George B. Fitzgerald: Fitzgerald's Volunteers, 1851-1852
This was probably the height of George's military career, the final success before addiction and mental illness dragged him down, yet in some histories, he doesn't even get credit for it, the credit going to his brother Edward instead. However, enough sources list "George" or "G. B." Fitzgerald as the leader of the volunteers, that I believe the others made the mistake of assuming the officer was the most well-known Fitzgerald in the area, not realizing poor George was there too.
An account from 1890 is one of the few that mentions both brothers, accurately noting their different contributions:
"The regulars and San Diego volunteers were under Captain George Fitzgerald... The exposed position of this region for a long time thereafter, in the Kern river and Mohave wars, and other troubles, kept officers of the United States army here and not seldom in active service. Among these gentlemen who possessed the regard of the people were: … [Major] Edward H. Fitzgerald." (From An Illustrated History of Southern California - The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago - 1890)
In May of 1851, Major Edward Fitzgerald's dragoons were serving dismounted. I have no specific information where George was employed at this time, though he probably remained in the area and may have continued to work as a quartermaster agent at the San Diego army post. According to an 1852 report,
In the fall of 1851, attacks and rumors of attacks by Indians alarmed residents of the San Diego area.
However, the capture of the prisoners was one success of the mission, particularly "the notorious Bill Marshall who is said to have ordered the murder of Mr. Slack and three others at Agua Caliente," according to the San Diego Herald, quoted by Harrison (full citation below).
Fitzgerald's men attended their hanging. The San Diego Herald reported the trial and execution, as quoted in The History of San Diego by Richard F. Pourade.
For more information on Bill Marshall and the violence that spurred the formation of the Fitzgerald Volunteers and other action to protect San Diego at this time, see "William Marshall 'The Wickedest Man in California' A Reappraisal" by Leland E. Bibb. Apparently George Fitzgerald himself did not sit at the trial for Marshall and Verdugo, turning that over to his captain, Cave Couts.
Meanwhile, others had captured the notorious Indian leader Antonio Garra. Before Garra was brought to San Diego for trial
The following is from an online article by Timothy Wright:
From Louis Rose: San Diego's First Jewish Settler and Entrepreneur by Donald H. Harrison, p. 71:
Peace returned to the area, and the Fitzgerald Volunteers were disbanded in 1852. At this point, I don't know what George was doing until 1857, when there's a mention of him in Norfolk, and 1860, when the census and his brother's will show him married to a Norfolk woman and living in Dinwiddie Co. Virginia, near Petersburg.
Further information:
Fitzgerald's Volunteers 1851-1852
the horses of the Squadron to which [Edward Fitzgerald's] company belongs (110. in number) were by order of the commanding General, turned in to the Quarter Master's Department; and they are still running on good grazing grounds near Benicia. Since the horses were turned in, as stated, the company has been in the field in different parts of the State of California, serving on foot. Owing to the character of the service on which the company has been employed, no great attention has been paid to the instruction of the men; the company, however, performed creditably in the drill as dismounted Dragoons.
The company not having horses, I was unable to form any idea of their skill in horsemanship, or their proficiency as a Cavalry Company.
The Company Books are posted up to the present date—but owing in a great measure to the character of the service on which the Company has been employed, the books have not been neatly kept.
The arms of the company—musketoons and sabers—were in good order for field service. The clothing in possession of the men (the old pattern) is generally in good condition, and is sufficient for present use.
The people of San Diego at once held a mass meeting, proclaimed martial law, with the aid of Major Samuel P. Heintzelman, who was in command of the district, and began the organization of a volunteer company to go on a punitive expedition. Sentinels were posted to guard every approach to the town and a strict watch kept. Deputy Sheriff Joseph Reiner was sent out as a scout and found the hostiles in force at Agua Caliente, three miles beyond Warner's. In the meantime, the town filled with refugees from the country. The Indians at Temécula, after refusing to join Garra, came in for protection. The white residents of the various ranchos did likewise, many of them abandoning their household goods. Many citizens rendered important services at this time. Don Joaquin Ortega, owner of the Santa María rancho, offered to donate horses for the use of the volunteers, and Philip Crosthwaite undertook to go after them. With him went Albert B. Smith, Enos A. Wall, John C. Stewart, and Dr. Ogden. They made the trip in safety and returned with the horses, although it was considered a hazardous service. Don José Antonio Estudillo also furnished horses and mules from his El Cajon rancho.
The volunteer company was known as the "Fitzgerald Volunteers," in honor of Major G. B. Fitzgerald, an army officer, who was given the command. Two or three other army officers, who were in San Diego for their health, also volunteered and served as privates. Cave J. Couts was made captain, Agostin Haraszthy first lieutenant, Lewis A. Franklin second lieutenant, Robert D. Israel first sergeant, Jack Hinton second sergeant, Philip Crosthwaite third sergeant, Henry Clayton fourth sergeant, and George P. Tebbetts ensign. The single men only were allowed to go, leaving the married men, under the command of Sergeant Hinton, to guard the town. Those who went were forty in number, all mounted.
