Talk:California in the American Civil War

Questions
Why is section 4 called “Occupied California”? There is nothing about “occupation” in the section. Most of the content seems more related to the next section, “Civil War Regiments in California”.

Also, in the last paragraph of section 1, it seems overly dramatic to say there were 88 BATTLES fought in California. Most of them sound like law enforcement actions unrelated to the Civil War. Maybe the word “battles” should be in quotes?

I don’t know enough to make these changes myself. But if someone more expert that me agrees with them, please make them.

MelanieN (talk) 23:52, 2 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I couldn't agree more and consequently I'm changing the titles of sections 4 and 5 as you suggested. The whole article is very poorly written and is kind of on my to-do list to help to improve.Armona (talk) 02:15, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

History
This article needs some editing because the tone is not neutral.evrik 17:45, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

Forts
I have expanded this section. evrik 17:45, 4 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I question Fort MacArthur. It wasn't organized until the 1880s, the coastal defenses were run out of Drum Barracks and the Wilmington Depot. Also the Army garrison at Two Harbors on Catalina was there for only a short time (11/21/1863 to 9/14/1864) and was there to scout out an Indian reservation for the Klamath tribes (see Theodore Kornweibel, Jr. (1967) "The Occupation of Santa Catalina Island During the Civil War," Southern California Historical Society Quarterly, 46(4):345-357 and Donald Chaput (1993) "The Civil War Military Post on Catalina Island," Southern California Quarterly 75(1):37-50). Another good reference is US War Department (1897) The War of the Rebellion:  A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,  Vol. 50, in 2 Parts.  Washington, DC:  Government Printing Office. Volume 50 contains all reports and correspondence relating to the Department of the Pacific.

Soldiers
I have expanded this section.evrik 17:45, 4 January 2006 (UTC)

== missing word in sentence ==

The third sentence of the section "California Civil War military units" needs help. It reads:

Therefore the state the usual practice of mustering militia companies into regiments.

Is it supposed to be "...the state abandoned the usual practice..." or "...the state continued the usual practice..."? Probably the former but I can't be sure from context. Anybody know?

Excellent article by the way. A bit of cleanup and it could be nominated for feature status. Herostratus 13:16, 25 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't have documentation to support it, but my knowledge in the field and the context tells me the sentence should read "abandoned". Someone else already made the edit, though. Resolved. Twisted86 03:24, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

who were the California Volunteers in 1863 at Bear Creek Massacre?
Any help developing article on Bear River Massacre Site in Idaho would be appreciated. There were "California Volunteers" there who wiped out a Shoshoni Village in 1863. What is the unit of "California Volunteers" involved, is there a separate article on that unit, how does it relate here to this California in the American Civil War article. Sincerely, doncram (talk) 05:02, 7 February 2008 (UTC)


 * A resource that might be of value to you in researching the answer to your question may be found at . That website has the service record of every California unit during the Civil War down to the company level. Armona (talk) 02:46, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Was there really local opposition to statehood?
The following sentence in the "statehood" section seems to me to be questionable:

"Northern California, which was dominated by mining, shipping, and commercial elites of San Francisco, favored becoming a state. However, some people in lightly populated, rural Southern California wanted territorial status, or at least separation from Northern California."

As a native Californian myself, I have never heard of any opposition to statehood from "some people" in southern California. And I can find no evidence of it in internet articles on the subject of California's statehood. For example, http://www.sfmuseum.com/hist5/caladmit.html http://www.militarymuseum.org/Constitution.html

I think these two sentences should be struck unless some citation or evidence can be cited for them. But not being an expert in the subject, I will not presume to remove them myself. Can someone more expert than me please review these claims? —Preceding unsigned comment added by MelanieN (talk • contribs) 02:32, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Around 1850, the southern California counties were sparsely populated by Spanish-speaking "Californios". It might have been assumed that the Californios didn't have much interest in statehood. I don't know that that supposition is correct. In fact, there was a disproportionate number of Californios (such as Gen. Mariano Vallejo and others) that were members of the 1849 constitutional convention that met in Colton Hall at Monterey.Armona (talk) 01:52, 27 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Looks like there were 3 attempts to split the state prior to the Civil War. List_of_U.S._state_secession_proposalsAsiaticus (talk) 00:07, 21 September 2009 (UTC)

Dan Showalter
In the end of the text of the Outbreak of the Civil War section is this: "One partisan warrior, Dan Showalter, once robbed a stagecoach of all its gold, leaving a receipt behind with the driver to keep him out of trouble with his bosses." I dont think this is the name of the bandit. Here is Dan Showalters bio that I have found and there is no mention of highway robbery. There should be some source for this accusation.

