F I R S TP R E V611NEXTLAST

Fort Gunnybags, Downtown
Most visitors who stroll by this nondescript building near the Embarcadero Center probably never notice the plaque bolted to the wall. Those who do read the plaque probably don't realize that Fort Gunnybags was never a fort or even a military installation. In 1856 Fort Gunnybags was a warehouse surrounded by sandbags (gunny bags) that served as the headquarters for the city's 2,500-man self appointed, Second Vigilance Committee. Fed up with crime and lawlessness the vigilante group arrested, tried, and hanged men on this spot in order to stop the crime. Shocked at the Committee's brazen hangings the Governor sent in the militia led by a young officer named William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman, outgunned and outmanned, quickly resigned from his mission. After a number of public hangings the crime did indeed stop. The Vigilance Committee then declared its work done, turned in their guns, and quietly disbanded.
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