The line of march was by way of the Soledad, Peñasquitas, San Pasqual, Santa María, and Santa Ysabel [northeast about 60 miles. See a map.]. They arrived at Warner's Ranch without meeting any Indians, and found the place entirely ruined. Advancing to Agua Calieute, they found the ranchería deserted. The bones of the murdered white men at this place were gathered up and buried and the village burned. No Indians were seen, and the next day the return march began. A scouting party captured Bill Marshall and two Indians, who were taken along as prisoners. The company was detained two or three days at Santa Ysabel by rain and snow, and arrived at San Diego and was disbanded, early in December, after an absence of two weeks. The campaign was a failure, from a number of causes. Garra was away in the San Bernardino mountains, trying to rally the Indians in that region to his aid. It was the policy of the Indians to avoid an open engagement, and when the troops approached they scattered in the mountains. The men were also chiefly armed with condemned army muskets loaned by Colonel Magruder, and an inspection of arms was not held, by some strange oversight, until they arrived at Agana Caliente, when it was discovered that only about one fourth of the guns could be fired. .
The trial of these men was concluded on Friday evening last; on Saturday morning, it was announced on the Plaza [in San Diego] they were to be executed at 2 o'clock the same day [Dec. 13, 1851, on a scaffold by the Catholic Cemetery]. The Fitzgerald Volunteers were ordered to be on duty at that time to conduct the prisoners to the scaffold, which had been erected a short distance out of town, near the Catholic burying grounds. The graves were dug, and all the preparations made, during the forenoon, for carrying out the sentence of the court martial. About 2:00 o'clock the Volunteers were under arms, the people began to gather in considerable numbers about the Plaza and Court House. A Priest (Fr. Juan Holbein) was with the prisoners most of the forenoon and accompanied the men to the gallows, where they received final absolution. They were then informed that a short time would be allowed them, if they wished to make any remarks. Marshall was the first to speak . . . He said he was prepared to die and he hoped that his friends, and the people around him, would forgive him, that he trusted in God's mercy, and hoped to be pardoned for his many transgressions. He still insisted that he is innocent of the crime by which he was about to die . . .
Verdugo spoke in Spanish. He acknowledged his guilt and admitted the justice of the sentence passed upon him; said he was ready and willing to yield up his life for forfeit for his crimes and wickedness. The ropes were then adjusted, the priest approached them for the last time . . . repeated the final prayer, extended the crucifix, which each kissed several times, when he descended from the wagon, which immediately moved on, leaving the poor unfortunate wretches suspended about five feet from the ground..
Fitzgerald's Volunteers were reinforced by volunteers brought by boat from San Francisco, who were dubbed "The Hounds," in memory of the hoodlums who had so terrorized the northern city. Organized as the Rangers, at the call of the governor to assist if needed at San Diego, they had been ordered disbanded with news of the success of the military. But they came anyway. They wrought more harm and misery on San Diego than did the Indians. With no enemy to fight, they camped in Mission Valley and ranged through Old Town on drunken sprees and threatened to sack the town. The authorities sent an appeal to Lt. Sweeny, at the old barracks at La Playa, and he led a sergeant and eighteen men into Old Town. That same afternoon, Philip Crosthwaite, a sergeant of Fitzgerald's Volunteers, engaged in a row with one of the Hounds identified as a Lt. Watkins. Both were wounded in an exchange of gunfire on the street, and Crosthwaite barely escaped death, retreating under a heavy fire from other members of the Hounds. Sweeny ordered his soldiers to form in the Plaza, and he writes "it was the general opinion that if my men had not been present that day the streets of San Diego would have been drenched in blood." Watkins' leg had to be amputated, and it was presented to Crosthwaite as a trophy of war. The soldiers remained on guard in Old Town until the Indian war had ended, and the Hounds had been loaded up and shipped back to San Francisco. (From The History of San Diego by Richard F. Pourade)
On January 9, 1852, Garra arrived in San Diego for trial. Present at the tribunal were General Bean, Major M. Norton, Major Santiago Arguello, Captain G.B. Fitzgerald, and Lt. Hooper and Tilghman. Garra was charged with treason, murder, and robbery. He was charged with war against the state of California, ordering the attack at Warner’s ranch, the four deaths at Kupa, and aiding and abetting theft at Warner’s ranch and sheep on the Colorado River. Garra pleaded guilty only to having stolen sheep. J.J. Warner was the first witness, but could offer no evidence linking Garra Sr. to any of the charges. Garra’s defense council argued that he could not be charged with treason, having never taken an oath of allegiance to the United States.
Garra was sentenced on January 10 to die at 4:30 p.m., just an hour and a half after the verdict was returned. Sweeney, as a member of the U.S. Army, had declined to sit on the court martial because the state militia had convened it. He similarly declined to have his men carry out the execution, "but lent General Bean my musketoons and ammunition to carry the sentence into effect."
Sergeant Israel, Whaley, and others in a 12-man squad of Fitzgerald's Volunteers escorded Garra to a site next to an open grave. Garra accepted the opportunity to say a few words. "Gentlemen," he proudly intoned according to the San Diego Herald version, "I ask your pardon for all my offenses, and expect yours in return." The newspaper may have jumbled the quote. It seems more likely he might have said, "I ask your pardon for all my offenses, and grant you mine in return," but we are left only with the one version. The newspaper account continued: "Then suffering his eyes to be bandaged, he kneeled at th ehead of of his grave." Sergeant Israel, serving as provost marshal, turned to his troops and commanded "Ready! Aim! Fire!" Garra's bullet-ridden body toppled into a grave in the same Catholic cemetery where Marshall and Verdugo were already buried.
Further information:
Fitzgerald's Volunteers 1851-1852
