Walkusky 1

The Battle of San Pasqual Michael Walkusky Dr. Clifford Trafzer 6 June 2011

Walkusky 2 One of the more interesting battles that occurred on the western frontier was the Battle of San Pasqual. The Battle of San Pasqual was an integral battle to both the Americans and Mexicans during the Mexican-American War. San Pasqual was a small place that was located on one of the two roads to San Diego. General Stephen Kearny, who had just led his Army of the West about 2,000 miles from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to California, decided to take the road through San Pasqual. His final destination was San Diego. This decision by Kearny led to the bloodiest battle that took place in California during the Mexican-American War. To this day, Kearny's decision to lead his men into San Pasqual draws ire from critics, especially since Kearny declared himself the victor afterwards. The battle took place very early in the morning when it was still dark on December 6, 1846 with fog overhead and rain falling lightly. These conditions helped make it very difficult for the Americans to fight. Because Kearny declared San Pasqual as being a strategic victory for the Americans, some people believe that the Americans won the battle. However, the widely accepted belief is that the Mexicans defeated the Americans, due to the Americans suffered 18 deaths compared to just one death for the Mexicans. Following the Battle of San Pasqual, the Americans were trapped by the Mexicans on Mule Hill. At the request of Kearny, Commodore Robert Stockton sent reinforcements from San Diego to San Pasqual to rescue Kearny and his army. Otherwise, the Mexican Army would have slaughtered the Americans or forced them to starve to death. The questionable decisions of General Kearny pointlessly led to the loss of 18 American lives at the Battle of San Pasqual, which could have easily been avoided.

Walkusky 3 General Stephen Kearny was given orders to lead his Army of the West from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to New Mexico and California to pacify the Mexicans.
1

After Kearny finished his job in New Mexico, he was to head to California and

occupy several key cities to help fulfill James K. Polk's vision of manifest destiny. Kearny began his march westward on May 31, 1846 with 1,600 men under his command.
2

Many of his men volunteered for the march because they hoped to

settle in California after their duties were finished. A large percentage of these men were part of the Mormon Battalion. Kearny received orders from the War Department to try and recruit Mormons because many Mormons wanted to settle in California due to the discrimination they faced in Kansas, Illinois, and Missouri.3 Kearny's orders to Captain James Allen read, It is understood that there is a large body of Mormons who are desirous of emigrating to California, for the purpose of settling in that country, and I have, therefore, to direct that yo will proceed to their camps and endeavor to raise from among them four or five companies of volunteers.4 Brigham Young agreed to Allen's proposition because he figured that a Mormon Battalion in the Army of the West would make the Mormons appear as friends to the Union rather than the enemies that many Americans were depicting them as.5 Furthermore, the Mormons would be able to go to California for free instead of paying for their way. Once the Army of the West reached New Mexico, General Kearny was able to pacify the territory without a fight. Instead, he used diplomacy to establish a
1 Powell Harrison, San Pasqual Reconsidered: An Unnecessary Battle, The Californians 13 (1996), 14. 2 Ibid, 15. 3 Frank Alfred Golder, The March of the Mormon Battalion: From Council Bluffs to California (New York: The Century Co., 1928), 104. 4 Ibid, 101. 5 Ibid, 104.

Walkusky 4 stable government upon reaching agreements with the local Navajos and Utes to defend against the Apaches.6 Furthermore, Kearny set up a ball where 500 Mexicans and Americans gathered to mingle and get to know each other in a highclass setting.7 Following his success in New Mexico, Kearny started south towards California on September 25. The Mormon Battalion lagged far behind Kearny and his dragoons because they were making the march to California on foot.8 As the Mormon Batallion followed Kearny, Lieutenant Philip St. George Cooke ordered them to created a wagon trail, which would become Cooke's Wagon Road.
9

Kearny, in an attempt to move faster towards his goal of California, left a number of his soldiers in New Mexico and did not wait for the Mormon Battalion. Kearny took just 300 soldiers with him to California, most of them being dragoons.10 On October 5, General Kearny met Kit Carson, who was heading east to Congress with dispatches from Captain John C. Fremont that claimed that Alta California was now captured. Carson told Kearny that Monterey, San Diego, and Los Angeles were all currently held by the United States. Kearny wrote, The country was forever free from Mexican control the War ended, & peace and harmony re-established among the People.11 However, this was not the case, as Mexico had recently been able to take back control some of their territories, including Los Angeles. The statement by Carson that Alta California was captured made some of the soldiers angry, including General Kearny. Doctor John Griffin,
6 Harrison, San Pasqual Reconsidered, 15. 7 Ibid, 15. 8 Sherman L. Fleek, History May Be Searched in Vain: A Military History of the Mormon Battalion (Spokane: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 2006), 158. 9 Ibid, 264. 10 Harrison, San Pasqual Reconsidered, 15. 11 Ibid, 15.

