Atlas of Hispanic-American History

MANIFEST DESTINY AND HISPANIC AMERICA 93

The Bear Flag Revolt began on June 14, 1846, when Anglo settlers in Sonoma placed
Mexican general Mariano Vallejo under arrest, declaring California an independent
republic they called the Bear Flag Republic. The settlers were supported by American
explorer John C. Frémont, who had incited tensions the previous March by raising the
American flag at Monterey. The real intent of the settlers was not independence for
California but annexation by the United States. By early July, the U.S. naval ships under
Commodore John Sloat captured Monterey and San Francisco. In August, Commodore
Robert Stockton took Los Angeles. U.S. victory was assured when land forces under
General Stephen Kearny arrived from Santa Fe to reinforce Stockton’s troops.

The Bear Flag Revolt, 1846

LEARNING

THE LINGO

Like all foreign expeditionary forces,

American troops in Mexico during the

U.S.-Mexican War faced the problem

of communicating with the people

whose land they were occupying.

Many of them learned more Spanish

in Mexico than they had heard in their

whole lives. Some of these words they

brought home with them. Veterans

came home smoking cigarritos, the lit-

tle paper-wrapped cigars that became

known as cigarettes, and giving names

like Buena Vista and Palo Alto to

towns across the United States.

While in Mexico, some Anglo sol-

diers struggled with grammars and

phrasebooks, but many did the best

they could without books. This is how

one Illinois volunteer officer described

his efforts to communicate with a

boardinghouse proprietor and her

daughter:

When at fault for a word I take

an English one & give it a

Spanish ending & pronunciation

& make a salaam or two.... If

that don’t go, I throw in a word

or two of Latin & French, &

occasionally a little German,

& conclude with “Senora” or

“Senorita.” Thus I generally

succeed in calling up a smile, & a

gentle “Si, Senor”... then they

let loose a torrent of Castillian on

me, & I stand & look knowing, &

say “Si Senorita” when I’ve no

more idea of what they are

saying than if Moses was talking

to me in his native tongue.