Juan Brown (1799–1859), nickname Juan Flaco, known as the Paul Revere of California, rode from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in four days, 52 hours, in 1846, during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

. Juan "Flaco" Brown was sent by Captain Archibald H. Gillespie at Fort Hill to due the

Siege of Los Angeles The siege of Los Angeles, was a military response by armed Mexican civilians to the August 1846 occupation of the Pueblo de Los Ángeles by the United States Marines during the Mexican–American War. Background Following the Battle of Mo ...

, started on September 22, 1846.

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Troops were trapped in

Pueblo de Los Ángeles El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, shortened to the Pueblo de los Ángeles, was the Spanish colonial pueblos and villas in North America, Spanish civilian ''pueblo'' settled in 1781, which became the ...

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

José María Flores General José María Flores (1818–1866) was a captain in the Mexican Army and was a member of ''la otra banda''. He was appointed Governor and ''Comandante General'' ''pro tem'' of Alta California from November 1846 to January 1847, and defen ...

men. Juan "Flaco" Brown took word to

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Robert F. Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam- ...

of the serious trouble the Gillespie's troops in Los Angeles were in.

History

Flaco departed Los Angeles at 8 PM with a note with Gillespie's seal, from Gillespie to Stockton hidden in his hair. He departed by pretending to be a deserter. Tom Lewis joined Flaco, they stopped in

Mission Santa Barbara Mission Santa Barbara () is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California, United States. Often referred to as the 'Queen of the Missions', it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for the Franciscan order on Decem ...

late at night and rented fresh

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s and bought food from Lieutenant Talbolt. The next day at Mission San Luis Rey, Tom Lewis departed and Flaco rode on to

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

where he was given a fresh horse. At San Jose, he got fresh horse and shortly talked with Thomas O. Larkin, the first and only American consul ever stationed on American soil. Flaco arrived at San Francisco in the evening at 8 PM after a six hundred miles ride with only 3 hours of rest in Monterey, through land filled with unfriendly natives and Mexican

Californios Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

. Commodore Stockton ordered Captain William Mervine to sail to Los Angeles with 350 men to help the Troops under siege there. Mervine arrived too late. After one week of siege, Gillespie Troops were out of food and

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

and surrendered. As part of the surrender Gillespie's Troops marched to the Port of San Pedro and departed Los Angeles on September 30, 1846, on the American merchant ship ''Vandalia''. On January 8, 1847, Los Angeles was taken in the last battle of the Mexican–American War,

Battle of La Mesa The Battle of La Mesa (also known as the Battle of Los Angeles) was the final battle of the California Campaign during the Mexican–American War, occurring on January 9, 1847, in present-day Vernon, California, the day after the Battle of Ri ...

. General Stephen W. Kearny (1794–1848) and his troops came to Los Angeles marching in from

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

by way of San Diego and the

Battle of San Pasqual The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican–American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley, San Diego, California, San Pasqual Valley community in the county of San Diego, ...

. Stockton and his men sailed in from San Francisco by way of San Diego. Kearny and Stockton's 607 Troops found Flores' 300 men near the San Gabriel River about 6 miles south of Pueblo de Los Ángeles. Flores lost the last battle of the Mexican–American War. There were few casualties and Flores retreated to Monterey and later to Mexico. On January 10 Kearny and Stockton's Troops Marched into the

Los Angeles Plaza Los Angeles Plaza or Plaza de Los Ángeles is located in Los Angeles, California. It is the central point of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District. When Spanish Governor Felipe de Neve founded the Pueblo de Los Ángeles, his first act was to lo ...

and Captain Gillespie raised the

Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States, often referred to as the American flag or the U.S. flag, consists of thirteen horizontal Bar (heraldry), stripes, Variation of the field, alternating red and white, with a blue rectangle in the Canton ( ...

. The United States acquired Alta California and Los Angeles through the Mexican–American War and the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

. The State of California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850.

Legacy

*He was born Johannes Braun in

Karlskrona Karlskrona (, , ) is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with a population of 66,675 in 2018. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

in 1799. He departed home and became a sailor at age 18. In South America be was captured and was a prisoner, but escaped and came to California in 1828, making he one of the first (or the first)

Swedes Swedes (), or Swedish people, are an ethnic group native to Sweden, who share a common ancestry, Culture of Sweden, culture, History of Sweden, history, and Swedish language, language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countries, ...

to arrive in California. He enlisted in the American Army in 1846. After the war he worked as a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

on a ranch. Juan "Flaco" Brown, "Lean John", lived in the City of Stockton from 1851 to 1859. He died in Stockton on December 10, 1859. *Juan "Flaco" Brown Grave Site is a historical site in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County ( ; , meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San Jo ...

. Juan "Flaco" Brown Grave Site is a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

No. 513, listed on November 25, 1953. The California Historical Landmark is at the intersection of East Weber Street and North Union Street built by The State Department of Parks and Recreation in working with local civic and historical organizations. Juan Flaco is buried in the former Stockton Citizen's Cemetery at 100 E Weber Ave (a pioneer graveyard at Weber Avenue and Pilgrim Street, now under the city). *During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

was named after Juan Flaco Brown, the SS ''Juan Flaco Brown''. *In the 1957 ''California's Paul Revere'' episode of ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...

'', Alex Sharp played Juan Flaco.

Gallery

John Brown (Juan Flaco) grave 2336 01.JPG, California Historical Landmark No. 513 in Stockton Battle of La Mesa (William H. Meyers, 1847).jpg, Battle of La Mesa by William H. Meyers, in 1847 Battle of La Mesa - 2.jpg, Monument for the Battle of La Mesa, northeast of the entrance to the City of La Mesa city hall. Battle_of_La_Mesa_-_3.jpg, Monument for the Battle Map Battle_of_La_Mesa_-_7.jpg, California Historical marker outside Vernon City Hall

References

{{Authority control California Historical Landmarks History of San Joaquin County, California 1846 in Alta California 1799 births 1859 deaths Swedish emigrants Category :Immigrants to Mexico American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American people of the Bear Flag Revolt People from Karlskrona

History

Legacy

Gallery

See also

References