Daniel Showalter (1830-1866)

Born in Greene County, Pa. and came to California in 1852. He lived the greater portion of the time in Mariposa County where he was a miner. He ran for and won a seat in the California state assembly 6th District in 1857-58 and 1861-62. In the heat of the stuggle to elect a new Senator for California he insulted another state assemblyman Charles W. Piercy from San Bernadino who challenged him to a duel.

Although dueling was officially illeagal in California at the time, this duel took place on Saturday afternoon, May 25, l86l,near the residence of Charles S. Fairfax, about three miles west of San Rafael in Marin county. The seconds of Piercy were Henry P. Watkins and Samuel Smith; those of Showalter, Thomas Hayes and Thomas Laspeyre. The weapons were rifles at forty yards distance. The first fire was ineffective. Showalter demanded another and, on the second fire, shot Piercy in the mouth and killed him. This was the last of the duels between political figures in California.

As a fugitive as a result of the duel, Showalter made his way south to the Los Angeles area joining with freinds and fellow secessionist sympathizers who wanted to go east to join the Confederate Army. This party was caught Nov. 29, 1861 by a cavalry patrol from Camp Wright at Minter Ranch, in the mountains southwest of the Warner's Ranch in the San Jose Valley of eastern San Diego County and sent to Fort Yuma. Eventually they were released and they went to Texas where Showalter became an officer in a Texas regiment. In March 1864, Lt. Col. Daniel Showalter took command of the 4th Arizona Cavalry under John Salmon Ford. However due to drunkenness he was later releived of his command. After the Civil War he ran a Mazatlan hotel. There in 1866 he died of lockjaw, a result of a bar fight. Asiaticus (talk) 18:53, 8 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I was right, Rufus Henry Ingram, a former Quantril Raider once robbed two stagecoach of all their gold, near Palacerville, California, leaving a receipt behind with the second driver. Asiaticus (talk) 06:11, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

westernmost attack ?
In the last sentence of the text of the Outbreak of the Civil War section is this: "The westernmost attack related to the Civil War occurred just outside downtown San Jose. A bronze historical plaque marking the site identifies it as a battle with "outlaws," rather than a battle of the American Civil War."


 * I beleive someone has garbled the 1861 Minter Ranch incident that happened in the San Jose Valley in Eastern San Diego County near Warner's Ranch, noted above in Dan Showalter's bio. Asiaticus (talk) 08:07, 30 August 2009 (UTC)
 * It seems the incident refers to the shootout between Captain Ingrams Partisan Rangers and the posse of the local sheriff John Hicks Adams, just outside of San Jose. Added paragraph about that to article.Asiaticus (talk) 01:51, 22 September 2009 (UTC)

Eighty-eight violent incidents
"Eighty-eight violent incidents of various sizes were occurred in California during the war, many of them by outlaws trying to capture gold for their own benefit."
 * Removed this for now as I can find no justification for it. Asiaticus (talk) 08:45, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

Too Much Extraneous Info
Guys, guys - why are there several lines of text regarding these Eastern regiments that merely carried the name "California" (manned by Notherners), yet there's scant mention of the only California unit that actually served in-theater? I'm talking about the companies that served with the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry - in the article it's only getting a couple sentences. That was California's main contribution to the war. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.105.98.3 (talk) 13:25, 21 November 2013 (UTC)
 * Anybody can edit this article. Just be sure you have good sources. BeenAroundAWhile (talk) 20:23, 17 September 2015 (UTC)

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