Union and Secessionist Families Clash in Sacramento, California

In a small tribute to my native Norcal, I decided to post this fourth of July story. You might get a chuckle out of it.

All research is by James R. Heintze and is taken from this website.

Union and Secessionist Families Clash in Sacramento, California

The following story concerns the display of Union and Confederate flags by two families in Sacramento, California, on July 4, 1864, and how those families almost came to blows. The event speaks to the significance of the flag as an important symbol and representation of patriotic sentiments, as well as the need for individual expression of those beliefs. Telling as well is the newspaper editor's decision to report this incident, which seems to us inconsequential if compared to other more noteworthy Fourth of July happenings. Yet, for Sacramentians it was newsworthy--two familes brawl over the flag, Union soldiers arrive, and a retraction by one of the participants occurs. The complete account was printed in two separate newspaper articles that are quoted in full below.
The day began with Sacramento residents waking up to the sounds of cannons firing and bells ringing. A sense of joy and excitement prevailed; everyone anticipated a full day's worth of parties, parades, and pandemonium. This was, after all, the 87th anniversary of the glorious Fourth and Sacramentians did up this holiday in grandier and style. The spectacle of the day was a parade consisting of both military and civilian participants. Among the notable officials processing was California Governor Frederick F. Low.

Coupled with this joy was an undercurrent of concern for the great war going on back East. The city's newspaper provided news about the conflict. Reading headlines as "The Great Contest--Army of the Potomac" and "The Trenches and Sharpshooting" on July 4 caused citizens to ponder just how the war would affect their future. Indeed, Sacramento was pro-Union; however, this story provides evidence that some residents had pro-Confederate leanings.


A Union and secession war on a small scale occurred on Monday afternoon on G Street, near Fourteenth. A double house at that locality is occupied by two families--those of John Drummond, Union, and John Clary, Secesh. Heretofore these familes have lived together in peace and quietness. On Monday morning [4th of July] Mrs. Drummond heard Mrs. Clary order her child, who had gone into the room with a small American flag, to leave, as she would not have the rag about the place. Mrs. Drummond at once called her child home. In the afternoon Mrs. Drummond put up the flag over the door. Mrs. Clary tore it down, stating that that was the only door which she could pass through, and she would not be compelled to walk under the Union flag. Mrs. Drummond put it up again, and procuring a small piece of board, which made a formidable weapon, threatened to strike Mrs. Clary with it if she attempted to tear it down again. Mrs. Clary then repaired to her room and improvised a Confederate flag, although it was not made according to regulation. This she pinned to the Union flag, when Mrs. Drummond again appeared and tore it down, leaving the stars and stripes afloat, of course. Before placing the Confederate flag up, Mrs. Clary was joined by her husband, who justified his wife in her course. Mrs. Drummond informed him that she would as soon strike him as his wife if he acted as she had done. When Mrs. Clary pinned up the flag Mrs. Drummond dealt a heavy blow at her, but Mrs. Clary dodged and escaped its consequences. Soon afterward Mrs. Drummond was joined by her husband, who, after learning what had occurred, went into Clary's room, Clary and two other men being present, took off his coat, said he could whip any Secessionist in the room, and gave them his views on the subject under discussion explicitly and without reserve. Clary defended his wife's course, and looked occasionally at a double-barreled shotgun in the room, but no blows were struck. Clary said his wife should put up a flag if she chose and he would defend it. Drummond responded that she could not put up a traitor flag on that house or any other in this city, and that he for one would shoot down him or any other man who would make the attempt. The Union flag was kept afloat until evening, when Mrs. Drummond took it down. (Sacramento Daily Union, 6 July 1864, 3.)
The second article provides some clarification and additional information. The correct address of Mrs. Drummond is cited and the fact that Union troops were summoned. It seems possible that Mrs. Drummond or her husband, upon reading the first article, contacted the newspaper and provided the following additional information-- in particular, the fact that she was the cousin of General Rosecrans, who was likely well known to readers..


That Flag.--Mrs. Drummond, the lady who persisted in keeping the Stars and Stripes afloat over her door on the Fourth of July is a cousin of General Rosecrans. Her residence is located on H street, above Fourteenth, instead of G street, as stated in a former article. The flag put up on the morning of the 5th still floats over the house, although Clary, on first seeing it, declared that it should come down. Soon after this declaration was made, several soldiers from Camp Union stopped at the house and were anxious to see the man who was going to tear down the flag. Clary, on seeing them, disclaimed being that individual, and declared that he was as good a friend to the Union as any other man. (Sacramento Daily Union, 8 July 1864, 3.)



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This Day in History

If you've got a minute (literally), check out this video. It gives a brief synopsis of the major events that happened on April 21 throughout history:

"Rome is founded by Romulus and Remus, Sam Houston shouts "Remember the Alamo" during the Texas Revolution, German flying ace, the Red Baron is shot down, and Annie the play debuts."

This Day in History: April 21

One of the most interesting things that happened...about 2,762 years ago...was the founding of Rome:

"According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, found Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome's founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C.

According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa. Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would become Rome. Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title. However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survived and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus.

Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity, they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a town on the site where they had been saved as infants. They soon became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by his brother. Romulus then became ruler of the settlement, which was named "Rome" after him.

To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women. A war then ensued, but the Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome. A peace treaty was drawn up, and the communities merged under the joint rule of Romulus and the Sabine king, Titus Tatius. Tatius' early death, perhaps perpetrated by Romulus, left the Roman as the sole king again. After a long and successful rule, Romulus died under obscure circumstances. Many Romans believed he was changed into a god and worshipped him as the deity Quirinus. After Romulus, there were six more kings of Rome, the last three believed to be Etruscans. Around 509 B.C., the Roman republic was established.

Another Roman foundation legend, which has its origins in ancient Greece, tells of how the mythical Trojan Aeneas founded Lavinium and started a dynasty that would lead to the birth of Romulus and Remus several centuries later. In the Iliad, an epic Greek poem probably composed by Homer in the eighth century B.C., Aeneas was the only major Trojan hero to survive the Greek destruction of Troy. A passage told of how he and his descendants would rule the Trojans, but since there was no record of any such dynasty in Troy, Greek scholars proposed that Aeneas and his followers relocated.

In the fifth century B.C., a few Greek historians speculated that Aeneas settled at Rome, which was then still a small city-state. In the fourth century B.C., Rome began to expand within the Italian peninsula, and Romans, coming into greater contact with the Greeks, embraced the suggestion that Aeneas had a role in the foundation of their great city. In the first century B.C., the Roman poet Virgil developed the Aeneas myth in his epic poem the Aeneid, which told of Aeneas' journey to Rome. Augustus, the first Roman emperor and emperor during Virgil's time, and Julius Caesar, his great-uncle and predecessor as Roman ruler, were said to be descended from Aeneas."

-- as excerpted from history.com

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