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Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California, 1846 (Hardcover)

~ Dale L. Walker (Author)

4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

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5 new from $14.99 22 used from $4.48

Formats		Amazon Price	New from	Used from
Hardcover Available from these sellers. Published July 1, 1999	Hardcover, July 1, 1999	--	$14.99	$4.48
Paperback $11.86 Usually ships within 1 to 3 weeks. Published May 4, 2000	Paperback, May 4, 2000	$11.86	$8.94	$3.41

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

On June 14, 1846, a band of rebels calling themselves "Osos"--their name inspired by grizzly bears whose "fighting spirit" they admired--gathered in the plaza of Sonoma, California. At dawn that day, they had ridden into the town and occupied it, forcing the Mexican Colonel Vallejo to surrender. In celebration of their bloodless victory, the rebels fashioned a flag bearing their emblem: a brown bear on a white field, a red stripe along the bottom and a red star in the upper corner, and the words "California Republic"--painted in pokeberry juice. The Osos cheered as the Bear Flag was raised for the first time.

Dale L. Walker's Bear Flag Rising tells how America wrested California from Mexico, and the events that changed the map of the U.S. more radically than any event after the Louisiana Purchase. Walker enlivens California's already colorful history with capsule biographies of the heroic villains and villainous heroes that populated the area. Notable among these are Commodore Robert Field Stockton and General Stephen Watts Kearny, both ostensibly with the same purpose--to claim California and fulfill America's Manifest Destiny--but with differing methods and goals. Caught between the rival conquerors' enormous egos, celebrated explorer John Charles Frémont ended up with his career (and, possibly, his life) in danger. Thoroughly researched, engagingly written, Bear Flag Rising is an excellent addition to the growing list of books on the American West. --Sunny Delaney

From Booklist

Historian Dale Walker has painstakingly chronicled one of the most significant land grabs in U.S. history. In keeping with the spirit of the philosophy of Manifest Destiny that was gripping the nation in the middle of the nineteenth century, three veteran military commanders sought individual glory and national fulfillment in the conquest of California. In vivid detail, Walker recounts both the martial exploits and the political controversies of John Charles Fremont, Commodore Robert Field Stockton, and General Stephen Watts Kearney. Although eventually at odds with each other, the combined military actions and achievements of these three charismatic leaders resulted in the annexation of California by the U.S. The author places the key battle and events of the California campaign firmly in historical context by providing a wealth of fascinating background information spanning three centuries. An electrifying account of the quest for the Pacific Coast. Margaret Flanagan

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Product Details

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (July 2, 1999)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312866852
ISBN-13: 978-0312866853
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,325,583 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Look Inside This Book

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover

Citations (learn more)

3 books cite this book:

Eldorado: The California Gold Rush by Dale L. Walker in Front Matter, Back Matter, and Back Cover
Eldorado: The California Gold Rush by Dale L. Walker in Back Flap, and Back Cover
The Rough Guide to California 6 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) by Deborah Bosley in Back Matter

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	98% buy the item featured on this page: Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California, 1846 4.3 out of 5 stars (15)
	2% buy California Conquered: The Annexation of a Mexican Province, 1846-1850 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) $25.95

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Customer Reviews

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Let the laurel light where it belongs. California 1846, November 30, 2007

By	The Duke (Cheshire, UK) - See all my reviews

1846 - a landmark in American History - The Conquest of California. This book goes into great detail about the preceding period in California's history leading up to the conquest by Com. Robert Stockton, aided by Col. John Fremont. How the previous reviewer came to the conclusion that Com. Stockton was "puffed up" is beyond me. As the book states, the Stockton family of Princeton, NJ were blue bloods, a dynasty the equal of the Kennedys and Adams, serving the USA over many generations with Senators and Ambassadors and the confidant of Presidents. The phrase puffed up suggests someone who is trying to be something he isn't. Well Commodore Stockton was the real thing and my reading of this book leads me to the conclusion that without Stockton's valour and daring, California would still be part of Mexico. I particularly like this quotation from The Rev. John Colton who was present in California during this period in history:

Sat July 17 1847
"Com. Stockton has left us on his return home over the continent. His measures in California have been bold and vigorous and have been followed by decisive results. He found the country in anarchy and confusion and the greater part under the Mexican flag and has left it in peace and quietness beneath the stars and stripes. His position in the march of American forces from San Diego and in the battle of San Gabriel has not been changed by any subsequent information in the judgement of the candid and impartial. He tendered the command of the expedition to Gen. Kearny, which that gallant officer deferred to the Commodore out of his regard to his position at the head of the naval forces, upon which the success of the enterprise must depend. The propriety of this arrangement is seen in the fact that the general had but sixty dragoons at his command, all on foot, while the Pacific squadron poured 600 seaman and marines upon the field.

