The Journal of San Diego History
Fall 1984, Volume 30, Number 4
Contents of This Issue
The Cabrillo Rifles:
San Diego's Home Guard In World War I
Page iv. Cabrillo Rifle members, Captain J. V. Bush (left) and Major Fred Jewell. The Cabrillo Rifles were created in 1917 to serve as a unit of "home guards" to protect San Diego in the event of a military emergency. Jewell, a local banker, was chosen to command the group. A boyhood friend of William Jennings Bryan, Jewell came to San Diego in 1901 where he became the leader of the city's Populist movement.
Page 235. Rifle drill at Imperial Beach, 1917. Practice like this took place at various points around San Diego County.
Page 236. A day's outing and drill at Oneonta, August 12, 1917.
Page 236. After a night sleeping on the ground, the men would rise to begin practice of sharp-shooting skills while hunting.
Page 238. Cabrillo Riflemen hunting for small game, San Diego County. This was a training exercise with Manual-at-Arms.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS are courtesy of the San Diego Public Library. The author also gratefully acknowledges use of the biographical files of the San Diego Historical Society, and of the inspiration provided by his late aunt Velma Allison Moeller, longtime member of the San Diego Historical Society.
