Gabriel and La Mesa with the subsequent control of Los Angeles the Anglos gained the upper hand. They were helped a bit by lack of trust for the Mexicans which had been developing in the Californios.

Still for a short time, a bit like Camelot, the "days of the Dons" had been a bit like the dreams of the Caliphs.

Why Octopus?

I like historical novels in which there is an adventurous hero with whom I may enjoy identifying. I've gotten a useful feel for other times and places from such works. Many lesson of great use to us here and now may be found in them.

Even historical novels without heroes easy for me to identify with have been enlightening pleasures to read. One such novel which helped me to a better understanding of important aspects of the history of California with its lessons in economics and personal power from just after the advent of statehood to shortly after our Civil War, is The Octopus. In fact, this novel by Frank Norris does much to help one find lessons in our history during the period 1870 - 1900 in particular.

As you read the novel you may find it useful to remember that:
~ in 1848 gold was discovered near Sacramento,
~ the following year the 49ers came,
~ in 1850 California was admitted as a free state,
~ in 1853 the U.S. made the Gadsden Purchase to provide a southern route to California,
~ Wheat(a crop valuable enough for Rome to invade Egypt)was grown in Tulare county from about 1855,
~ in 1856 wheat was regularly quoted on the market reports in NY.
~ after 1860 California became one of the world's largest exporters of wheat,
~ in 1861 the Central Pacific R.R. was organized under the incorporation law of California(to learn more check names like Stanford, Huntington, and Crocker in your history book),
~ in 1862 the Union congress created the Union Pacific R.R,
~ in 1867 labor unions began to form in the state,
~ in 1869 the transcontinental R. R. became a fact.

I hope to continue this discussion in the future.
Your Librarian will find the novel for you.

From Dream to Dream

Stephen W. Kearny may not have been a sweetheart but he was the top pre-Civil War Army officer of his time. He is import for reasons other than his part in the conquest of California, but it is that conquest that interests me at the moment.
The Kearny Code for governing government behavior towards Californios may not have been great, but it was much better than that behavior actually became. What it became may not have been as bad as Federal behavior became during Reconstruction, but there are comparisons.

Kearny (pronounced "Kar-ney" sounds Irish) was born in 1794 in New Jersey and died in Missouri in 1848. Remember the "'49ers?" He was of a 'good family' being able to trace his roots back through General William Alexander and Sara(Lady Stirling)Livingston.
In 1826 he was appointed the first commander of the new Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. While there he married Mary Radford, the step-daughter of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
While at Jefferson Barracks, Kearny organized a regiment of dragoons on the lines of a cavalry unit. The U. S. Cavalry eventually grew out of that unit.

Kearny left for California with a fighting force of 300. They arrived tired in California and were stopped in their tracks by Captain Leonardo Cota of the Californio-Mexican cavalry under Andres Pico at the Battle of San Pasqual where Kearney was wounded. Even after Kearny was helped by Commodore Stockton's navel force at San Diego it remained a "Mexican stand-off for some time. After the Battles of San Gabriel and La Mesa with subsequent control of Los Angeles the Anglos gained the upper hand. They were helped some by a lack of trust for the Mexicans which had grown among the Californios.

Still for a short time, a bit like Camelot, 'the days of the dons' had been a bit like the dreams of the Caliphs.