The hundred or so delegates arriving at California's state capitol in July 1865 for the Union Party's county convention came prepared for trouble. For weeks past, up and down the state, Republicans (who had temporarily taken up the “Union” label) had watched their local primaries and county conventions thrown into turmoil. Sacramento's primaries had been more disorderly than most, marred by charges of “ruffianism,” bribery, and assorted frauds. Many blamed the bruising contest on a headstrong governor determined to land himself in the U.S. Senate. The so-called Short Hair faction championed his cause, meeting stiff resistance from a clique dubbed the “Long Hairs.” Now, the two factions glared at one another from opposite sides of the Assembly Chamber. The chair of the county committee called the delegates to order and brought up the first order of business, the selection of a temporary secretary. Each side of the room had a candidate for the post. Following a voice vote, the presiding officer announced that the position had gone to the choice of the Long Hairs. The proceedings immediately erupted into cacophonous bedlam. Short Hair delegates screamed for “fair play” and a formal ballot to decide the issue. They bombarded the chair with questions and motions. A few minutes later, when the chair's choice for secretary advanced toward the podium, a phalanx of Short Hairs blocked his path. Verbal ripostes gave way to shoving, pushing turned to punching, fisticuffs escalated to hickory canes.