both the union and the confederacy wanted california's gold. ulysses s. grant once said "i do not know what we would do in this great national emergency if it were not for the gold sent from california." the confederates also needed ports that were not being blockaded by the union navy. if they could get control of southern california it would give them the ports it badly needed. southern california had a number of southerners who moved to california during the gold rush. while they were a minority, they wanted southern california to secede from the union and join the confederate states. at the time, northern california was very pro-union. a number of pro-confederate groups were organized in southern california. these included the los angeles mounted rifles and chapters of the knights of the golden circle, a secret pro-slavery organization.