John McHenry Hollingsworth joined the First New York Volunteers in August of 1846 in response to the call for troops in the Mexican War. The New York Volunteers were dispatched to California, by sea! Setting sail in September, the regiment did not arrive in San Francisco until April of 1847. By then, all the fighting in California was done. So it was that Hollingsworth found himself in garrison duty in Los Angeles until he was mustered out of the service in September 1848. Before setting sail, every man knew it was a one-way trip; return expenses would be on them. As such, the near penniless Hollingsworth and many of his fellows set out for the Gold Rush! Sadly, a year of effort gained him nothing and he returned to the east coast.
The first half of the journal concerns his time aboard the Susan Drew. Hollingsworth did not like sailing and found the voyage dreary; he was prone to sea sickness. He offered considerable details to the stops in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and also Valparaiso, Chile. During the trip, he had the opportunity to taste porpoise and shark, neither of which he liked. Also of note, the troops spent much of the voyage in some state of mutiny. He doesn't go into much detail other than to describe it as mutiny. During the rare stop at port, the men were soon drunk.
The next quarter of the journal details Hollingsworth's time as a soldier in California. Surprisingly, many of his entries concern fandangos, parties, and balls. He details several women he courted or met, showing considerable interest in a couple. His military service was uneventful, a mix of paperwork, guard duty, service on courts martial, and surveys of the surroundings. Though some rumors of a Mexican Army or a California uprising reach him, nothing comes of them.
The final quarter covers his traveling to the Gold Rush with his comrades. This is mostly a series of misfortunes that left him no richer than when he started. After a year of seeking his fortune, he opted to return home. Of course, his closing thoughts are that he had partaken in a great achievement, having been in California as it dramatically transformed from a sleepy Mexican province to a vibrant American territory. Despite his failure to enrich himself, he did win the admiration of those around him. He was elected to transport the new California constitution to Washington DC.
I was drawn to the journal as it concerned a volunteer during the Mexican-American War, but Hollingsworth missed the war. The war in California was over when he arrived. His efforts at courting the ladies of California never resulted in a wife, so he missed there too. Lastly, despite heading to the gold fields in 1848 and beating the Gold Rush of 1849, he missed out here too. The most interesting bits of his adventure were when he spent time with Kit Carson and chatted with General Kearny, two men who were participants rather than observers.
Just okay.
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