Bear Flag Revolt

California Republic
Alta California
Unrecognized state
June 14 – July 9, 1846
The Bear Flag
Mexico's Department of Alta California, of which a small area north of San Francisco was controlled by the Bear Flag rebels
Capital		n/a
Languages		Spanish, Indigenous languages, and English.
Government		Republic
Commander
•	1846	William B. Ide
History
•	Independence from Mexico declared	June 14, 1846
•	Occupation of Sonoma by the U.S. military	July 9, 1846
Preceded by Succeeded by Centralist Republic of Mexico Alta California United States California

The Bear Flag

The California Republic was an unrecognized breakaway state that, for twenty-five days in 1846, militarily controlled the area to the north of the San Francisco Bay in the present-day state of California.

In June 1846, a number of American immigrants in Alta California rebelled against the Mexican department's government. The immigrants had not been allowed to buy or rent land and had been threatened with expulsion from California because they had entered without official permission. Mexican officials were concerned about a coming war with the United States coupled with the growing influx of Americans into California. The rebellion was soon overtaken by the beginning of the Mexican–American War.

The name "California Republic" appeared only on the flag the insurgents raised in Sonoma. It indicated their aspiration of forming a republican government for California. The insurgents elected military officers but no civil structure was ever established. The flag featured an image of a California grizzly bear and became known as the Bear Flag and the revolt as the Bear Flag Revolt.

Three weeks later, on July 5, 1846, the Republic's military of 100 to 200 men was subsumed into the California Battalion commanded by U.S. Army Brevet Captain John C. Frémont. The Bear Flag Revolt and whatever remained of the "California Republic" ceased to exist on July 9 when U.S. Navy Lieutenant Joseph Revere raised the United States flag in front of the Sonoma Barracks and sent a second flag to be raised at Sutter's Fort.