Los Angeles Mounted Rifles

Joined
Dec 1, 2013
Location
San Diego
It's an interesting story, but considering there were fewer than 30 of them in a state with a population of 380,000 that raised some 20,000 troops (USVs and state active militia) for the US, it's not like they were going to win the war for the rebels.

Best,
 
Hi there, just wanted to post these links to a some interesting articles about a topic that I haven't really seen discussed here yet. It may be a bit lengthy, but in short it is about the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles, the only official Confederate unit to be raised in California. Pretty interesting stuff... http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/LosAngelesMountedRifles.html

http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/LosAngelesMountedRifles2.html
Nick,

Thank you very much for a very interesting story. I had not heard that much about this group before and they passed through right by where my neighborhood is now. I really enjoyed the article. Not a large group, but had some pretty famous names in it-Johnston, Armistead, etc.
 
Hi there, just wanted to post these links to a some interesting articles about a topic that I haven't really seen discussed here yet. It may be a bit lengthy, but in short it is about the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles, the only official Confederate unit to be raised in California. Pretty interesting stuff... http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/LosAngelesMountedRifles.html

http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/LosAngelesMountedRifles2.html
Very interesting.

Thanks for posting the link to the California State Military Museum.

From the link:

Though their history as a unit was brief, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles made an impact upon the Civil War. It is doubtful that Albert Sidney Johnston could have escaped California if the Rifles had not already been organized, vigorously led, and ready to take him along with them to the Confederacy. His arrival in the Confederacy boosted morale considerably and held portents for great things until his untimely death at Shiloh. It is perhaps ironic that his fame, while to some extent preserving the memory of the Rifles in crossing the desert, has largely submerged the fact of their existence as a unit, relegating them to brief mention as "Johnston's escort". The impact of their journey was more immediate in California. The success of the Rifles in taking off so prominent a person to the Confederacy shocked Union authorities in California. The State Senate directed a report on all California militia units

The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles were one of the most unique of all the various companies raised for the Civil War by either side. The facts of their location, their highly diverse ethnic makeup, their incredible journey across the desert at the worst time of the year, their association with so many prominent Confederate generals - all of these would make them stand out. But most unique of all, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles stand alone as the only Free State militia organization that went Confederate!


 
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Thanks very much for posting this! You just do not think of California as a Civil War state- so it gets your attention anyway. Admit to curiosity, too, thinking gee whiz, wasn't it over before these poor men got there? ( That's a joke ) The whole thing is a pretty crazy story, one of those unique sagas from war that reminds you what in blazes men were willing to do for what they believed in. I'm not sure it matters which side they were on- it's the journey to that end, that flattens me.
 
It would be interesting to read muster roll of the LA Mounted Rifles and see how many actually went East and served in Confederate units.
 
Very interesting.

Thanks for posting the link to the California State Military Museum.

From the link:

Though their history as a unit was brief, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles made an impact upon the Civil War. It is doubtful that Albert Sidney Johnston could have escaped California if the Rifles had not already been organized, vigorously led, and ready to take him along with them to the Confederacy. His arrival in the Confederacy boosted morale considerably and held portents for great things until his untimely death at Shiloh. It is perhaps ironic that his fame, while to some extent preserving the memory of the Rifles in crossing the desert, has largely submerged the fact of their existence as a unit, relegating them to brief mention as "Johnston's escort". The impact of their journey was more immediate in California. The success of the Rifles in taking off so prominent a person to the Confederacy shocked Union authorities in California. The State Senate directed a report on all California militia units

The Los Angeles Mounted Rifles were one of the most unique of all the various companies raised for the Civil War by either side. The facts of their location, their highly diverse ethnic makeup, their incredible journey across the desert at the worst time of the year, their association with so many prominent Confederate generals - all of these would make them stand out. But most unique of all, the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles stand alone as the only Free State militia organization that went Confederate!


I could see potential for an adventurous western movie in the making. "LA Rifles: Rebels of the West Coast" starring Christian Bale, Sam Elliot, Josh Brolin, and Tommy Lee Jones.

Synopsis: It's 1861. The country is bitterly divided over the preservation of the Union and the abolishing of slavery. 30 men must make a dangerous track through the run down, hot, inhospitable desert of the American southwest. Threats arise from the strong Union garrison of Fort Yuma, aggressive Apache Indians, and the every sand rocks hat could be host to a poisonous rattlesnake!

:laugh:
 
I could see potential for an adventurous western movie in the making. "LA Rifles: Rebels of the West Coast" starring Christian Bale, Sam Elliot, Josh Brolin, and Tommy Lee Jones.

Synopsis: It's 1861. The country is bitterly divided over the preservation of the Union and the abolishing of slavery. 30 men must make a dangerous track through the run down, hot, inhospitable desert of the American southwest. Threats arise from the strong Union garrison of Fort Yuma, aggressive Apache Indians, and the every sand rocks hat could be host to a poisonous rattlesnake!

:laugh:
Being that it's about Southern California and its the 21st Century we can' have a monochromatic cast. We must have a far more diverse cast both complextion wise and gender/ orientation wise.
Leftyhunter
 
Hi there, just wanted to post these links to a some interesting articles about a topic that I haven't really seen discussed here yet. It may be a bit lengthy, but in short it is about the Los Angeles Mounted Rifles, the only official Confederate unit to be raised in California. Pretty interesting stuff... http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/LosAngelesMountedRifles.html

http://californiamilitaryhistory.org/LosAngelesMountedRifles2.html
@Komi should enjoy this thread.
Leftyhunter
 
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