The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of San Pasqual (12/6/1846) - Aug. 5th, 2004

SNAFU: Great American Military Disasters ^ | Geoffrey Regan

[SAMWolf]

Other Accounts of the Battle

Pro-American commentators such as these were quick to claim victory in this short battle with Californios, but the truth is that the day belonged to the troops of Andre Pico. Pico, whose troops were outnumbered and outequipped by the Americans, pretended to retreat. As the Americans pursued, the Californios suddenly turned and charged with their lances against the Americans' guns. The tactic so surprised Kearny's troops (exhausted by a transcontinental journey) that they were forced to take up a defensive position atop a nearby mountain until relief arrived from San Diego the following day.

Memorial Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

From A Gil Blas in California, by Alexandre Dumas (1852)

In the meanwhile, after enduring unbelievable fatigue and suffering time and again for the lack of prime essentials, Colonel Kearny, with his 100 men, marched over the Rocky Mountains, crossed the sandy plains of the Navajo Indians, passed the Colorado, after traveling through the lands of the Mohave Yuma Indians finally reached Agua Caliente.

Upon arriving he fell in with a small troop of Americans, commanded by Captain Gillespie, who told him definitely what was taking place in California and warned him that ahead of him was a troop of seven or eight hundred men commanded by General Andres Pico, who was in control of the country. Colonel Kearny counted his men. There were only 180 all told, but they were resolute and well-disciplined soldiers. He then gave the order to march on the enemy. Americans and Californians clashed on December sixth out on the plain of San Pasqual.

This image depicts the Battle of San Pasqual, fought east of San Diego on Dec. 6, 1846. The sketch shows Californios (native Californians of Mexican descent) fighting U.S. soldiers.

The engagement was terrific; for a time the small American forces were defeated and nearly routed. Ultimately, however, they were victorious. Colonel Kearny, who from then on was made general, received two wounds, and had two captains, one lieutenant, two sergeants, two corporals, and ten dragoons killed. The Californians, on the other hand, lost two or three hundred soldiers. [This is exaggerated. The losses of the Californians were probably slight.]

The following day, a detachment of marines sent by Commodore Stockton joined Kearny whom they had been sent out to meet. Thus reinforced they continued to march on toward the north. On December eighth and ninth, he had two more clashes with the Californians but in these engagements, as in the first battle, he emerged victorious. At the same time Castro, now a fugitive, encountered Captain Fremont, and after being surrounded by him, capitulated. A few Californian troops still remained in the vicinity of Los Angeles.

[SAMWolf]

From Seventy-five years in California; a history of events and life in California: personal, political and military; under the Mexican regime; during the quasi-military government of the territory by the United States, and after the admission of the state to the union: being a compilation by a witness of the events described; a reissue and enlarged illustrated edition of "Sixty years in California", to which much new matter by its author has been added which he contemplated publishing under the present title at the time of his death; edited and with an historical foreward and index by Douglas S. Watson--by William Heath Davis (1929)


The "Beale - Carson Plaque," seen immediately above, stands at the foot of "Mule Hill." It depicts Lt. Beale and frontier scout Kit Carson arriving in San Diego to obtain relief for Kearny and his men, who were besieged by the Californios December 7-11, 1846. The hill is now known as "Mule Hill" because the Americans, low on food, had to eat their mules

Lieutenant Beale was sent out by the commodore to meet Kearny and guide him to San Diego. On reaching San Pasqual , at which place Kearny had then arrived, Beale found that the general had from I 20 to 130 men with him, all suffering severely from cold and lack of food. The winter was an unusually severe one, snow and frost prevailing, which was very seldom known in that latitude, and the men had experienced many hardships on the way from New Mexico to this point. They had no horses, only mules. Lieutenant Beale informed General Kearny that he had been sent by the commodore as a guide, and that it would be advisable to avoid meeting Don Andres Pico and his force of cavalry, consisting of about 90 men, who were then in the vicinity of San Diego, having been dispatched from the main body of Californians near Los Angeles for the purpose of watching Stockton's movements and preparations, and communicating information of the same to headquarters. Commodore Stockton, knowing of Pico's presence in the neighborhood, and that he had a well-mounted force, in fine condition, thought it best for Kearny's troops not to meet them, probably surmising that the latter were not in very good fighting condition, after their long march during the cold weather; or, probably, he had been informed of this by Captain Snook. Upon Lieutenant Beale's communicating Commodore Stockton's views to Kearny, the latter promptly responded, "No, sir; I will go and fight them," and declined to act upon the suggestion of the commodore.



