Richard Barnes Mason
| Richard Barnes Mason | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 4th Military Governor of California | |
|
In office 1847–1849 |
|
| Preceded by | Stephen W. Kearny |
| Succeeded by | Persifor Frazer Smith |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 16, 1797 Lexington Plantation, Fairfax County, Virginia |
| Died | July 25, 1850 (aged 53) Jefferson Barracks, St Louis, Missouri |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Margaret Hunter |
| Profession | Soldier |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 Cavalry
|
| Years of service | 1817 - 1850 |
| Rank |
 Colonel Bvt. Brigadier General
|
| Unit |
8th U.S. Infantry 1st U.S. Infantry |
| Commands |
Fort Gibson 1st U.S. DragoonsJefferson Barracks |
| Battles/wars |
Black Hawk War Second Seminole War Mexican-American War |
Richard Barnes Mason (January 16, 1797 – July 25, 1850) was a career officer in the United States Army and the fourth military governor of California before it became a U.S. state. He came from an ancient American family and was a descendant of George Mason, a framer of the U.S. Constitution and father of the Bill of Rights.
Gen. Mason is especially important to the history of California, because as military governor, he wrote the official report that led to the California Gold Rush.
Mason was "an aristocratic Virginian, a large portly man, six feet in height. He possessed all the peculiarities of a Southerner, accentuated," but he was known to have confined Jefferson Davis to quarters, who was under his command. A Lt. James Abert described him so, "It would be presumption in me to speak of so accomplished and well known an officer; but I cannot refrain from expressing my grateful sense of the kindness and hospitality with which we were received and treated by himself and his amiable lady, and indeed, by all the officers and ladies attached to the command."
"Richard Barnes Mason, born in Fairfax County, Virginia, January 16, 1797, was the son of George Mason and Elizabeth Mary Ann Barnes Hooe, who were married April 22, 1784."
Mason was commissioned into the Army in 1817 and served in the 1st U.S. Infantry during the Black Hawk War. In 1833, he transferred to the 1st U.S. Dragoons as its first Major. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1836. During the Mexican-American War, he served in New Mexico Territory and California, rising to the rank of Colonel in 1846.
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Wikipedia