California Flag "Tagged" Under a Bridge

This is a photograph from Flickr by Rancorous showing an attempt at "tagging" the California Bear Flag under a highway bridge.

Sierra Madre Wisteria Festival Bear Flag

This is a 2008 photograph from Flickr of the California Bear Flag flying at the Sierra Madre, CA Wisteria Festival.


A pretty shot don't you think?

California Flag (Crystal Fox Gallery)

This is the California Flag at Crystal Fox Gallery by Jaffa Giftware.

Image 3 Crystal are true 3-dimensional images created inside solid pieces of optical quality crystal using the patented Jaffa Image 3tm process. A high powered laser beam produces these intriguing shapes and images by creating tens of thousands of 'sparks of light', each one being precisely placed deep inside the crystal. Viewed from any angle, the designs are suspended in space, with no marks or blemishes to mar the exterior surface.

The Bear Flag has gone hi tech & classy!

Silk California Bear Flag at Sweeney's Emporium

This is an interesting older Bear Flag which is currently on sale at www.sweeney-emporium.com. Feel free to purchase it and donate it to the Bear Flag Museum and its collection. It is described as follows at Sweeney's:

"Silk California Flag - Color design on white flag. 1 pinhole & that's it. 14' x 9 1/2'. Vintage but age unknown. Housed in a barn wood frame.
(Cat. #15717) $275.00"

Sonoma Barracks Duplicate Bear Flag

The upper picture shows the details of the words, star & bear on the "duplicate" Bear Flag. This photograph was taken in August 2007 by the Bear Flag Museum.

The lower picture is a May 2008 photograph of the "duplicate" Bear Flag made in 1896 and presently displayed in Sonoma, CA at the historic Barracks which are part of the Sonoma State Historic Park. This photograph is from Flickr and was taken by Jade Rossdale. We have seen at least one claim that the flag is not a wholly accurate copy of the "original" Bear Flag.

2008 Bear Flag Photograph

A 1922 Fanciful Bear Flag Re-telling

In E. Alexander Powell's fanciful [i.e., inaccurate]1922 retelling of the Bear Flag story in SOME FORGOTTEN HEROES, he wrote:

"as most of its citizens were hunters and adventurers, when some one suggested ... the grizzly bear ... the suggestion was adopted with enthusiasm, and a committee of two appointed to put it into immediate execution. A young settler named William Ford ... and William Todd... were makers of the flag. On a piece of unbleached cotton cloth, a yard wide and a yard and a half long, they painted the rude figure of a grizzly bear ready to battle. This strange banner they raised, at noon on June 14, amid a storm of cheers.... from it the Bear Flag Republic took its name."

Bear Flag at Hwy 80 Border Checkpoint

This is a photograph of the California Bear Flag at a Hwy 80 Border Checkpoint in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California.

Bear Flag at USF

This is a May 2008 photograph of the Bear Flag flying at the University of San Francisco in May 2008.

2008 Bear Flag at the Benicia Bridge

A July 2008 photograph of the California Bear Flag at the Benicia Bridge. Benicia, California. Benicia was founded by Bear Flagger Robert Semple & Mariani Vallejo. It was named after Vallejo's wife.

Bear Flag Whiskey Label

Graphic design work for Bear Flag Authentic American Whiskey

2009 Bear Flag Photo

A nice Bear Flag photograph taken 4/30/2009 by Folie Rufie. From Flickr

New Bear at the California Museum

June 22, 2009 photographs of the new bear sculpture at the California Museum.

Peter Storm & His Bear flag

This is a photograph of Peter Storm with his standing bear, Bear Flag.

According to H. H. Bancroft: "Peter Storm has often been credited with having painted the Bear flag. At a celebration in Napa, Sept. 9, 1873, Storm, introduced by Brannan, stood up and was cheered as the artist, at the same time waving a counterpart of the original.[cite omitted].... In 1871 also Storm, visiting S. F., was honored as the painter of the flag.[cite omitted].... It would seem that Storm did paint a flag, but somewhat later and at Napa. Baldridge ... tells us that it was painted on a piece of greenish fabric at Napa in 1848 for the use of a party going to Sonoma dor a celebration of July 4th. He thinks it is one of the flags preserved by the pioneers at their hall in S. F."

We have yet to see any documentation of Storm making a flag in June of 1846 which flew at Sonoma during the Bear Flag Revolt.

Aaron Foster License Plate Bear Flag

Photograph of an art work by Aaron Foster using California automobile license plates.

