| Founded by | George Gordon Belt, Samuel Mason, John Mason, Tom McCauley |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Stockton, California |
| Years active | 1864–1865 |
| Territory | Central and Southern California, US |
| Ethnicity | European-American, Mexican |
| Membership (est.) | 12 |
| Criminal activities | Posed as Confederate Partisan Rangers committed acts of plundering and murder |
The Mason Henry Gang were bandits operating in Central and Southern California between 1864 and 1865. As the American Civil War was in progress, they were able to pose as Confederate Partisan Rangers, and their original mission was to rid the area of (anti-slavery) Republicans. But when it became clear that the Confederate cause was lost, they turned to outlawry, plundering and killing without mercy.
The two leaders were John Mason, an alleged murderer, and Tom McCauley, a California Gold Rush criminal using the alias Jim Henry. The gang may have numbered up to sixteen at its peak. McCauley was shot dead in September 1865 by the San Bernardino County Sheriff Benjamin Franklin Mathews's posse, and Mason killed in April 1866 by a miner, Ben Mayfield, whom he had tried to kidnap.
- ^ Bell, Horace (1881). Reminiscences of a ranger (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: YARNELL, CAYSTILE & MATHES, PRINTERS. p. 260.