An obscure building sits on the corner of Highway 49 and Back Street in Coloma. Currently it houses vintage wagons, but at one time it served as the armory for the Coloma Greys, an independent military company that was organized and mustered into service on June 17, 1857. In all, the first muster roll included four sergeants, four corporals, and 39 privates, including A.A. VanGuelder (captain), J.B. Vanderheyden (first lieutenant), James A. Hale (second lieutenant), and J. Spencer (third lieutenant).

Independent military companies were common throughout California in the mid-19th century. Organized to maintain law and order in the fledgling state, they also protected citizens against the perceived threat of Native Americans. The oldest volunteer company was organized in July of 1849 and dubbed the California Guard. An accounting in 1862 published in the Sacramento Daily Union was compiled from the “list of uniformed companies, duly organized, with the number of rank and file as returned to the Adjutant General's office.” It lists 71 companies throughout the state with a total enrollment of 4,630 volunteers. The article notes these figures were less than in previous years, as many volunteers were being mustered in or volunteering for service in the Civil War.

Each company chose their own name. The Independent City Guards, Sacramento Rangers, and Sutter Rifles were out of Sacramento; the Volcano Blues and Amador Mountaineers were found in Amador County; and the Auburn Greys, Forest Hill Guard, and Placer County Mountaineers were located in Placer County. 

The Coloma Greys were an efficient, well-officered, and outfitted company. In 1858, D. Norcross of Sacramento crafted a six-by-nine-foot flag of the finest silk for the company featuring gold fringe tassels, a large gilt eagle, and the words “Coloma Greys, organized June 17th, 1857.”

The efficiency and military skill of the company were never fully tested, but their “fine appearance” at celebrations throughout the region was noted in newspapers. At the jubilee held in honor of the laying of the Atlantic telegraph cable in 1858, the Greys were “cordially received” in Sacramento. “Their uniform is a handsomely fitting gray suit, trimmed with black, gray cap, and pompon. The members of the Company are nearly all up to the true standard of military stature and proportion and make a fine show on parade. Their marching and discipline reflected credit on their officers.” Later that day, the “fine band of the Coloma Greys” led a military procession.

In 1859, the Greys participated in a military encampment of volunteer companies near Sacramento to receive instruction in company and battalion drills. The proceedings provided ample entertainment for the public and an exercise in adaptability for the participants. Overnight, strong winds, rain, and hail downed the canvas tents and soaked the volunteers.

The closest the company ever came to combat was probably in May 1860 during the Paiute Wars in Utah and Nevada. Depredations by the Native Americans at Miller's Station on the Carson River prompted a military unit to pursue them up the Truckee River toward Pyramid Lake. The military was outnumbered and most of the soldiers were killed. Many local militias, including the Coloma Greys, stood ready to march. The Greys never saw action, however. The company was ordered by Governor Downey to send their arms and munitions to Carson Valley to equip the army. It wasn’t until August 1861 that the state replaced those weapons.

On September 13, 1862, Coloma Greys’ Captain Vanderheyden submitted a letter to General W. C. Kibbe making known his plans to disband the company. There were not enough fresh recruits in Coloma to fill the ranks, as many of the soldiers had joined the Civil War effort.

by Jerrie Beard

SOURCES:

California State Library Dead Office File Row 3, File 5

Sacramento Daily Union: Volume 22, Number 3425, 21 March 1862 ; Volume 15, Number 2267, 2 July 1858; Volume 16, Number 2339, 25 September 1858; Volume 17, Number 2552, 1 June 1859 

Daily Alta California, Volume 11, Number 257, 16 September 1859 

Visalia Weekly Delta, Volume 1, Number 48, 19 May 1860