An 1876 Bear Flag Description

According to The Golden State: a History of the Region West of the Rocky Mountains (1876) by Rolander Guy McClellan:

"[Wm. B.] Ide, a New England man, was left to garrison the fort at Sonoma, with a force of eighteen men.... A flag was improvised, by painting in rude form the figure of a grizzly bear on a piece of white cotton cloth. It followed Ide's proclamation, and was the first flag after California was declared independent of Mexico."

McClellan gave no sources & so it is hard to credit his facts (except those not disputed).

William B. Ide Diary

Here is an interesting tidbit about the Bear Flag Revolt:

In 1878, William Todd (credited by the majority with a role in the making of the original Bear Flag) told William Winter of the "Territorial Pioneers of California" that William B. Ide "kept a Diary during that eventful period of California's early History [the Revolt]...."

Ide was a leader during the Revolt and at Sonoma when the Bear Flag was likely created. He also wrote a Proclamation on June 15, 1846.

Wish we had that Diary!

Bear Flag Flying in Truckee, CA

This is a photograph of the Bear Flag flying in downtown Truckee, CA in July 2008.

Sonoma Bear Flag Wine

This is a photograph of a sign for the Bear Flag Wine Tasting Room in Sonoma CA taken in 2005.

Life Magazine Photograph of Earl Warren & Bear Flag

This is a Lige Magazine photograph of Earl Warrem speaking at the California State Legislature with the California Bear Flag draped behind him.

California Bear Flag at Sonoma City Hall

These are photographs of the Sonoma, CA City Hall located in the historic Plaza, with the Bear Flag flying over it. The original Bear Flag was first raised in the northeast corner of this Plaza in June of 1846.

Old Mill Cigarettes California Bear Flag

This is a photograph of a silk inserted into the American Tobacco Co's OLD MILL CIGARETTES. The exact date of this silk is not known, but probably before 1920.

Maggie Alverson's 1855 Bear Flag

In 1854, 15 year old,Stockton, CA resident Margaret("Maggie") Blakey Alverson received a $50 gold slug for making a Bear Flag for schooner captain, Captain Charley, who did a monthly trip up the San Joaquin River from S.F.

The bear was cut out of brown drilling & some dark green drilling was cut for a grass plat on which the bear could stand. A star for the corner was cut out of "blue selcia"[silesia -twilled cotton lining cloth]. There was a whole month of hand stitching & hemming.

Captain Charley was elated at the flag's quality and gave Maggie the promised gold. A few days later she gave the gold to her parents once she learned of some financial problems.
From Sixty Years of California Song(1913).

Cute story of early, American California don't you think? And it is all about the Bear Flag

Governor's New Bear Sculpture, State Capitol

These photographs are of the new in 2009 Bear sculpture purchased and put on display by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger outside of the Governor's Office in the California State Capitol, Sacramento. The sculpture received a fair amount of publicity when it was first placed on display.

Bear Flag with Olympic, U.S., & Orange County, CA Flags

1877 Bear Flag Photograph

These photographs are two views of 1877 photographs of the Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California, New York City. That is John A. Sutter sitting in the middle bottom row.

Thompson & Bancroft Agreed Bear Flaggers

R. A. Thompson & Hubert H. Bancroft agree that the following 25 men were Bear Flaggers (however defined):

Ezekiel Merritt, William B. Ide, Robert Semple, Henry L. Ford, William Todd, Granville P. Swift, William Fallon, Horace Sanders, Peter Storm, Samuel Gibson, W. W. Scott, Benjamin Dewell, Thomas Cowie, David Hudson, William Hargrave, Pat McChristian, ________ Fowler, William or Harvey Porterfield, John or James Gibbs, John Sears, Samuel Kelsey, Calvin C. Griffith, Andrew Kelsey, William B. Elliott, & Benjamin Kelsey.

Pretty good chance they actually were Bear Flaggers, don't you think?

Sorry for the "boring details," but for some folks it is important. And it gives us likely wintesses to the creation of the Bear Flag, as well.

R. A. Thompson's 1885 Bear Flaggers List

In 1885, R. A. Thompson published what he called the "first list ever published" of Bear Flaggers:

" SACRAMENTO VALLEY.—Ezekiel Merritt, R. Semple, William Fallon, W. B. Ide, H.
L. Ford, G. P. Swift, Samuel Neal, William Potter, Sergeant Gibson, W. M. Scott,
James Gibbs, H. Sanders, P. Storm.

NAPA.—Samuel Kelsey, Benjamin Kelsey, John Grigsby, David Hudson, Will
Hargrave, Harrison Peirce, William Porterfield, Patrick McChristian, Elias
Barrett, C. Griffith, William L. Todd, Nathan Coombs, Lucien Maxwell.

