The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War by Leonard L. Richards Page B
Authors: Leonard L. Richards
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in 1844. When Polk won by an eyelash, he lobbied Polk to make Walker his treasury secretary. That, too, came to pass.
With Walker’s appointment, the office that Gwin had long coveted, U.S. senator, became vacant. Walker left no doubt whom he wanted as his replacement. He campaigned hard in Gwin’s behalf. But Poindexter’s followers and the supporters of rival candidates rallied their troops and got the governor to oppose the appointment on the grounds that Gwin was associated with “broke speculators.” The Senate seat, to Gwin’s disgust, thus went to another Democrat, a less controversial one, Joseph Chalmers. Gwin then reluctantly offered himself for another term in the House. Again, however, he lost out, this time to Jefferson Davis, an up-and-coming Mississippi Democrat.
Thanks to his friend Walker, Gwin in 1846 received an appointment from the Treasury Department to oversee construction of the New Orleans Custom House. Although the post paid only $8 per day, a far cry from the fees he had received as a federal marshal, it gave Gwin valuable political contacts. But it was a patronage position, dependent totally on Democratic control of the White House. And in 1848, the Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass, lost the presidency to Zachary Taylor, “Old Rough and Ready,” one of the Whig generals who had gained fame in the rout of Mexico. Gwin was thus certain to soon be out of a job.
A few months later, on March 5, 1849, to be exact, Gwin was in Washington. He watched the inauguration procession of Zachary Taylor as it passed by Willard’s Hotel. Next to him stood a short but imposing man, Stephen A. Douglas, “the Little Giant” of Illinois. Like Gwin, the Illinois senator was a lifelong Democrat. He also had a vested interest in Mississippi and Mississippi slavery. The previous June his wife had inherited a Mississippi plantation of some twenty-five hundred acres and over one hundred slaves. In accordance with her father’s will, Douglas himself managed the property, kept in touch with the overseers who directed the slaves and the New Orleans merchants who sold the cotton crop, and received 20 percent of the annual income. 9
The two men spoke of the future. Douglas still had a job to do as senator from Illinois. Gwin was going to be out of political work at the end of the month. What, then, did he intend to do? Gwin allegedly told Douglas that he was going to go to California, make California into a state, and be back in a year as the new senator from California. At that time, he would ask Douglas to present “his credentials as a senator from the State of California.” 10
So, anyway, recalled Gwin many years later. It sounds apocryphal. But there is no doubt that Gwin’s desire for a U.S. Senate seat prompted him to take off for California in April 1849. He went by way of Panama. He traveled the same route as Broderick, but at a faster pace, leaving later, arriving earlier. He didn’t have to wait as long in Panama City. He had more clout. He gained passage on one of Aspinwall’s steamers, the
Panama,
which left Panama City on May 18 and arrived in San Francisco on June 4, nine days before Broderick.
Built for mail, the
Panama
initially had accommodations for about eighty passengers. On its maiden voyage it carried four hundred. The few women on board shared a tent on the quarterdeck. Around them slept several hundred men, their places on deck marked by chalk. The passenger list included two future governors, three future senators, two future congressmen, two future state supreme court justices, seven future generals and an admiral, two future ambassadors, and one potential First Lady.
The potential First Lady was Jessie Benton Frémont. She was also the best known of the passengers. No one as yet had heard of “Fighting Joe” Hooker, destined to gain fame as a Civil War general. No one as yet had heard of Major George Derby, later known as the comic writer John Phoenix, who
With Walker’s appointment, the office that Gwin had long coveted, U.S. senator, became vacant. Walker left no doubt whom he wanted as his replacement. He campaigned hard in Gwin’s behalf. But Poindexter’s followers and the supporters of rival candidates rallied their troops and got the governor to oppose the appointment on the grounds that Gwin was associated with “broke speculators.” The Senate seat, to Gwin’s disgust, thus went to another Democrat, a less controversial one, Joseph Chalmers. Gwin then reluctantly offered himself for another term in the House. Again, however, he lost out, this time to Jefferson Davis, an up-and-coming Mississippi Democrat.
Thanks to his friend Walker, Gwin in 1846 received an appointment from the Treasury Department to oversee construction of the New Orleans Custom House. Although the post paid only $8 per day, a far cry from the fees he had received as a federal marshal, it gave Gwin valuable political contacts. But it was a patronage position, dependent totally on Democratic control of the White House. And in 1848, the Democratic candidate, Lewis Cass, lost the presidency to Zachary Taylor, “Old Rough and Ready,” one of the Whig generals who had gained fame in the rout of Mexico. Gwin was thus certain to soon be out of a job.
A few months later, on March 5, 1849, to be exact, Gwin was in Washington. He watched the inauguration procession of Zachary Taylor as it passed by Willard’s Hotel. Next to him stood a short but imposing man, Stephen A. Douglas, “the Little Giant” of Illinois. Like Gwin, the Illinois senator was a lifelong Democrat. He also had a vested interest in Mississippi and Mississippi slavery. The previous June his wife had inherited a Mississippi plantation of some twenty-five hundred acres and over one hundred slaves. In accordance with her father’s will, Douglas himself managed the property, kept in touch with the overseers who directed the slaves and the New Orleans merchants who sold the cotton crop, and received 20 percent of the annual income. 9
The two men spoke of the future. Douglas still had a job to do as senator from Illinois. Gwin was going to be out of political work at the end of the month. What, then, did he intend to do? Gwin allegedly told Douglas that he was going to go to California, make California into a state, and be back in a year as the new senator from California. At that time, he would ask Douglas to present “his credentials as a senator from the State of California.” 10
So, anyway, recalled Gwin many years later. It sounds apocryphal. But there is no doubt that Gwin’s desire for a U.S. Senate seat prompted him to take off for California in April 1849. He went by way of Panama. He traveled the same route as Broderick, but at a faster pace, leaving later, arriving earlier. He didn’t have to wait as long in Panama City. He had more clout. He gained passage on one of Aspinwall’s steamers, the
Panama,
which left Panama City on May 18 and arrived in San Francisco on June 4, nine days before Broderick.
Built for mail, the
Panama
initially had accommodations for about eighty passengers. On its maiden voyage it carried four hundred. The few women on board shared a tent on the quarterdeck. Around them slept several hundred men, their places on deck marked by chalk. The passenger list included two future governors, three future senators, two future congressmen, two future state supreme court justices, seven future generals and an admiral, two future ambassadors, and one potential First Lady.
The potential First Lady was Jessie Benton Frémont. She was also the best known of the passengers. No one as yet had heard of “Fighting Joe” Hooker, destined to gain fame as a Civil War general. No one as yet had heard of Major George Derby, later known as the comic writer John Phoenix, who
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