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Biographical Notes
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John August Sutter
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A few days later Gillespie caught up with Fremont in Oregon and Fremont returned to California to establish a camp in the Tres Picos (Sutter Buttes). On May 30 Sutter informed Gillespie that he had heard from reliable sources that General Castro intended to drive all of the American settlers out of California and was inciting Indian tribes to help him. Sutter's control of his own property was weakening in the climate of uncertainty that was pervasive in California at the time and he was growing increasingly worried as to the fate of his settlement. On June 10, 1846 a group of settlers led by Zeke Merritt seized a herd of government horses that were on their way to General Castro. On June 14 the same group supplemented by a few more settlers occupied Sonoma and took Vallejo and some other officials prisoner. They raised the Bear Flag over Sonoma and declared California to be an independent republic.
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Fremont, maintaining that he had no control over the Bear Flaggers, moved his headquarters to Sutter's Fort and told Sutter that if he didn't like it he could leave New Helvetia and join the Mexican forces led by Castro. Vallejo and the other prisoners were incarcerated in the fort with Sutter initially acting as their warden, but Fremont soon put one of his own men in his place, commenting that Sutter was too friendly with the prisoners. On July 7, 1846 Commodore John D. Sloat occupied Monterey and declared that California now belonged to the United States. As soon as Sutter received word of Sloat's action he raised the American flag over the fort and celebrated the American action. On July 12 Fremont formally took control of Sutter's Fort, renamed it Fort Sacramento, and placed Ned Kern in command. He then hurried south with his California Battalion to reinforce Commodore Sloat in Monterey.
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Toward the end of July Commodore Robert Stockton, who had replaced Commodore Sloat, ordered Vallejo and the other prisoners released from confinement in Sutter's Fort. Hostilities in California associated with the war shifted to the south and Sutter and his fort were not further involved with the war. He now attempted unsuccessfully to get the United States government to purchase the fort so that he could clear his debts and retire to a property north of New Helvetia that he called the Hock Farm. On June 1, 1847, Lieutenant Charles C. Anderson commanding a half company of General Jonathon D. Stevenson's New York Volunteers took command of Sutter's Fort from Kern. (Sutter regained complete control of his property on September 20, 1847 when the volunteers were transferred.) On June 7 General Kearney appointed Sutter to be Indian Sub-Agent for the tribes of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.
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Late in August 1847 Sutter signed a contract with James Marshall to build a flour mill and a saw mill. The location chosen for the saw mill was on the American River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On January 28, 1848, Marshall informed Sutter that he had found gold in the tail race of the saw mill on the American River. Marshall and Sutter attempted to keep the news secret, but failed. When word got out it triggered the California Gold Rush. Sutter and Marshall both tried their hands at mining but neither was successful. By the end of May the rush was on and quickly began to impact New Helvetia adversely. Sutter lost his work force to the mines, his livestock was rustled, his property was stolen, and squatters began disputing large areas of his land holdings.
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Sutter had been drinking heavily for some time, but the adverse events of 1848 drove him to drink even more heavily. In September 1848 his twenty-one year old son, John August Sutter, Jr. arrived in Yerba Buena, now known as San Francisco. August attempted to assist his father to clear his debts and straighten out his financial situation, but it was an uphill effort and he had little experience. Both father and son were bilked by a series of dishonest men and Sutter's finances suffered accordingly. Eventually Sutter lost all of his New Helvetia property and retired to his Hock Farm. In September 1849 Sutter, at General Bennett Riley's (military governor) request, participated in the constitutional convention held in Monterey. Subsequently in 1849, Sutter ran for Governor of California, but finished a poor third.
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In January Annette Sutter and the rest of their children arrived in San Francisco. In February they took up residence at the Hoch Farm. In May 1850 Sutter resigned his appointment as Indian Sub-Agent. During this period squatters were causing him difficulties at the Hock Farm, his financial situation continued to worsen, and his relationship with his son August deteriorated. In July 1850 Sutter's son August moved to Mexico. Although drinking heavily and suffering continual financial reverses Sutter was able to maintain an active social life. In February 1853 the state legislature made him major general in command of the state militia. During this time he also spent a lot of time testifying before the land commission on his own behalf and for friends. (The New Helvetia land grant was upheld but he eventually lost title to the Sobrante tract.) In April 1864 the state legislature awarded Sutter a monthly pension of $250 per month for five years. (It was later extended for four more years.)
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In June 1865 the Sutter home at the Hock Farm was destroyed by fire. Arson was suspected. In December 1865 the Sutter's moved to Washington D.C. where he vigorously but unsuccessfully pursued his claims for reimbursements associated with the conquest of California and recognition of his contribution to the founding of the state. In 1870 he and his family moved to Lititz, Pennsylvania where they built a new home. In 1876 Sutter agreed to work with Hubert H. Bancroft in gathering material for his History of California. In March 1878 he was elected President of the Associated Pioneers of the Territorial Days of California. Sutter died on June 18, 1880 in the Pennsylvania Hotel in Washington D.C.
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