1850 American Gold Baron

Chapter 123 Aiding Los Angeles

Carrying a heavy responsibility, Gervin arrived in the desolate town of Los Angeles on a small steamer loaded with food, daily necessities and tools. He was accompanied by Collins, a columnist for the "California Daily".

After landing, Ge Wen couldn't believe his eyes.

Nearly two-thirds of the buildings in the town of Los Angeles were damaged to varying degrees, and half of the buildings were burned down.

Is this what the military of a "civilized" country could do to the residents of its own towns in the 19th century?

Ge Wen felt like he had arrived in the barbaric and ignorant Middle Ages.

He was born in Ohio, grew up in Ohio, works in Ohio, and is a native Ohioan.

However, he had already bought a mansion and property in California. The monthly dividend of more than 80,000 US dollars from the United Mining Company made him not much attached to his hometown of Ohio. Ohio left Gavin with far more bad things than good things.

Have more memories.

Just like the Europeans who immigrated to the United States and made a fortune in the United States, they do not have much nostalgia for their former motherland on the European continent because their lives there were not satisfactory.

Of course, they will also choose to return home after becoming successful, but their purpose of returning home is not out of nostalgia for their hometown.

It's just to show off to the folks who once looked down on them. After showing off, they will still return to the United States.

Gervin ordered the accompanying servants to load food, daily necessities, and tools onto the carriage and pull it to the unrecognizable Los Angeles Town Square.

This is also the place where the tragedy started. There were still dried blood stains on the land in the square, and there was still a strong smell of blood in the air. The smell of blood and the smell of rotten meat mixed together and got into Ge Wen's nose, making Ge Wen

Feeling very uncomfortable.

But Gervin still insisted on coming to the Los Angeles town square. Only by meeting the local residents face to face can he close the distance with them and let them remember that there is a senator named Gervin in California.

Collins took his assistant to set up the tripod, and then he installed the camera on the tripod and adjusted the correct exposure parameters according to the surrounding light environment.

After completing the composition, Collins put his head under the cloth cover, and the inverted image of the collapsed church on the side of the square appeared in the viewfinder.

It's just that the image in the viewfinder is blurry. Photographic equipment in this era has just started, and what you see is not what you get. This is a test of the photographer's photography skills.

After everything was ready, Collins pressed the shutter and completed the first photo.

Collins then took several photos near the square. When the church priests and nuns saw reporters coming to Los Angeles to investigate, they immediately gathered around and complained to Collins about the atrocities committed by the American Army.

Pastor Wilkes of Los Angeles took Collins to a new public cemetery, pointed to the cemetery and the coffins and corpses piled next to the cemetery, and complained to Collins.

"Mr. Reporter, you must make their atrocities known to the world! A total of 345 innocent small town residents were brutally murdered by them, and more than 100 of them were women and children who were defenseless."

Sherman killed so many people that there were not enough coffins in the entire town of Los Angeles, and many bodies have not yet been buried.

No one would have thought that a small town with a population of just over 1,000 people would lose more than 300 people in one month.

When cholera was at its worst, only a dozen people died from cholera every day in the town of Los Angeles.

"Yes! Yes! I will definitely do it!"

With tears in his eyes, Collins pressed the shutter and took more than a dozen photos of the cemetery. Finally, he did not forget to take some close-ups of the almost unrecognizable bodies that were burned.

"Are you Mr. Senator? Thank God, someone finally cares about Los Angeles."

"Sir, they captured our brave mayor of Los Angeles!"

"All my food was stolen by those villains! They didn't even leave me a penny!"

"And my fishing boat! They requisitioned my fishing boat, and my father was also conscripted by them! Without the fishing boat, I can't go out to sea to fish! If I can't fish, I can't live! It's really sad."

"My house was burned down completely by the thugs, and now our whole family is living in a stable!"

"The food is gone. I haven't had a full meal for four days. I don't even have the strength to make a coffin!"

"My husband's leg was injured by them and the wound has festered. The doctor in Los Angeles town was also taken away by the thugs. I don't know what to do now."

In the square of Los Angeles town, the surviving local residents tearfully complained about the atrocities committed by Sherman and others.

Their lives have been forced into a desperate situation, and Ge Wen's arrival gave them hope.

They also have state governments, and maybe the state governments can help them get through this.

Ge Wen took out his notebook and pen and took notes seriously. He made a promise to the residents of Los Angeles.

