Pioneer Pieces: Realizing America's Manifest Destiny

California's annexation was progressing well in 1846 when Captain John Charles Fremont, a sort of frontier comedian and son-in-law of Massachusetts Senator Benton, had other ideas.  He acted on no specific orders from Washington, but decided to beat the competing British to the punch by seizing the so-called army of a nice, sleepy Mexican named General Mariano Vallejo. 

Vallejo's "army" in Sonoma (a sleepy metropolis of 4 adobe houses) consisted of 8 privates and 3 officers.  Vallejo offered his best brandy to celebrate the surrender of a war he wasn't even aware he was fighting, and thus the Republic of California first appeared on paper.  Meantime the wives ran up the new flag depicting a bear on his hind legs reaching for something unknown. 

According to Fremont's humorous reports to his father-in-law back in Washington, his army of 33 had fought and overcome a fortified garrison and his men had suffered intensely.  I think it was probably the kick of a hangover from the Mexican brandy that made them suffer! 

Manifest Destiny now stretched from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast, but the problem was the vast open spaces from Missouri westward.  How would all of that be settled?  The far west would take alittle longer than Fremont had first thought.

Next time - California needed an incentive...