Volney Howard
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Volney Erskine Howard was an American lawyer, statesman, and jurist.
Volney Howard
The San Francisco Committee of Vigilance was a vigilante group formed in 1851. The catalyst for its formation was the criminality of the Sydney Ducks gang. It was revived in 1856 in response to rampan
Volney Howard
…law in San Francisco. In 1856, he was appointed Adjutant General of California, following the resignation of William T. Sherman during the time of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance. His attempt to oppose the Committee by force quickly failed, and he moved the same year to Sacramento. In 1858, he moved to Oakland to resume his law…
Charles Cora and James Casey are hanged by the Committee of Vigilance, San Francisco, 1856.
Hanging of Samuel Whittaker and Robert McKenzie, August 24, 1851
1856 Committee of Vigilance medallion inscribed: "Organized 9th June 1851. Reorganized 14th May 1856. Be Just and Fear Not." The eye symbol was borrowed from Freemasonry, but in its 1856 vigilante context conveyed surveillance as a means of social discipline, not the Masonic meaning of scientific and aesthetic knowledge. Note that Lady Justice is not blindfolded.
Shooting of James King of William by Casey