August 23, 1841 On this day in 1841, Captain Cadwalader Ringgold of the Charles Wilkes Exploring Expedition, the first United States Navy expedition to explore the Pacific coast, arrived at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers and visited New Helvetia (the name of John Sutter’s Mexican land grant). Ringgold took note of the development of John Sutter’s establishment and the ongoing construction of what would later become Sutter’s Fort (in present-day Midtown Sacramento, California). Because Sutter discussed with Ringgold that he was, at the time, in the process of purchasing Fort Ross from the Russian American Company, Ringgold’s artist that accompanied him, Titian Ramsay Peale, drew what he thought the future Sutter’s Fort would look like using elements of the Russian fort. Fort Ross was located just north of Bodega Bay on the California coast. This is the earliest known illustration, despite being VERY inaccurate, of Sutter’s Fort. For more information on the Wilke...