SONOMA.—Franklin Bid well, Thomas Cowie, ____Fowler, W. B. Elliott, Benjamin
Dewell, John Sears, 'Old Red.'"

Half-staff Bear Flag at Sutter's Fort

This is a photograph taken in 2004 of the U.S. and California Bear Flags, flying at half-staff in front of Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, CA.

The Bear Flag Among Friends in Monterey

This is a photograph of the California Bear Flag flying with other flags at the Wharf in Monterey, California during 2004.

Native Sons & Daughters at California Capitol

This is a Life Magazine photograph by N. R. Farbman of the California Native Sons & Daughters of the Golden West with their very large Bear Flag. Reprints of the image are available in frames from Time Inc.

LOTSA BEAR FLAGS AT MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN

This is a photograph found on the internet of numerous California Bear Flags hanging at the ski resort at Mammoth Mountain, California. Quite a nice sight, don't ya think?

3D California Bear Flag

Below is a link to a 3D version of the California Bear Flag, by guthrie, in the Google 3D Warehouse:

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=d770c4c3c5b05c62440b5389743357cb


Have fun playing with it. We have!

Bear Flag Sacramento Postcard

Second Bear Flag

Who made the 2nd Bear Flag?

The second, documented Bear Flag is that of Commander John B. Montgomery, who wrote 5/5/1848: "I have caused another [Bear Flag] to be made of bunting to accompany it, on which I have taken the liberty to clothe the Bear in his appropriate color, instead of red, as unavoidably represented on the original flag."

Why would Commander Montgomery spend his time and energy on such a matter? We think it might be that because he clearly associated the Bear Flag with his teen son John Elliott Montgomery. He lost both his son John Elliott and an older son as well when they disappeared while taking pay to Sutter's Fort in November 1846. With all the time at sea on his way back to Boston, it simply have been a way to memorialize the loss of his sons, when there was little else he could do. Montgomery's loss of his two boys in 1846 is one of the sadder stories of the events of 1846.

Bear Flag at Kingvale, CA 2009

This is a 2009 photograph of the Bear Flag at the Sierra Snowfighters, Kingvale Maintenance Station of the California Department of Transporrtation, in Kingvale, CA, just off Interstate 80 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Vertical Striped Bear Flags

Fred Rogers, in his 1958 California Blue Book article, noted that there were two documents written by Californians soon after the raising of the Bear Flag which show the flag with a vertical (not horizontal), red stripe. He also wondered whether these versions might have arisen from verbal description of the flag rather than seeing it.

One of these drawings made by W.E.P. Hartnell on the bottom of Hartnell's Spanish translation of the Ide Proclamation was made in June 1846 & is the very first drawing of the Bear Flag as is best known.

If nothing else, these vertical striped Bear Flags put an interesting twist on the early history of California's Bear Flag.

Surf's Up Bear Flag

This is an interesting, totally Californian, Bear Flag usage found online recently at the website of Sea Serpent Productions. We think it is a good example of how the Bear Flag has been modified to express California.

California Bear Flag Stickers

When the Bear Flag Museum does exhibitions for the public, we hand out little one inch Bear Flag stickers to everyone. Everyone seems to enjoy it.

On June 14th, 2009, we handed out about 600 stickers.

Now that is alot of fun!

Blue Wool Military Style Hat with Bear Flag

This a photograph of a military style blue, wool hat with an attaxhed Bear Flag which was recently acquired by the Bear Flag Museum.

California Bear Flag: Its Elements

Following up on a recent post, what are the elements of the California Bear Flag:

A colored bear.
A colored star.
A colored stripe.
A white field/background.
Words('California Republic').
A rectangular shape.
The positions of the various elements in/on the rectangle.
Colors: red, white, brown & dark brown.
The sha...des of color.

Combine all of these elements, mix for 163+ years & you get the California Bear Flag!"

What Happened to the "Original" Bear Flag?

If you have ever wondered what happened to the "original" Bear Flag, the two photographs above will give you an idea. The Bear Flag had been held by the Society of California Pioneers since September 1855 and did so until 1906. In 1906, the flag was in the Pioneer Hall shown in the bottom photograph with the fires following the San Francisco earthquake rapidly approaching the building which held the Bear Flag. The upper photograph shows what was left of the Pioneer Hall after the fires went out. Only the facade of the building is left standing. The Bear Flag was gone, destroyed in the fire. It was April 1906.

Life Magazine 1943 Bear Flag Photograph

A view of the California State Flag during a parade by the Rainbow Division of the U. S. Army.

