Everything about Bear Flag totally explained
The precursor of the
Flag of California was first flown during the
Bear Flag Revolt and known as the "Bear Flag". A version of the Bear Flag was then adopted by the
California State Legislature and signed into law by
Governor Hiram Johnson in
1911 as the official state flag.
The 1911 statute stated:
In
1953, the design and specifications for the state flag were standardized in a bill signed by Governor
Earl Warren. The California State Flag is often called the
Bear Flag and in fact, the present statute adopting the flag, Gov. Code 420, states: "The Bear Flag is the State Flag of California."
The modern state flag is white with a wide
red strip along the bottom. There is a red star in the upper left corner and a grizzly bear facing left (toward the hoist) in the center, walking on a patch of green grass. The bear depicted is a
California grizzly bear, a subspecies that's now
extinct. The size of the bear is 2/3 the size of the hoist width and has a ratio of 2 by 1. There is speculation that the five-point star is a nod to the
Republic of Texas, and the bear represents strength.
Colors
The colors of the Flag of California are specified in the following shades:
| Color |
Cable Color |
Web Color |
RGB Values |
| White |
80002 |
Safe |
#FFFFFF |
(255,255,255) |
| Old Glory Red |
80108 |
200 |
#9E1A36 |
(158,26,54) |
| Maple Sugar |
80153 |
729C |
#B08A61 |
(176,138,97) |
| Seal |
80192 |
462C |
#54472E |
(84,71,46) |
| Irish Green |
80120 |
348 |
#368547 |
(54,133,71) |
Original flag
According to the California Blue Book, "(t)he flag was designed by William Todd on a piece of new unbleached cotton. The star imitated the lone star of
Texas. A
grizzly bear represented the many bears seen in the state. The words ‘California Republic’ were placed beneath the star and bear."
According to the
Sonoma State Historic Park the construction of the flag was described as such:
The original bear was near the top, looked somewhat like a
pig, and had no ground to stand on (see picture). Also, though the bear was described as being
en passant (for example, walking), it was drawn on the original flag
statant (standing). The modern flag shows the bear
en passant.
History
The original Bear Flag was raised for the first time in
Sonoma, California in June 1846 on a date between the 14th and the 17th, by the men who became known as the "Bear Flaggers" led by
William B. Ide. The exact creation date is at least somewhat unclear, however, U. S. Naval Lieutenant John Missroon reported the flag's existence as of June 17, 1846. California had been under
Mexican rule since Mexican independence in
1821 as the department of
Alta California, and under the control of Spain for many years before that.
The original Bear Flag and the republic it symbolized had a brief career, from about June 14 until July 9. On
July 7,
1846 Commodore John Drake Sloat of the
United States Navy's Pacific Squadron first raised the 28-star American flag at
Monterey, the capital of
Alta California, and claimed the territory for the United States. This revived the earliest claims on California by his namesake, Sir
Francis Drake (in 1579), and made good American colonial claims on the lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific, "from sea to sea" in the
1600s.
Two days later, on July 9, 1846, Navy Lt. Joseph Warren Revere arrived in
Sonoma and hauled down the Bear Flag, running up in its place the
Stars and Stripes. The Bear Flag was given to young John E. Montgomery (son of Commander John B. Montgomery of the
USS Portsmouth), who, would later write in a letter to his mother "Cuffy came down growling"—"Cuffy" being his nickname for the bear on the flag.
The Bear Flag given to young Montgomery returned with the
USS Portsmouth to the east coast of the U.S. in 1848, but in 1855 was returned to California. This flag was donated to the Society of California Pioneers on September 8, 1855 and was preserved at the Society's Pioneer Halls in
San Francisco until it was destroyed on
April 18,
1906 in the fires that followed the great
San Francisco earthquake. Today, a replica hangs on display in the
Sonoma Barracks, or
El Presidio de Sonoma. There is also a
statue in the
plaza of
Sonoma, California commemorating the raising of the flag, the Bear Flag Monument. (A fictionalized version of this site was featured in the 2005 film
The Legend of Zorro.)
The bear depicted on the current Flag of California was the last wild Californian Grizzly Bear in existence. The subspecies is now extinct. The bear, named "Monarch", was captured at Samhain by newspaper reporter Allen Kelley. The bear was subsequently moved to Woodwards Gardens in
San Francisco. After the bear's death in 1911, it was preserved at
Academy of Sciences at
Golden Gate Park.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bear Flag'.
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