Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Arce, Francisco

ARCE, Francisco, pioneer, b. in Lower California in 1822; d. in 1878. From the age of eleven he lived in Alta California. At the time of the American conquest in 1846 he was a military officer, and was secretary to Gen. José Castro, commander of the Californian forces. His name is known from his connection with a party of men who, in June, 1846, were bringing horses, generally supposed to belong to the Californian government, from Sonoma to the south. Capt. John C. Fremont, then in command of an American surveying party in the territory, incited American settlers to assail the party, seize upon the horses, and begin hostilities against the Californian government. From this Arce-affair of 6 June dates the beginning of the “Bear Flag” revolt and of the seizure of California by the Americans.