The Bear Flag is the official flag of the state of California. The precursor
of the flag was first flown during the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt and was also known
as the Bear Flag. Current flag
= Law and Protocol = The first official version of the Bear
Flag was 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: The bear flag is hereby selected and
adopted as the state flag of California. ... The said bear flag shall consist of
a flag of a length equal to one and one-half the width thereof; the upper
five-sixths of the width thereof to be a white field, and the lower sixth of the
width thereof to be a red stripe; there shall appear in the white field in the
upper left-hand corner a single red star, and at the bottom of the white
field the words 'California Republic,' and in the center of the white field a
California grizzly bear upon a grass plat, in the position of walking toward
the left of the said field; said bear shall be dark brown in color and in
length, equal to one-third of the length of said flag.
In 1953, the design and specifications for the state flag were standardized in
a bill signed by Governor Earl Warren. The Californian state flag is often
called the "Bear Flag" and in fact, the present statute adopting the flag,
California Government Code Section 420, states: "The Bear Flag is the State Flag
of California." Under California Government Code Section
439, the regulations and protocols for the proper display of the flag of
California is controlled by the California Adjutant General:
The Adjutant General shall, by regulation, prescribe rules regarding
the times, places, and manner in which the State Flag may be displayed. He
shall, periodically, compile the laws and regulations regarding the State
Flag. Copies of the compilation shall be printed and made available to the public
at cost by the Department of General Services.
When the flag is displayed vertically, it is rotated 90 degrees clockwise such
that the bear and star face upward and red stripe is on the left.
The flag is also used as the state ensign.
= Design = 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 in the center, walking on a patch of green
grass. The size of the bear is 2/3 the size of the hoist width and has a ratio
of 2 by 1. The grass plot has a ratio of 10 to 1. The five-point star is actually
taken from the California Lone Star Flag of 1836.
The bear on the current flag of California is claimed to have been
modeled on the last Californian grizzly bear in captivity. The bear, named
"Monarch", was captured in 1889 by newspaper reporter Allen Kelley, at the
behest of William Randolph Hearst. The bear was subsequently moved to Woodwards
Gardens in San Francisco, and then to the zoo at Golden Gate Park. After the
bear's death in 1911, it was mounted and preserved at the Academy of Sciences at
Golden Gate Park. The 1953 law includes an official black
and white rendering of the bear as well as the plot of grass and brown tufts.
This drawing and other specifications that define the flag's colors and
dimensions are identified as "54-J-03". In 2001, the North American
Vexillological Association surveyed its members on the designs of the 72 U.S.
state, U.S. territorial, and Canadian provincial flags and ranked the flag of
California 13th. = Colors =
The 1953 legislation defined the exact shades of the Californian flag with a
total of five colors relative to the 9th edition of the Standard Color Card of
America. It is one of only four US state flags that does not contain the color
blue. Seal is used for the dark shading of the
bear, the 12 darker tufts in the plot of grass, the border of the plot and the
lettering "CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC". Old Glory Red is used for the star, the
bear's tongue and the red stripe at the bottom of the flag.
Irish Green is used for the grass plot. The bear's claws are also accented with
white. The left front and rear paws have four white claws while the right rear
claw displays three. The front right paw does not contain highlighting.
History = California Lone Star Flag =
In 1836, Juan Alvarado and Isaac Graham led a revolution against Mexican rule.
During this first revolt, rebels were able to capture Monterey and declared
California "a free and sovereign state". Although their rebellion failed to
secure independence for California, it inspired the design of the flag of the
Bear Flag Revolt. The Lone Star Flag of California contained a single red star
on a white background. The original flag is archived at the Autry National
Center. = The Original Bear Flag =
The original Grizzly 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", including 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 part of Mexico since Mexican independence in 1821 as the
department of Alta California, and a province of New Spain for many years
before that. The first Bear Flag was designed by
William L. Todd, a cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln. According to the book Flags
Over California, published by the California Military Department, the star
on the flag was influenced by the 1836 California Lone Star Flag. William Todd,
in an 1878 letter to the Los Angeles Express, states that the star was drawn
using blackberry juice and in recognition of the California Lone Star
Flag. The bear was designed to be a symbol of strength and unyielding
resistance. According to the Sonoma State Historic
Park, the construction of the flag was described as such:
At a company meeting it was determined that we should raise a flag, and that it
should be a bear en passant [a heraldry term signifying that the bear is walking
toward the viewer's left], with one star. One of the ladies at the garrison
gave us a piece of brown domestic, and Mrs. Captain John Sears gave us some
strips of red flannel about 4 inches wide. The domestic was new, but the
flannel was said to have been part of a petticoat worn by Mrs. Sears across the
mountains…I took a pen, and with ink drew the outline of the bear and star
upon the white cloth. Linseed oil and Venetian red were found in the garrison,
and I painted the bear and star…Underneath the bear and star were
printed with a pen the words 'California Republic' in Roman letters. In painting
the words I first lined out the letters with a pen, leaving out the letter 'i'
and putting 'c' where 'i' should have been, and afterwards the 'i' over the
'c'. It was made with ink, and we had nothing to remove the marks.
The bear on the first bear flag and other early bear flags more closely
resembles the more common American black bear than a grizzly, seen in the lack of
shoulder hump and narrower muzzle. 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, and made
good American colonial claims on the lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific,
"from sea to sea" in the 17th century. 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, 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. The
flag was given to California's two senators John B. Weller and William M.
Gwin. 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 at Sonoma, California, commemorating the raising of
the flag, the Bear Flag Monument. = American Civil War =
During the secession crisis and the early part of the American Civil War in
1861, secessionists in Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County flew
the Bear Flag as their banner of revolt. The only capture of a Confederate flag
in California during the Civil War took place on July 4, 1861, in Sacramento.
During Independence Day celebrations, secessionist Major J. P. Gillis
celebrated the independence of the United States from Britain as well as
the secession of the Confederacy from the Union. He unfurled a Confederate
flag of his own design and proceeded to march down the street to both the
applause and jeers of onlookers. Jack Biderman and Curtis Clark, enraged by
Gillis' actions, accosted him and "captured" the flag. The flag itself is
based on the first Confederate flag, the Stars and Bars. However, the canton
contains seventeen stars rather than the Confederate's seven. Because the flag
was captured by Jack Biderman, it is often also referred to as the "Biderman
Flag". Flag of the Governor
The flag of the governor of California consists of the seal of California
centered on a field of azure. Like most U.S. governors' flags, there are four
five-point stars at the corners of the field.
See also State of California
Symbols of the State of California Great Seal of the State of California
References Further reading
Smilie, Robert A.. The Sonoma Mission, San Francisco Solano de Sonoma: The
Founding, Ruin and Restoration of California's 21st Mission. Valley
Publishers, Fresno, CA. ISBN 0-913548-24-3.
California. Legislature. Senate. Journal of the Senate of the State of
California, Volume 2. State Printing Office. p. 327.
External links An 1890 photo shows the original Bear
Flag. Hubert H. Bancroft's History of
California,Vol. V. 1846-1848 Creation of the Bear Flag.
Flags of the World: California The Bear Flag Museum
Sonoma State Historic Park Bear Flag Reference
William Todd Quote on Bear Flag construction
"Simeon Ide's A Sketch of the Life of William B. Ide". Retrieved 2008-01-30.