Bear Flag Monument
Sonoma, Sonoma County, California
Marker Inscription
This monument was erected by the Native Sons of the Golden West and the State of California to commemorate the raising of the "Bear Flag on this spot June 14 1846 by the Bear Flag Party and their declaration of the freedom of California from Mexican rule. On July 9 1846 the Bear Flag was hauled down and the American flag here raised in its place by Lieutenant Joseph W. Revere U.S.A. who was sent to Sonoma from San Francisco by Commander John B. Montgomery of the U.S. Sloop of War "Portsmouth following the raising of the American flag at Monterey July 7 1846 by Commodore John Drake Sloat.
Erected by Native Sons of the Golden West
The Story
On June 14, 1846, a band of American settlers known as the Bear Flag Party raised a homemade flag on this spot and declared California's independence from Mexican rule, launching the short-lived Bear Flag Republic. Weeks later, on July 9, 1846, Lieutenant Joseph W. Revere lowered the Bear Flag and raised the American flag, following the U.S. seizure of Monterey by Commodore John Drake Sloat. This monument, erected by the Native Sons of the Golden West and the State of California, commemorates those events.
Why it matters
The Bear Flag Revolt was a pivotal step in the U.S. conquest of California during the Mexican-American War, hastening the territory's absorption into the growing American nation.
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Related people
- · Joseph W. Revere
- · John B. Montgomery
- · John Drake Sloat
Related events
- · Bear Flag Revolt
- · Mexican-American War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Bear Flag Raising, June 14, 1846
Sonoma, CA · est. 1914
In June 1846, a small band of American settlers in Mexican Alta California seized the town of Sonoma and raised a hastily made flag bearing a grizzly bear and a lone star, proclaiming a short-lived "California Republic." The uprising, remembered as the Bear Flag Revolt, unfolded just as the United States and Mexico slid into war. Within weeks U.S. forces took control, and the improvised banner became the ancestor of California's state flag.
Bear Flag Sesquicentennial Time Capsule
Sonoma, CA
Set at the very spot where the Bear Flag was raised in 1846, this time capsule was sealed in 1996 during the 150th-anniversary commemoration of that event, to be opened at the bicentennial in 2046. It links the founding moment of California's short-lived republic to the community that still gathers on Sonoma's plaza to remember it. The marker turns a historic site into a bridge between generations.
Bear Flag Revolt Monument
Sonoma, CA
On June 14, 1846, a band of American settlers in Mexican Alta California seized the town of Sonoma and raised a hastily made flag bearing a grizzly bear and a lone star, declaring the short-lived 'California Republic.' The Bear Flag Revolt lasted only weeks before U.S. forces folded it into the Mexican-American War, but it gave California its lasting emblem. This monument, erected on Independence Day 1907 near Sonoma Plaza, commemorates that day.
Bear Flag Monument (1907)
Sonoma, CA · est. 1907
This monument, dedicated on Independence Day in 1907, commemorates the raising of the Bear Flag at Sonoma on June 14, 1846. On that day American settlers declared an independent "California Republic" in what was then Mexican territory. The gesture lasted only weeks before U.S. forces asserted control during the Mexican-American War, but its bear-and-star emblem endured as California's state symbol.