There was no confusion of orders or evolutions on the route; every general movement emanated from Com. Stockton, with the good understanding and harmonious action of Gen. Kearny. It is not my purpose to comment on this feature in the affairs of California but it is due to truth that history should be set right. To rely on 60 dragoons in the face of a thousand Californians armed with the rifle and lance and accustomed to the saddle from their birth is to trifle with the stern solemnities of war. For matter of these the Mexican flag would still be flying over these hills and valleys. The seamen of the Pacific squadron under the command of Com. Robert Field Stockton as reliable on land as faithful on deck, have wrenched this land from the grasp of Mexico, and unfurled the stars and stripes where they will wave evermore. Let the laurel light where it belongs".

As a native of England I am always amazed at the ignorance of US history books and travel guides which pay merely a passing tribute to Commodore Sloat's landing in Monterey and raising the US flag, while mentioning nothing about the real hero of California ...... Commodore Robert Field Stockton.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California, 1846, June 7, 2002

By	Derek Pan (Cerritos, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bear Flag Rising: The Conquest of California, 1846 (Paperback)

This book is about this conquest of California by the US from Mexico. It gives vivid descriptions of this conquest and tells what each great American general, Mexican general, frontiersmen, and other important people did and what they accomplish and failed. For example, Commodore John D. Sloat, commander of the navy's Pacific Squadron and his orders to seize important Mexican ports and blockade others. It compares the armies of the two warring countries and Mexico City's refusal to assist it California asset.
I chose this book to read because its cover was good looking. However, we all know the saying don't judge a book by its cover, so I took a look inside and I was immediately captivated by it. It tells the story extremely well and puts lots of description into it.
My favorite part of the book was the section called "Conquest" which describes the war against Mexico and the movements of troops and all. It is very richly told and it is the section that tells the most information in the whole book. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about the conquest of California.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The finest history of the conquest of California, May 18, 1999

By A Customer

This book merits six stars, not five. It will surely become the standard work on the conquest of California. I was able to read it in advance of publication, and want to share my enthusiasm for it.

Dale L. Walker is one of the finest nonacademic historians writing in our times. His genius is manifest throughout this work.

One aspect is his gift of portraiture. He gives us unforgettable pictures of the tough martinet Stephen Watts Kearny, the star-crossed and ambitious Army map-maker John C. Fremont, and the wily and well-connected Robert Stockton, whose own ambitions burned fiercely in California.

Another of Walker's gifts is research. He has provided us with so much new material, and has unearthed so many obscure facts that help explain the mysteries of the conquest, that this book will be a powerful clarifying force in our understanding of what happened there.

He does not neglect the lesser figures, either, such as Kit Carson, and that magnificent Californio, General Mariano Vallejo.

He writes with such ease and clarity and lucidity, and with such storytelling gifts, that this book invites a look at every page, and will enthrall people of all sorts.

I give it the highest recommendation that I am capable of giving.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Account Of California Conquest
"Bear Flag Rising" is a great read and highly recommended to history buffs and those who just want to read a good story. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Camperdude

4.0 out of 5 stars Americans...bad; anyone else...good!
I hate to do this because it is the best book on this subject I have read as far as historical facts are presented. Read more

Published on January 27, 2007 by Vinegar Jim

4.0 out of 5 stars I had no idea California history was so exciting!
This book was excellent. It was detailed, interesting, enlightening, and written exceptionally well. Read more

Published on October 9, 2005 by He of the exploding pencils

2.0 out of 5 stars Amaturish at best.
The history of California deserves more than 300 pages (and small ones at that). High school Sophomores have written better term papers about more sophisticated subjects. Read more

Published on April 17, 2005 by Al Canales

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Introduction to Early California
Dale L. Walker's Bear Flag Rising describes the bravado, bungles, and backstabbing that led to America's acquisition of California. Read more

Published on December 23, 2003 by Gavin Austin

4.0 out of 5 stars A Satisfying Popular History
I started reading "Bear Flag Rising" in preparation for a trip to California. I was hoping to gain an understanding of the events which occurred as California moved from a... Read more

Published on July 12, 2003 by James Gallen

4.0 out of 5 stars A conquest that succeeded in spite of its leadership
In the spring of 1846, President Polk and the United States instigated the Mexican War, arguably the least honorable exercise of militaristic American foreign policy in the... Read more

Published on February 1, 2001 by Joseph Haschka

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting
This book was terrific because it was to the point and didn't get muddled with a lot of insignificant information. Read more

Published on August 16, 2000 by nickno

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rousing Yarn of California
Bear Flag Rising is as readable a piece of popular history as you will find. Dale Walker gives us entertaining and flawed figures of the time and all their amazing... Read more

Published on July 2, 2000 by B. J Wilson

5.0 out of 5 stars A good history, a GREAT read!
Yes, Walker's book is good history, maybe even great history, but a better reason to read it is that it's a great bit of writing. Read more

Published on May 28, 2000 by William S. Grigsby

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