Interim government of California
For some of the larger settlements, the military governor assigned a lieutenant or non-commissioned officer to be prefecto (similar to a prefect in modern France), as his direct representative.
Stockton went so far as to write a state constitution, which he sent to Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft for approval, but never proclaimed or published it in California.
[2] American alcaldes were confirmed, or new ones appointed, to replace local officials left from Mexican governance whose loyalty to the occupation forces was questioned.
Among its officers were Lt. William T. Sherman, Lt. Henry W. Halleck, and Lt. Edward Ord, who all became important subordinates to Kearny and his army successors.
Due to a combination of slow communications, overlapping command authority, and the egos of Kearny, Stockton and Frémont, the situation remained unresolved for months.
Frémont was, in fact, convicted of insubordination in a court-martial, by a panel of army officers not involved in the California affair.
"[9] Mary Lee Spence and Donald Jackson, editors of a large collection of letters by Fremont and others dating from this period, closely studied these events (including the court-martial), concluding that "...in the California episode, Frémont was as often right as wrong.
And even a cursory investigation of the court-martial record produces one undeniable conclusion: neither side in the controversy acquitted itself with distinction.
"[10] Recognizing the need for communication with the native Californian peoples, on April 6 Kearny appointed Mariano G. Vallejo and John A. Sutter as Indian sub-agents to treat directly with the indigenes on behalf of the United States.
In April 1847, the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, arrived as US Army reinforcements, also replacing the Mormon Battalion, whose members were nearing the end of their one-year enlistments (July 15).
[13] Soon after, to provide administrative help in California civil affairs, Mason appointed Lt. Sherman as Assistant Adjutant General, and Lt. Henry W. Halleck as Secretary of State—specializing in legal and land matters.
During this time, when the limits of U.S. government authority on the Pacific coast were still unclear, Halleck became an expert in international and maritime law, writing an authoritative book on the subject.
On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed (but not announced in California until August 7), officially ending the war.
Previously occupied territory under the rules of war, California's legal status changed as part of the lands ceded to the U.S. by the terms of the treaty.
In a letter dated August 18, 1848, military commander/governor Mason stated that his total non-volunteer forces consisted of "two companies of regulars...".
The publication of Mason's report, on August 17, 1848, announced the discovery to the world, which kicked the California Gold Rush into high gear.
[15] By the time Brevet Brigadier General Bennett Riley arrived to succeed Mason (April 13, 1849), who had asked months earlier to be relieved, several of the larger settlements had held un-sanctioned elections, and the gold-rush-induced population growth made the need for statewide law and civilian governance ever more critical.
Despite previous rumors of brewing revolt against military rule, the elections seem to have largely quashed sentiments to have California remain an independent republic, as Texas had briefly been.
Governor Burnett stated that: "There was not the slightest ground for the charge that the people of California desired to establish an independent government.
