The adventures and hardships of seafaring gold seekers

In December 1848, spurred by President James K. Polk's confirmation that fabulous riches had indeed been discovered in far-off California, more than a thousand ships set sail for San Francisco. These ships, filled with eager fortune hunters, launched the maritime arm of America's largest gold rush. In To California by Sea, James P. Delgado provides a comprehensive examination of the Gold Rush from the perspective of the mariners and demonstrates that maritime activity is a pervasive thread in the event's history.

James P. Delgado is maritime historian of the National Park Service in Washington, D.C. Author of three books and more than thirty articles on California maritime history and archaeology, he is a native of San Francisco.

"[Delgado] catches the enthusiasm of those going off to sea for the first time and their naive views of what they expected to find in California."—Journal of Historical Geography