James H. Carson's California, 1847-1853 [first edition]

It is said that California has the most complete recorded history of any state in the Union. Contemporaries called James H. (Henry) Carson's "sketches" as the most correct eye-witness reports of early California. The U. S. Congress declared war on Mexico in May 1846, and sent four units to occupy and hold Alta California, with a view to its acquisition. Sgt. Carson's Co. F, 3d Reg., Artillery, the "pioneer company," arrived in California in January 1847, after a five-months' voyage around the Horn; the Panama Canal was not yet built. In 1847 Carson served as commissary sergeant at 10th Military District Headquarters. In this capacity he obtained food supplies from the Califor-nios and shared in their social life, making him an important person at Monterey, capital of Alta California. He was one of the few who did not desert his post when gold was discovered in January 1848. In June-July he accompanied R. B. Mason, Col. 1st Dragoons, and Lt. W. T. Sherman (later Gen. Sherman of Civil Wa