In late 1861, California despatched many items of volunteer troopers to the West to take the place of these areas beforehand staffed by common military troops that wanted to go East to struggle the Accomplice States.
The federal government relieved one downside whereas creating one other. In California specifically, there have been many areas of instability as a result of presence of a vocal minority of Southern sympathizers.
A few of these pro-Southern teams have been extremely organized, and at the very least 4 unauthorized militias have been created by them. Though restricted to Southern California, one in all these affiliations, the Mason Henry Gang, was led by Tom McCauley, who had as soon as acquired a jail time period for his function in a Tuolumne County homicide.
The reply to this issue can be the creation of state-sanctioned militias. For that to occur, a ample variety of county residents eligible for navy responsibility needed to apply to a decide for creation of a militia and an individual to report the names of these concerned. All elected officers needed to be accredited by the governor of the state.
In Tuolumne County, the end result was the creation of six such items: Firm A, third Infantry Regiment, third Brigade (Columbia); Firm B, 1st Infantry Battalion, third Brigade (Sonora); Firm C third Infantry Regiment, third Brigade (Chinese language Camp); Firm D, Ist Infantry Battalion, 3d Brigade (Jamestown), Firm E, third Infantry Regiment, third Brigade (Montezuma), Firm G, Ist Infantry Battalion, third Brigade (Shaws Flat).
Many of those firms had well-known names of their ranks. Every of those militias have been made up of round 50 males and provided with uniforms and weapons by the state, though there have been some discrepancies in that regard.
There was an fascinating incidence pertaining to Firm A per a Tuolumne Courier article dated Aug. 30, 1862. J.D. Patterson, a Tuolumne County pioneer and really energetic participant in varied endeavors within the county, had been made an honorary member of the corporate.
In keeping with the article, Patterson, who hailed from Texas, “has been responsible of treasonable language, to wit: in publicly consuming to the well being of that archfiend, Jeff Davis, and to the success of the Southern Confederacy, and brazenly avowing that a number of of our main generals is perhaps hung.”
Apparently, that was the top of Patterson’s honorary membership within the firm. This didn’t stop him from taking part in quite a few vital future county tasks.
It seems that these items’ main exercise was to assemble collectively for drills and social capabilities. On some events, these firms gathered collectively in mass for battalion, brigade and regimental coaching. A lot emphasis was positioned on the talent with which every unit carried out in these drills and their total look.
Out there info doesn’t point out that any of Tuolumne County’s militia have been concerned in fight roles, in any way. Nevertheless, a few of their particular person members did go to serve in California volunteer regiments that have been really concerned in fight conditions.
Maybe a very powerful operate of the militia was to behave as a deterrent for any native secession-minded people that have been current in each county all through the struggle. The militia’s presence additionally acted to maintain the native inhabitants related to the plight of the Union and preserve patriotism within the county alive.
Many of the militia items remained in service till 1866, properly after the Civil Warfare was over and there not was a necessity for his or her companies. Militias live on all through the nation, however now they’re extra generally known as the Nationwide Guard.
Rob Gordon is a researcher for the Tuolumne County Historic Society.