Beale had observed the starved appearance of the men and their bad circumstances generally. He intimated to Kearny that as they were worn out with their recent march and had not found time to recruit, they were hardly in a fit condition to meet the Californians, who were numerous, as well as brave, and not to be despised as enemies. He also represented that the mules would be no match for the horses in a battle, even if in the best condition. Kearny declined to be influenced by the argument, being determined to have a fight. He was saved the necessity c.f moving to meet the Californians, however, for the latter having learned of Kearny's force at San Pasqual , shortly appeared there, and, led by Don Andres Pico, made an attack upon the 6th of December.

When the Californians observed the appearance of Kearny's men, and how they were mounted, they remarked to each other, " Aqui vamos hacer matanza ." ("Here we are going to have a slaughter.") They were mounted on fresh horses, and were armed with sharp-pointed lances and with pistols, in the use of which weapons they were very expert. A furious charge was made upon Kearny's force, whereupon all the mules ran away as fast as their legs would convey them, pursued by the Californians, who used their lances with great effect, killing about twenty-five of Kearny's men and wounding a large number (including General Kearny) of the remainder (nearly all of them in the back), who were all in the predicament of being unable to control the half-starved mules which they rode at the time of the stampede. The general, however, managed to rally his men and the mules, and, taking a position, held it against the attacking forces, who were not able to dislodge him. The Californians withdrawing from the immediate scene of action, Kearny buried his dead, while expecting that at any moment the enemy would renew the fight.


The "Sutter gun" was Kearny's only piece of artillery in working order in the Battle of San Pasqual. Note the carrying handles. Gun was 40" long with a 3-1/2" bore. It took a charge of 8 ounces of powder. Sketch by Charles S. Greene in The Overland Monthly, July, 1893.

In this conflict Beale was slightly wounded in the head. At his suggestion Kearny moved his force to the top of Escondido mountain, which lay in the direction of San Diego, marching in solid form, so as to be able the better to resist any attack that might be made, the mountain offering advantages for defence which could not be procured below. While there encamped they were surrounded and besieged by Pico and his troops who made another attack, but without success.

In the battle just described, Don Andres Pico, who was brave and honorable, displayed so much courage and coolness as to excite the admiration of the Americans. He never did an act beneath the dignity of an officer or contrary to the rules of war, and was humane and generous. If he saw one of the enemy wounded, he instantly called upon his men to spare the life of the wounded soldier. Kind and hospitable, Pico was held in great esteem by the Americans who knew him.



While Kearny was thus besieged, Lieutenant Beale volunteered to make his way through the enemy's lines and communicate to Stockton the intelligence of the general's position and circumstances. It was an act of great daring; but by traveling in the night only, and part of the time crawling on his hands and knees, to avoid discovery, he finally reached San Diego, nearly dead from exhaustion, his hands and limbs badly scored.

When he came into San Diego he was little more than a skeleton; his friends hardly knew him. He gave an account of what had transpired and of the condition of Kearny's force. As soon as his mind was relieved of the message he became utterly prostrated from the sufferings he had undergone, and shortly after was delirious. It was some time before he recovered. Stockton and the other officers of the squadron showed him every attention.



A force of two hundred men, with some light artillery, was immediately sent to rescue Kearny's troops and escort them to San Diego, also conveyances for the wounded, with full supplies of provisions. The Californians moved back as this force approached, not venturing further demonstrations. The troops, with the wounded, were brought to San Diego.

