Battle of Monterey - Aftermath

Aftermath

After the occupation of Monterey the rest of the small towns in California surrendered very quickly without a shot being fired. Once it was seen that the U.S. Navy was taking action the Bear Flag Revolt was quickly converted into an annexation as the California Bear Flag was swapped for the U.S. flag. The Bear Flag revolutionaries were soon combined with John C. Frémont's 60 man exploratory force to form the U.S. sponsored California Battalion under the command of Frémont. The California Battalion, which varied from 160 to 400 men, drew regular army wages and were used to garrison and maintain order in the towns that had surrendered. This freed Commodore Robert F. Stockton, who had taken over by July 21, 1846, Pacific Squadron's Marines and sailors to go on to do other activities.

Sloat's famous declaration, annexing California to the United States, was met with bitterness and anger by some Californios who had a wide variety of opinions on the subject.