Mariposa Battalion

Beginning in 1850, an influx of miners into the Sierra Nevada foothills brought increasing conflict with the Ahwahnechee, a band of the Southern Sierra Miwok people who occupied Yosemite Valley and surrounding area under the leadership of Chief Tenaya. A federal Indian commission composed of Redick McKee, George W. Barbour, and Oliver M. Wozencraft sought a peaceful resolution.^[3] After raids on trading posts and settlements, a force under Mariposa County Sheriff James Burney was sent to negotiate but found unequal to the task.^[4] Burney appealed to Governor John McDougall, who authorized the formation of a volunteer militia of two hundred men.^[5]

The Mariposa Battalion was mustered on February 12, 1851. Sheriff Burney was the first choice to command the unit as major, but declined due to other responsibilities in Mariposa. James D. Savage was chosen instead, primarily for his scouting experience in the region. The battalion was divided into three companies: Company A commanded by John J. Kuykendall with seventy men; Company B under John Boling with seventy-two men; and Company C under William Dill with fifty-five men. Other officers included M. B. Lewis as Adjutant, A. Brunson as surgeon, and Vincent Hailor as guide.^[6] A camp was established two and a half miles (4 kilometers) from the town of Mariposa, near Savage's Agua Fria trading post.

The battalion conducted three expeditions into the Sierra Nevada in pursuit of the Ahwahnechee and Chowchilla bands, who had refused to sign treaties with federal commissioners.^[2] During the first expedition, members of the battalion entered Yosemite Valley in late March 1851, becoming the first non-indigenous people documented to have done so. Bunnell later recalled the date as approximately March 21, while other historical accounts place the discovery on March 27.^[2] Medical officer Lafayette Bunnell, struck by the dramatic scenery, proposed calling the valley "Yosemite", a name he derived from the Miwok people of the region.^[2] The battalion burned Ahwahnechee villages and food supplies and forcibly relocated people from their homes in the valley.^[7][1][8][9]

On March 19, 1851, the same day the commissioners signed a treaty with six other tribes at Camp Fremont, the battalion launched its first campaign. The companies of Boling and Dill entered the valley but found few Ahwahnechee, hampered by snow drifts of three to five feet.^[3]

The second expedition, launched April 13, targeted the Chowchilla band. It destroyed food stores and, following the death of the Chowchilla chief, induced that band's surrender and acceptance of reservation status.^[3] When the Ahwahnechee subsequently refused to appear at Camp Barbour for peace negotiations, the battalion launched a third expedition. On May 22, the battalion surrounded Tenaya's band at a high-country lake they named Tenaya Lake after their chief; the Ahwahnechee were captured and forced to accept removal to a reservation.^[3]

To Tu Ya, known also as "Maria" Lebrado Ydrte, was among the survivors of the battalion's campaigns. She later retold the story of the destruction of her community and lived to see Yosemite Valley designated a national park.^[10]

The battalion is historically significant as the party responsible for the first documented non-indigenous entry into Yosemite Valley and for naming it, while its campaigns are also considered part of the broader pattern of ethnic cleansing of California's indigenous peoples during the Gold Rush era.^[1]