California and the Civil War

Many Californians think that the Civil War as something far removed from life out here on the West Coast.

Actually, local people and events were quite involved with the politics that were involved in the war between the states. Some of our men saw military action in that conflict.

The factionalism that resulted in the Civil War actually started many years earlier. Some say that when the U.S. Constitution was first drafted, our forefathers skirted issues that led up to that rift. At any rate, by the 1840s the balance of power between the North and the South had become very fragile. The addition of California as a state in 1850 was debated and carefully considered as a part of maintaining that balance.

Among the gold seekers that settled here, there was a fair representation of Southerners. California politics in those days mainly involved two factions of the Democratic Party. William Gwinn, a Mississippi slaveholder, became one of our first senators. John C. Fremont was our other senator. Although also from the South, Fremont’s views were anti-slavery. He soon drifted away to become the first Republican candidate for U.S. president in 1856. David Broderick, a former New Yorker trained in Tammany Hall-style politics, led Gwinn’s Democratic opposition in California.

The rough and tumble California political scene seemed to lean toward its Southern roots until 1859, when David Terry, a member of the Southern Chivalry or "Chiv” contingent, killed Broderick in a duel here in San Mateo County. The duel was held in today’s Daly City, just out of the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Sheriff. The backlash caused by this incident helped to turn the tide of political sentiment.

California did not back the Republicans in the 1860 election, but Lincoln won the state’s electoral votes anyway. San Mateo County went for Stephen A. Douglas, the Northern Democrat. John C. Breckenridge was the choice of the Southern Democrats. This Democratic split gave California’s electors to Lincoln by less than 700 votes.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, over 16,000 Californians volunteered to fight for the Union, but few saw action. Transporting troops was an expensive task, and gold was cheaper to ship. California’s gold helped to finance the Union side throughout the war. The North had a large population to draw from and didn’t feel a need for California’s men. Most of them spent the war guarding mail routes or Indians.

One column did go to the New Mexico Territory to stop an expected Confederate invasion. The Rebel troops were already defeated before they got there. Another group of 500 convinced the governor of Massachusetts to pay their way back to fight with Massachusetts Volunteers. Known as the California Battalion, they fought mainly in Virginia, suffering major losses. The 182 survivors had to pay their own way home after the war. Another group of 500 joined the Pennsylvania Volunteers as the California Brigade. They also suffered heavy casualties; half of them died in battle or from disease.

Only a few of the noted Chivs saw any action, although they supported the cause. Menlo Park’s Milton Latham, a member of the U.S. Senate, flip-flopped on major issues. Voted out in 1863, he retired from Washington and came back to California. Gwinn and his family actively supported the Confederacy and he was imprisoned for a time. He retired to his Mississippi Plantation until it was burned down. Terry became a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. After the war, he retuned to practice law in California.

In the post-war period, California’s attention quickly shifted to the coming transcontinental railroad and the unity and prosperity it was expected to bring.

Rediscovering the Peninsula appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal. For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City.