Walkusky 5 the doctor for the Army of the West, wrote, [we] hoped that we might have a little kick up with the good people of California but this blasted all our hopes.12 Little did the soldiers know that they would soon get the fight that they yearned for. Unfortunately, Kearny made the unwise decision to take Carson's claims as fact and he sent 200 of his soldiers back to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This left Kearny with approximately just 100 dragoons and a force of 121 total men.13 Kearny told Carson, Mr. Carson, I command here and in California; you will return with us and guide this column to the sea, your second in command will proceed to Washington with the dispatched.14 Carson stayed with them and suggested to Kearny that they should leave their wagons because there were no wagon trails in Arizona.15 However, Kearny refused and kept the wagons, which along with their two 12pound howitzers would encumber them for the rest of the trip. Lieutenant William H. Emory kept a journal that helps illustrate the terrible conditions that the Army of the West faced on their march to San Diego. One of Emory's entries reads, Oct. 3-5: Troops waited a day for the wagons to catch up; going over sand hills with narrow treads difficult, Average 15 mi/day.16 Just a week later, one of his entries states, Oct. 9-10: Teams blown and staggering in the deep sand. Making 11.5 miles a day. Abandoned the wagons.17 These entries show that Kearny should have listened to Carson about leaving the wagons behind. All the wagons did was slow them down for a little more than two weeks.
12 Ibid, 15. 13 Hubert Howe Bancroft, The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft: History of California: Volume V, 1846-1848 (San Francisco: The History Company, 1886), 336. 14 Charles Burr Todd, The Battles of San Pasqual a study with map, itinerary and guide to the battle fields (Pomona: The Progress Publishing Company, 1925), 8 15 Harrison, San Pasqual Reconsidered, 17. 16 Ibid, 17. 17 Ibid, 17.

Walkusky 6 Emory's journal entries give a progressively worse situation, stating that the mules are breaking down and that the howitzers are slowing the men down by up to a day. Along the way, Kearny came across a Mexican courier headed back to Mexico City, who had messages stating that Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara were once again in Mexican hands.18 Upon reading these messages, Kearny immediately regretted his decision to send 200 of his men back to Santa Fe. After a long march during which soldiers resorted to eating tough and stringy horse meat from the mules that they rode on, the Army of the West arrived at Warner's Ranch on December 2. At Warner's Ranch, the soldiers rested for two days and ate as much as they could. One problem that the army faced was that many of their horses were either dead or too tired to gallop quickly. As a result, Lieutenant J.W. Davidson set out with Kit Carson and about 25 other men to try and obtain useable horses. Captain Abraham Johnston, General Kearny's aidede-camp, wrote in his journal, December 3 Lieutenant Davidson and Carson returned about noon, with a large gang of tame and wild animals, most of which are said to belong to Flores, the California general.19 Only about 30 of the horses could be used on the battlefield and many of these 30 still could not perform as well as the Americans hoped they would, but it was much better than nothing. While at Warner's Ranch, General Kearny met Eduardo Stokes, an English rancher, who claimed to be neutral in the Mexican-American War. Stokes told Kearny that his army could stay at his ranch in Santa Ysabel, about 15 miles south
18 Ibid, 17. 19 Arthur Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, California Historical Society Quarterly 26 (Mar. 1947), 23.

