One of the strangest episodes in California history
was the premature invasion of Monterey by a squad of United States
Marines in 1842.
It all started when Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones,
an impetuous young naval officer, got wind of a rumor that the
United States and
Mexico were at war. Jones was under standing orders that, in the
event of such a war, he was to set sail and seize Monterey, the
capital of Mexican California.
On October 18, Commodore Jones sailed
confidently into Monterey Bay and demanded that the Mexican officials
surrender. The next
morning,
a triumphant Jones landed 150 marines and sailors on the beach.
The marines lowered the Mexican flag, raised the Stars and Stripes,
fired
a salute, and proclaimed California to be under the benevolent
protection of the United States of America.
Unfortunately, Commodore
Jones had made a big mistake. He soon learned that the war rumor
was false. With all the dignity he
could muster,
Jones hustled his marines back on board his ship and sailed
away.
Four years later, the military forces of the United
States again invaded California. But this time it was for real, and
the conquest
was permanent.
