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 and illustrated by Donald Graeme Kelley of Marin County, California.

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.

[11] The bear, named "Monarch", was captured in 1889 by newspaper reporter Allan Kelly, at the behest of William Randolph Hearst.

[12] The bear was subsequently moved to Woodwards Gardens in San Francisco, and then to the zoo at Golden Gate Park.

[14][15] The 1953 law includes an official black and white rendering of the bear as well as the plot of grass and brown tufts.

The rebels easily captured the capital Monterey, but were unable to convince southern leaders such as Juan Bandini and Carlos Antonio Carrillo to join the rebellion.

Faced with a civil war, Alvarado and the other Californios negotiated a compromise with the central government wherein California's leaders accepted its status as a "department" under the "Siete Leyes" Mexican constitution of 1836, in return for more local control.

[6] 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.

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.

[25] Two days later, on July 9, 1846, Navy Lieutenant Joseph Warren Revere arrived in Sonoma and hauled down the Bear Flag, running up in its place the Stars and Stripes.

A year after the revolt American settlers in Sacramento Valley wanted to celebrate the 4th of July by raising a national flag.

It was described as: "small square of heavy cloth, light blue in color, upon which is pasted a white paper star of eight points, while a piece of paper is pasted along the top bar with the following motto written upon it: " California is ours as long as the stars remain.

From the flagpole in Portsmouth Square they flew an American flag with one large star that represented the state.

The flag contained the state seal in the center of its field, with it being painted by William Henry Powell.

[30][31] From 1850-1858 people across the country started flying the American flags with their 31 stars arranged in the "Grand Luminary" pattern.

"[42][51] Duncan Beaumont raised a Pacific Republic flag from his boat in the Stockton to show his loyalty to secession.

A party of men raised a banner containing a small American flag in the top corner and in the center a huge eagle with a grizzly bear below it.

[43] The group thought it was a sign of disunion, but the day after they raised it in a different part of town to show their support for the Union.

[69][70][71] During the war, Union soldiers routinely took action against secessionists who ran up Confederate flags in many places, including above the California statehouse in Sacramento, then disappeared before they could be caught.

Independence Day celebrations in Sacramento, Democrat and veteran Maj. J. P. Gillis celebrated the independence of the United States from Great Britain and the secession of the Confederacy by unfurling a flag based on the first Confederate flag, the Stars and Bars, but containing seventeen stars rather than the Confederate banner's seven, and marching down the street to the cheers of pro-slavery individuals.

[46] A year later a banner of similar design was hung in the city, but the seal was encircled by small American flags.

"[73] In February 1870, a man name Joseph Neuman produced 2 unique American flags with golden stars.

[89] In 1890 the Admission Day Celebration was being held in San Francisco, with 3 unique flags flown to represent the state.