The mining camps that sprang up during the gold rush of 1849 in California were plagued by thieves. To deal with thievery in the absence of courts, the miners formed extra-legal bodies which carried out their own sentences by summary whipping, banishment, or hanging. The booming city of San Francisco was particularly plagued with criminals. One group known as the Hounds harassed the city in 1849, and in 1850 the Sydney Coves robbed and killed almost at will: over 100 persons were killed in a few months. Witnesses were intimidated and convictions were rare. In 1851, prominent men organized a Committee of Vigilance, established a constitution, and issued warnings to criminals. They banished some and hung others. They checked incoming boats to examine passengers and deport convicts. Having done their appointed task effectively they dissolved in 1853.
The Committee was reborn in 1856, in part because of a high crime rate and several particularly flagrant murders. In November 1855 a gambler, Charles Cora, shot William Richardson, a United States Marshal. Many called for a lynching, but the majority of the city preferred to let the law handle Cora. When he was tried in January, 1856, a fixed jury heard several perjured witnesses, and the jury would come to no decision. The trial was heatedly denounced in the Bulletin, edited by James King. On May 14, King was shot by James P. Casey, a city supervisor. A group of citizens called for the formation of a Committee of Vigilance and within two days 5,500 had been enrolled. The vigilantes marched to the jail with a cannon in tow, removed Cora and Casey, tried them, and then hung them. The committee deported many whom they considered criminals, and hung two more murderers. In August, after 6,000 members marched in a triumphal parade, the Committee virtually ceased to exist.
Besides its desire to fight crime, the Committee of Vigilance of 1856 was moved by the hope of wresting control of the city from the dominant Irish Catholic Democratic machine. The bulk of the members were middle- and upper-class Protestants, old-line Whigs and Know-Nothings, and were predominantly Northerners. Their hero, James King, was an anti-Catholic editor, and most victims of vigilantism were Catholics. They were opposed by the Democrats under David C. Broderick and by the Law and Order party which drew its strength from the Southern-oriented wing of the Democrats.
The following account of the Committee’s activities by a resident of San Francisco, Minor King, is a letter written August 2, 1856: “The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1856: An Estimate of A Private Citizen,” Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly, XXXI (1949), 292–5. See Richard Maxwell Brown: “Pivot of American Vigilantism: The San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856,” in John A. Carroll, ed.: Reflections of Western Historians (1969); Wayne Gard: Frontier Justice (1949); Hubert Howe Bancroft: Popular Tribunals (1887); and Mary Floyd Williams: History of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851: A Study of Social Control on the California Frontier in the Days of the Gold Rush (1921).
… you have no doubt ere this heard of the very exciting times we have had in this city for the last two months, the fact is San Francisco is undergoing a purification, and is now in a measure regulated; the work is still going on but when the end will be no one can tell—For a long time the city has ben under the control of the vilest of creation, desperados of every caste, the gambler, the thief, the murderer and assassin have been our rulers, from the judge on the bench to the smallest police officer. All have pandered to their influence and obtained their positions through it—A good citizen has stood no chance whatever he has not dared to speak his sentiments, lest some shoulder striker at his elbow should check him with pistol or knife—but a change has taken place, retribution has come upon them at last, and thus far it has ben fearful—
The last feather that broke the camel’s back was added when James King of Wm. was shot down in broad daylight in the open street. King was the Editor of the Evening Bulletin and in his paper had ben most fearless and energetic in denouncing these scoundrels; his assassin was J. P. Casey a man who from ’49 to ’51 was a convict in Sing Sing Prison, N.Y.; immediately after his release, he came to this country, where it did not take him long to obtain a controling influence among his class. It is said he had amassed quite a fortune and has never ben known to do an honest days work since he came here.