Additional Sources:

www.museumca.org
www.interment.net
www.sandiegohistory.org
www.nps.gov
www.dmwv.org
www.historichwy49.com
www.aztecclub.com
www.sfmuseum.org

[SAMWolf]

On December 6, 1846, the village of San Pasqual was a focal point of the initial skirmish between the U.S. and Californio troops at the Battle of San Pasqual. Capitan Panto, as chief of the San Pasqual band, is said to have aided General Kearny against the Mexican force commanded by Andres Pico. His daughter, Felicita, credited him with an important role in supporting the Americans in the battle:

Early one rainy morning we saw soldiers that were not Mexicans come riding down the mountain side. They looked like ghosts coming through the mist and then the fighting began.

The Indians fled in fear to the mountains on the north side of the Valley from where they looked down and watched the battle. All day long they fought. We saw some Americans killed and knew they were in a bad way.

That afternoon Pontho, my father, called his men together and asked them if they wished to help the Americanos in their trouble. The men said they did. When darkness was near Pontho sent a messenger to the Mexican chief telling him to trouble the Americans no more that night else the Indians would help the Americans. And the Mexican chief heeded the message and the Americans were left to bury their dead and to rest because of my father's message. The Americanos do not know of this but my people know of it.

In an eye-witness account of one of the participants in the battle it is stated that the troops under Kearny were in desperate straits surrounded by the Californio forces on Mule Hill when "an Indian from San Pascual reached the hill" and guided Lt. Beale and Kit Carson to San Diego. Panto has been credited as the person who performed this heroic deed. Whether it was indeed him or someone sent by him, it supports Felicita's assertion of the aid offered by the San Pasqual Indians to the American forces. These statements help clear up the identity of the mysterious unidentified Indian mentioned in many accounts of the battle of San Pasqual, some asserting that he was a Delaware Indian accompanying Kit Carson. The story told by Private Dunne and Felicita is far more credible in that it would take a local resident, familiar with the rough land leading to San Diego, to have successfully led the way.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Greetings people! Just ducking in for a quick cold one or two before I crash and burn ..... :)

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[snippy_about_it]

Good evening Neil.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks Neil.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Dragoons

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Californios

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Mounted Infantry or Dragoon?

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[alfa6]

Good Morning SAM, Good Morning snippy, another fine day here in KC.

To bad I have to goto work....

Regards

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[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[GailA]

Good morning, I'll be gone most of the day. It's a primary day for state and local government, and I'm poll watching for a friend who is running for state rep.

[The Mayor]

August 5, 2004

A Bitter Attitude

Read: Deuteronomy 32:44-52

Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today . . . . It is your life. —Deuteronomy 32:46-47

Bible In One Year: Psalms 68-69; Romans 8:1-21

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Great emphasis is being placed on living longer and better. Advances in medical science are making it possible for more and more people. Yet in spite of this, none of us can avoid growing old. One day aging will overtake all of us, and our bodies will shut down.

What is preventable, however, is an attitude of bitterness and regret as we grow older. Look at the life of Moses. When he was 120 years old, he stood with the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. He could not go with them because he had disobeyed the Lord when in anger he struck the rock in the wilderness (Numbers 20:12,24).

How easily Moses could have slipped into a self-pitying and resentful frame of mind! Had he not borne the burden of a stubborn and stiff-necked people for 40 years? Had he not interceded for them time after time? Yet at the end of his life he praised the Lord and urged a new generation of Israelites to obey Him (Deuteronomy 32:1-4,45-47).

As we grow older, we can dwell on the failures and hardships of our past, or we can remember God’s faithfulness, accept His discipline, and keep looking to the future in faith. It’s the only way to avoid a bitter attitude. —Dennis De Haan

Though wrinkles and weakness come with age
And life with its stress takes its toll,
Yet beauty and vigor can still be seen
When Jesus gives peace to our soul. —D. De Haan

We cannot avoid growing old; but we can avoid growing cold.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

A beautiful sight! Thanks to Clarence, K5YO, for this photo.

[Vexillologist's note] The Plano Balloon Festival occurs every year in mid September. This photo was taken at the 2001 festival. Due to the proximity to DFW airport, the FAA did not allow any flights in 2001. A very few balloons were allowed to make tethered flights to 50 feet above ground. These are two of those.

Plano Balloon Festival

[Soaring Feather]

Morning, PE!

WOW am I glad you posted the link-dreaded REDX.

[Professional Engineer]

Better link?