Richard B Mason

General Henry W. Halleck
U.S. Army Officer, Lawyer, Builder of the Montgomery Block

A lawyer, army officer and expert on fortifications, who came to California with a detachment of artillery troops early in 1847. Halleck was appointed by Military Governor Richard B. Mason as secretary of state and had a great deal to do with the successful military government under Mason and General Bennett Riley after the conquest. Later he became a prominent lawyer, specializing in land titles and land cases. In 1853 Halleck was principally responsible for the erection of the Montgomery Block, a building which, in 1954 still stands on the southeast corner of Montgomery and Washington streets. He played an active part in the Civil War, both in Washington and in the field, serving from 1862 to 1864 as “General of the Army,” the highest rank in the Union Army during that period.