As soon as he had committed the awful deed he was hurried off to jail by several policemen who seemed to (be) convinetly by and who it is believed were prievously aware of his intentions—Soon the citizens began to assemble in the vicinity of the jail, such an intensly exciting crowd was never seen before, some urging an immediate attack on the jail, and some demanding the prisoner (be) brought forth and delivered to the people, some counselling one thing and some another. In the meantime the Sherriff (himself a noted Irish gambler) had organized a strong force of gamblers and shoulder strikers within the jail, and had called on the military companies to assist him in securing the prisnor against harm. After a while the people or at least the great mass of them left the ground, leaving a strong gard to watch the jail lest the Sherriff should take him out and secrete him in some other place; this was on Wednesday Evening, on the next morning the honest citizens began to organize a Vigilence Committee. After Enrolling about 3,000 Men and fully equipping them (which took them three days) they marched up to the jail surrounded the same planted a nine pounder cannon in front of the main door, loaded the same with double shot, then demanded the prisner Casey the murderer of King and the Prisner Cora the murderer of Gen Richardson the United States Marshall of this District; the murder was committed last November; the prisner was tried, but the jury failed to agree & he was in jail awaiting another trial, which we all knew would be but a mere farce, for Cora was one of the first gamblers in the place. I will here state there has (been) 76 cold blooded murders committed in this city within the last two years and only one man executed, and he the poor dog had no money or he too would have gone clear. After a short consultation the Sheriff thought it wise to bring out the prisoners, they were taken to the committee rooms had a fair trial, they were both convicted and executed, these procedings so enraged the gamblers they called on the Gov. for help, who by the by is a miserable apology for a Governor; he orders out the military of the whole state to put down the good citizens of San Francisco; the call was disregarded by all good respectable people, and was only obey’d by Gamblers, Murderers, some Lawyers, Judges and Thieves of every grade; they assembled in this city and hired rooms in different parts of the town where they met for drill, the Gov. sending them arms and ammunition to shoot down the best citizens of the place; the Law and Murder Party now amounted to about 500 all told and now quite sure they were able to put down the Mob as they were pleased to call it—but the Peoples Committee have not ben idle, they having fortified their rooms and increased their numbers to 6,000 good able bodied men well armed, they pay’d no attention to the Govs. troops, but were pushing on the good work of purification, by arresting some of the worst characters in town, such as ballot box stuffers and robbers, thieves, and shoulder strikers, and confining them in their rooms and giving them a trial, and if found guilty banish them out of Country. One of our Supreme Court judges by the name of David S. Terry came down from the Capital (Sacramento) and joined himself to the Law and Murder Party armed with double barrel gun revolver and Bowie Knife; thus equipt he paraded our street to protect his brother gambler; while one of the Vigilence Police by the name of Hopkins was about to arrest one of the worst scoundrels in Town by the name of Malony, Judge Terry presented his gun to Hopkins breast, “Hopkins” says Judge “I have nothing to do with you” at the same time caught the gun by the muzzle and jerkd it out of his hands; the rowdy Judge now draws his knife and plunges it into Hopkins’ neck and left him for dead, and fled to one of the armories of the Murder Party for protection; the alarm was given at the Vigilants’ rooms, the bell rung, and in less than 15 minutes 5,000 infantry, 200 calvalry all well armed with guns & bayonetts, cutlasses and four pieces brass cannon were surrounding the different armories of the murderers. I assure you it was not long before his judgeship and compatriots in arms were on their way to the committees rooms, after the vigilants had surrounded the buildings in which the govs. troops were or at least a portion of them they were ordered to surrender and were given 5 minutes to do it in. I tell you there was no use parlying; the different garrisons surrendered and lay down their arms without firing a shot—the people triumphed, victory perched upon their banner, and the result was that the vigilants took 150 prisners, 500 rifles and muskets, about 100 cutlasses, one Gen., two Majors, and a Supreme Court judge.
… Since the surrender of Governor Johnsons’ troops the Committee have had things their own way, and for the first time in this city for three years past have I felt that there was any safety for person or property. Ladies can now walk the streets with their husbands without the fear of being insulted by a gang of loaffers at every corner of the streets; the Committee have hung four, the notorious Yankey Sulivan committed suicide in his cell, they have banished 20 or more and have frightened more than one hundred from the city. Consequently the gambling houses are shut up and forsaken and a degree of quietness reigns throughout the entire city.