Walkusky 7 of Warner's Ranch.20 Stokes also said he would deliver a letter to Commodore Robert Stockton in San Diego for Kearny because he was about to leave for San Diego. Stoked revealed that Stockton was essentially in complete control of San Diego with little trouble. Finding this out, Kearny wrote to Stockton, If you can send a party to open communication with us on the route to this place, and to inform me of the state of affairs in California, I wish you would do so, and as quickly as possible.21 Upon receiving this letter from Kearny, Stockton immediately made plans to send help to Kearny. At 8 P.M on December 3, Captain Archibald Gillespie marched out of San Diego along with Lieutenant Edward Beale, about 30 other men, and weapons including the four-pound Sutter gun towards Stokes' ranch in Santa Ysabel.22 Once Gillespie reached Kearny on December 4 and later described the scene in his report to Commodore Stockton, The men were without any exception sadly in want of clothing; that which they wore was ragged and torn; they were almost without shoes...these way-worn soldiers whose strength and spirit seemed to be entirely gone.23 Once Kearny and Gillespie got acquainted, it was time to decide what to do next. There were two different roads one could take from Santa Ysabel to San Diego. General Kearny could have easily led his soldiers through the road that crossed through Mission Valley and Rancho El Cajon. Captain Gillespie had just brought his soldiers north through the same road and faced very little resistance. However, according to Gillespie, Commodore Stockton had advised General
20 21 22 23 Bancroft, History of California, 340. Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual,24. Ibid, 24. Battle Report of Archibald Gillespie to Commodore R.F. Stockton, December 25, 1846, San Pasqual Battlefield Museum, 15808 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, California, 92027

Walkusky 8 Kearny to beat up any Mexicans that could possibly be holed up in San Pasqual.
24

Stockton's suggestion was meant to be put into action only if Kearny's men

were fully capable of easily defeating the Mexicans. It was evident that Kearny's men were not fit for a battle due to their fatigue. If Stockton had known the condition that Kearny's men were in, he certainly would not have wanted them to attack any enemies. Nonetheless, Kearny decided to send scouts to check what was happening on the road which passed through San Pasqual. Lieutenant Beale tried to convince Kearny that sending scouts to San Pasqual and risking an armed conflict with his battered troops was an unnecessary action.25 Beale's reasoning was that no one knew exactly how many Californios were in San Pasqual and if the Californios spotted the scouts, then a skirmish was almost guaranteed whether the Americans wanted it or not. Furthermore, Beale had been under Gillespie's command when they journeyed through the Mission Valley to reach Kearny. For this reason, Beale knew for a fact that there would be very little danger facing the Americans if Kearny commanded his soldiers to march through Mission Valley to reach San Diego whereas a march through San Pasqual would provide uncertainty and quite possibly deadly risks. However, Kearny made the executive decision to send a scout team into San Pasqual to ascertain the number of Californios that were holed up there.26 This action makes little sense in retrospect, especially since there were soldiers that vehemently challenged the idea to scout San Pasqual. One possible explanation for Kearny's decision is that he may have been yearning for a battle after all of the monotonous and taxing marching that him and his
24 Ibid. 25 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 30. 26 Ibid, 30.

Walkusky 9 soldiers had gone through. Another explanation is that Kearny may have taken Stockton's suggestion to heart and decided that defeating any Mexicans at San Pasqual would result in him commanding an enormous amount of respect in Stockton's eyes. Nevertheless, the exact reason cannot be determined and soon, Kearny would receive the exciting battle that he desired. Similar to Kearny, the Mexicans faced questionable leadership decisions by Andrs Pico prior to the Battle of San Pasqual. One decision by Pico that led to widespread questioning of his actions was when he ordered all of his soldiers to leave their horses to graze under the watch of Indian herdsmen. To compound the problem, the Indian herdsmen were situated about two to three miles north of where the Californios had set up camp.27 The Mexicans wondered why Pico would force them to leave their horses so far away, considering that many of the soldiers were very attached to their horse and felt that their horse would be needed at any instant due to the constant threat of American invasion. Some of the soldiers were so uneasy that they thought that Pico might have been considering surrendering all of the soldiers to save his own skin whenever the Americans came. Furthermore, Pico had been receiving letters from the command in Los Angeles, but he would not divulge any of the information with his subordinates.28 His soldiers were right to question him in the case of the letters, because one of the letters was from his sister, Mariquita, who informed her brother that she saw Captain Gillespie marching north.29 However, Andrs Pico disregarded his sister's warning because he did not believe that Gillespie could be meeting up with
27 Ibid, 31. 28 Ibid, 31. 29 Harrison, San Pasqual Reconsidered, 18.

