Description
Book SynopsisTells a story in which a band of men took over a city in an attempt to control the most valuable land on the West Coast. Ranging far beyond San Francisco, the 1856 Vigilance Committee’s activities affected events on the East Coast, in Central America, and in courts throughout the United States even after the Civil War.
Trade ReviewAnchored in recovered primary sources, and clear and compelling in argument,
Dirty Deeds brings to light the full story of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856. Later generations will regard this narrative as the definitive study of vigilantism in the West as well as a tour de force of urban history." - Kevin Starr, University Professor and Professor of History, University of Southern California, and author of
California: A History"A page-turning narrative of the San Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856,
Dirty Deeds reveals a secret agenda of the committee Executives—to resolve conflicting property titles in a manner protecting their own landholding." - Roger D. McGrath, author of
Gunfighters, Highwaymen, and Vigilantes: Violence on the Frontier