Photo: Ed Clark./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images January 01, 1943

Cover of 1919 The Golden West

This is an image of the cover of the 1919 history by J. Alexander Forbes The Golden West. It has the image of the Bear Flag guidon which was one of the flags held by the Society of California Pioneers and destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.

Recent Uses of the Bear Flag Image

We have noted that in recent usages of the Bear Flag design, artists have played with two of the features of the flag most often: the bear and the words.

The bear has been replaced with other animals and images. The bear has been shown on a bike, surfboard and in various other activities, including some of a rudimentary nature.

Similarly the words "California Republic" have been changed significantly to suit the particular need. We at the Bear Flag Museum have been "guilty" of altering the words to "Bear Flag Centennial."

The ability to manipulate these two features has expanded the opportunities for continuing use of the image for different purposes overtime and enlivened the history of the California Bear Flag. We think it has helped keep the Bear Flag alive as a symbol of California and its people.

Sonoma Plaza 1851

Sonoma Plaza, 1851, was drawn by George Gibbs. General Mariano Vallejo's Casa Grande or Comandancia, left, was complete with a several-story wing from which he could oversee range lands and farms through a telescope. The Baracas (Barracks) were to the left of the flagpole, a former mission behind pole, and shops to right. http://www.militarymuseum.org/ accessed 11/11/2009.

This is likely near to what the Plaza looked like at the time of the Bear Flag Revolt. Notice the pole. This is likely where the Bear Flag was originally raised. The Barracks is likely where the Flag was made. Oooh, aren't you excited?

California Bear Flag over Colton Hall, Monterey

This is a 5/26/2009 photograph taken from Flickr of the "Todd" style Bear Flag flown over Colton Hall in Monterey, CA, the location of the original California Constitutional Convention. The photograph was taken by CarbonNYC/David Goehring.

Upside Down California Flag from Flickr

This is a 2009 photograph from Flickr showing the California Flag being flown upside down in protest.

Another Vintage Bear Flag

This photograph is of another vintage California Bear Flag. This flag is in the collection of the Bear Flag Museum.

A Bear on the Flag?

How did the bear end up on the Bear Flag?

According to some, if not many, of the witnesses to the making of the Bear Flag, the bear ended up on the June 1846 flag of the insurgency because H.[Henry] L. Ford one of the participants suggested inclusion of the bear and the others liked the idea.

It was only later that people talked about the ferocity of the bear as the reason.

No matter why it was selected or how, the idea of the bear on the flag has obviously stuck for 160+ years.

Bear Flag at Autry National Center, Summer 2009

This is a photograph of the Bear Flag flying at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, CA & taken in the summer of 2009

Babe Williams on the California Bear Flag

In the early 1890s, George W. “Babe” Williams gave his version of the Bear Flag Revolt events, which was published in an article of Tipton Lindsey in the Overland Monthly.

Among the things Babe Williams said was that John Fremont told the Bear Flaggers to raise “some sort of flag;” that he and 2 others “went to an Italian store and purchased two or three yards of common, unbleached domestic [cloth];” the ...work on the Bear Flag was done “on an old work bench;” William Todd did the drawing; the star was drawn “with a piece of red chalk;” the bear was standing. He also said “I have no doubt that within the next ten days there were a dozen Bear Flags made and floated.” Overland Monthly (Feb 1896).

An interesting series of statements though contradictory to much of what others have said.

Bear Flag at AT&T Park, August 2007

Photograph of the California Bear Flag flying at the San Francisco Giants ballpark in August 2007

California Bear Flag Weather

What was the weather in Sonoma June14 -17, 1846, when the Bear Flag was created?

The answer is we do not know for sure. We have not found any resource for daily weather records at Sonoma during June 1846.

Although John C. Fremont was near [Sutter Buttes & Sonoma] for this time period and did keep such daily records, a Fremont expert has advised that those records likely are "lost." It is possible that other weather records may be contained in Mexican records in Spanish. Also, a complete examination has not been made of the records of the nearby U.S.S. Portsounth.

One would expect warm, clear weather (ave hi 85-90, lows 50s), but on average Sonoma also gets about 1/4' of rain in June.
We have seen no clear indication of exactly what the weather was like during those days of '46 at Sonoma itself.
We also have not read of anyone complaining about the rain or other bad weather.

Until we have further information, I guess we just have to presume it was nice, warm, if not hot, June weather.

Bear Flag at 2009 World Baseball Classic

This photograph was taken in March 2009 at Dodger Stadium, Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles, CA during the World Baseball Classic Semi & Finals. This was taken at the beginning of the U. S. v. Japan semi-final game.