From the Report of The
Adjutant General. 1883-1884:
During this administration,
but one demand has been made by the civil authorities for assistance
to enforce the law. This was on July 7, 1884, when Sheriff Cunningham,
of San Joaquin County, with a posse of his subordinate officers,
was resisted in the execution of a writ of attachment, by a large
body of well-armed and apparently determined settlers upon the
Moquelumnes Grant. The Sheriff made an official demand upon Brigadier-General
J. A. Shepherd, commanding the militia of that district, for
the assistance of his command, stating that the number and character
of those defying the law rendered the civil authority unable
to enforce it, and that the emergency was immediate and pressing.
General Shepherd telegraphed
to your Excellency for instructions; this telegram was not delivered
as promised to him it should be, but on the day after transmittal.
Receiving no reply to his message, and being incorrectly informed
that you were absent, he deemed the emergency such as to demand
and justify his exercising the authority granted him by Section
2040 of the Codes relative to the militia. He therefore ordered
out the Stockton and Emmet Guards, and placed both under command
of the senior officer, Captain Eugene Lehe. Upon receipt of the
telegram, and still being unaware of the merits of the case,
you directed me to go at once to Stockton, and ascertain the
facts; but to hold the companies in their armories until the
civil authorities had exhausted every reasonable effort to enforce
the law without their aid. Upon my arrival at Stockton by the
first train after receiving your order, I found that the two
companies had marched to the scene of trouble, some fifteen miles
distant, at 4:00 am. Upon my arrival at the camp everything was
found quiet, the settlers having disbanded upon the appearance
of the troops, but threatening to return .
To withdraw the companies
from the ground would invite a renewal of the trouble, encourage
those resisting the law, and, in the opinion of prominent officers
and citizens, result in a bloody riot. General Shepherd was therefore
ordered to retain the troops under arms and await your instructions.
They were withdrawn as soon as the several writs were served.
The Emmet Guard, Captain Nunan, and the Stockton Guard, Captain
Eugene Lehe, turned out ninety-eight men at very short notice,
for what was fully anticipated would be serious work.
Their prompt response
to the call, cool and soldierly bearing, and excellent conduct
while in camp, deserve great praise , and evi dence their alacrity
to do their duty as soldiers, however repugnant that duty might
be to them as citizens. While it is a source of sincere gratification
that their mere appearance sufficed to enforce the law, the conduct
of these companies manifest the spirit and discipline pervading
the National Guard of California.
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