Page "Joseph Hooker" Paragraph 6

After the war, he served as assistant adjutant general of the Pacific Division, but resigned his commission in 1853 ; his military reputation had been damaged when he testified against his former commander, General Scott, in the court-martial for insubordination of Gideon Pillow.

Hooker settled in Sonoma County, California, as a farmer and land developer, but was more devoted to gambling and liquor than to agriculture.

His house still exists in the city of Sonoma.

When living in Sonoma, he stood for election to represent the region in the California legislature but was defeated by James Bennett of Santa Rosa.

He was obviously unhappy and unsuccessful in his civilian pursuits because, in 1858, he wrote to Secretary of War John B. Floyd to request that his name " be presented to the president Buchanan as a candidate for a lieutenant colonelcy ", but nothing came of his request.

From 1859 to 1861, he held a commission as a colonel in the California militia.