Platon Vallejo & the California Bear Flag

"Platon Vallejo, a young son of the general [Mariano G. Vallejo], aged about five [at the time], came out of the house to see what was going on.

'I remember very well,' he wrote long afterwards, 'a man painting a figure of an animal on a piece of cloth. I wanted to declare myself in on that delightful job. The man was much disturbed in his work by the wind, which ruffled the cloth. So I stood on one corner of it to hold it down. Thus, without intent, I aided in the making of the Bear Flag, one thing in my life in which I have never taken any pride.'" San Francisco Bulletin ( February 11, 1914).

Platon Vallejo became a physician. Like most, if not all, of the Vallejo family, the Bear Flag Revolt left a bitter taste in his mouth, almost certainly due to the treatment of his father.

Platon's statements to the extent credited as accurate tell us several things. The flag was apparently made on the ground since Platon assisted by standing on one corner. There was a moderate breeze sufficient to cause problems and almost certainly no rain. It also seems Platon believed there was only one Bear Flag - "making of the Bear Flag." It appears that the events Platon remembered were during daylight hours, not at night. Although no one has suggested otherwise as best known, it was a man who painted the flag.