"As a senator from California, I will definitely seek justice for you and give you justice.

I also understand your current difficulties. As a part of California, the state government of Los Angeles will not forget the suffering you have suffered. Lieutenant Governor Liang Yao and I have brought some food supplies for your emergency response.

In addition, we have also brought some doctors to help you, but of course this is not all."

This time Gervin did not just make verbal promises to the people like he did when he was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, but instead provided real help to the poor Los Angeles residents.

"Oh my god, that's so good?"

"Thank you to the state government, thank you to Senator Gervin! Thank you to Lieutenant Governor Liang!"

"Will the state government provide us with help in the future?"

The residents cast expectant looks at Ge Wen and asked eagerly.

"Of course! After defeating the enemy, the state government will help you rebuild your home. Governor Robinson and the others are already raising supplies for you. Follow-up assistance will continue to arrive in Los Angeles. Los Angeles will not only be rebuilt, but it will also be more prosperous than before!

"

Gervin said with certainty that although California's state government had just been established less than three months ago, Gervin felt that this young state government was far more capable than the state government in his hometown of Ohio.

"Now everyone, please line up, register here and receive the supplies you need."

After speaking, Gwen put away his pen and notebook.

After distributing these supplies, he still has to go to Washington, where there are more important things waiting for him to do.

News of Sherman's massacre of people in Los Angeles first reached Texas, and then quickly spread to the eastern states via telegrams from the Houston Telegraph Office.

The whole country in the United States was in an uproar, and angry people took to the streets again.

This time, they didn't just protest. The marchers even gathered in Washington, D.C., and launched an attack on the Capitol.

In order to maintain order and protect the safety of Congress and the government, Washington, D.C., mobilized all security forces in the District to the Capitol to prevent the situation from further escalating.

The gold prospectors who once boarded ships for California with shovels and gold pans now boarded ships with rifles and even cannons, claiming that they were going to California to fight with the Californians and support the Californians in defending their freedom.

The New York State government was extremely nervous about this, and the local state assembly put pressure on the state government to block New York State's ports and prohibit these crazy people from traveling to California.

However, New York State could only block the state's ports. These volunteers who threatened to support California did not give up their plans to go to California.

They left New York State in large numbers, headed to New Haven and New London in neighboring Connecticut, and boarded a ship bound for California.

Not long after the news of the Los Angeles massacre came, news came that Colonel Mason had been captured and half his regiment had been wiped out in San Francisco.

The day when the news came happened to be Christmas, and people took to the streets to celebrate.

But they are not celebrating the grand holiday of Christmas, but celebrating the defeat of the American Army.

The American people celebrated the defeat of the American army, which was the first time in American history.

When Congress learned that Colonel Mason's troops had been wiped out and that he himself had been captured, the members were shocked.

They still underestimated California's military strength. New York's senators are discussing submitting a bill to send more troops to California.

This time, many lawmakers shook their heads and disagreed with sending more troops to California.

Colonel Mason's infantry regiment was already an elite infantry regiment in the American Army, and it was completely wiped out in less than a day.

It shows that California is not something to be trifled with.

Besides, California is not the only place in the United States that needs troops right now.

The border issue between the United States and Canada has not yet been perfectly resolved, and troops are needed in conflict areas.

New settlements in the Midwest required garrison troops to encircle and suppress Indians to ensure the safety of immigrants and ensure the development of the hinterland of the Midwest.

The issue of Texas sending more troops to New Mexico is also a headache. To force Texans to withdraw their troops from New Mexico, the federal government must have a relatively large army to maintain deterrence against Texas.

Excluding the California Infantry Regiment and the Texas Infantry Regiment, the U.S. Army now has only fourteen infantry regiments left.

Of course, if the regular army is not enough, they can also consider recruiting militia and volunteers to fight.

It's just that this time is different from the US-Mexico War. In the US-Mexico War, everyone fought for the country and occupied more territory.

Therefore, the states and the people in each state will unite and respond to the government's call to fight for the country.

California is different from Mexico. It is now a state in the United States. Public opinion is now overwhelmingly on the side of California. Even if the conscription order is continued, there will probably be very few responders.

Many sober-minded congressmen were not optimistic about the conscription of militia and volunteer troops to fight in California.

Secretary of War Conrad solemnly stated to Congress that the War Department opposed the Civil War and would no longer consider sending any troops to California.

This is also what President Fillmore meant.

(End of chapter)