...the flag’s story goes back to 1846, when California was still a territory of Mexico.
"Once upon a time there were a number of Americans who had come to what was then Mexican California," said Trinkle. "There was at that point in time the possibility of a war between the United States and Mexico."
And one particular group of American settlers, based in Northern California, took matters into their own hands. They banded together and captured the city of Sonoma from the Mexican Government.
The Republic of California was formed and it needed a flag. On their hastily made banner was an uneven red star, a red line and a crudely drawn animal that in theory was supposed to be a grizzly bear.
"These were farmers and ranchers and adventurers, and they did not have great artistic skill," said Trinkle. "The grizzly bear at that point in time was extraordinarily common. It was described as you couldn't ride on a horse for a mile without seeing ten grizzly bears. And they could be dangerous. So the idea was to put an emblem on the flag that would scare the Mexican authorities, that these people were serious."
Serious as they were, the flag flew for just under a month. Once the settlers found out the U.S. had declared war with Mexico, they swapped out the bear flag for the stars and stripes. (
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