Walkusky 10 another group of Americans in the area. Pico did not think that there were other Americans in the area. Otherwise, he would have seen them or heard of their arrival. Instead, he believed that Gillespie was just stealing cattle and causing a ruckus in the area. The fact that Pico was leaving his soldiers uninformed and without their main mode of transportation made many of the soldiers extremely suspicious. The scouting party that Kearny sent out consisted of Lieutenant Thomas C. Hammond, Rafael Machado, who was a native Californian, Sergeant Richard Williams, and several other Americans.30 The party set out on the night of December 5, 1847. The number of additional Americans sent as scouts varies depending on the source. Machado acted as the guide for the scouting party, and Hammond was in charge of everything. The group had a difficult journey at night time and struggled to get to where the Mexicans were sleeping. Machado and Williams finally reached one of the huts and snuck around the perimeter to remain hidden. According to Arthur Woodward, Through the open door they could see a number of blanketed forms lying on the floor and a lone Indian sitting by the fire. Machado beckoned this man outside and began questioning him. Unfortunately, however, a small dog, snooping about, caught the scent of the main body of American scouts and began barking.31 Immediately, the dog caught the attention of the Californios and they began to spring up from their slumber and search for what the dog was barking at. The Californios soon found a blanket that read U.S. on it and Pico proved to be wrong in his assumption that there were no American
30 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 31. 31 Ibid, 31.

Walkusky 11 soldiers nearby.32 With this action, the Americans lost any sort of element of surprise that they previously hoped to have. With their presence now known, the Americans felt that they had to act fast before the Mexicans could spring any type of attack on them first. Gillespie began to saddle up and ordered his volunteer battalion to get ready as well. Gillespie also decided that his four-pound Sutter gun would be more helpful than the two twelve-pound howitzers that Kearny's column had dragged across the country.33 The howitzers were in poor condition due to how far they had to be carried. Gillespie stated, The two Mountain howitzers in the General's Command, were lashed with rawhides, and their limbers looked as if they would fall to pieces at the first fire.34 However, Kearny came to the front of all of the soldiers a short time after Gillespie had saddled up and told Gillespie that the Sutter gun would travel in the back of the battle formation. Even worse news came for Gillespie when Kearny commanded Gillespie to bring his volunteers to the back of the formation as well. As Gillespie dealt with the blow to his ego, the Americans began to march forward in a heavy rain towards San Pasqual. As the Americans slowly made their way down a hill toward San Pasqual on the morning of December 6, Captain Abraham Johnston confidently led the soldiers on horseback. Kearny ordered all of the troops to trot, but Johnston misheard the order and believed that he was being commanded to charge at his enemy. Johnston, already excited to fight the Mexicans and prove himself as an able soldier, gladly roared, Charge! as his horse picked up speed and he drew
32 Ibid, 32. 33 Ibid, 34. 34 Gillespie's Report, December 25, 1846

Walkusky 12 his saber.35 Unfortunately, his fellow soldiers were confused and could not keep up with Johnston. As a result, Johnston sped down the hill with very little American help accompanying him. Woodward states, There were few firearms among the Californians, and the excited owners of these began popping away as soon as they thought any Americans were within range. Captain Johnston paid for his temerity. He rode full tilt into the first volley and fell from his horse with a heavy musket ball from Leandro Osuna's flintlock full in his brain.36 Due to simply one misheard word, Captain Abraham Johnston quickly went from the most excited and willing soldier in the Battle of San Pasqual to the first casualty of the Battle of San Pasqual. Captain Benjamin D. Moore was the only other American soldier that kept up with Johnston as he also believed that the order given was to charge. With Johnston dead, Moore was the only American in the Mexican camp, but he did not know this. Moore continued to fight as if he were side-by-side with his fellow Americans. The first Mexican that Moore met on the battlefield was Andrs Pico, the leader of the Mexicans. Moore attempted to shoot Pico, but missed with his single-shot pistol. He followed the missed shot with a saber thrust at Pico that also missed. Following his two misses, Moore was lanced by two Californios at the same time. Pico lanced Moore himself and then Moore was put out of his misery by Tomas Sanchez, the future sheriff of Los Angeles, who shot Moore with his pistol.37 Already, the Americans had suffered two casualties in the Battle of San
35 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 36. 36 Ibid, 35. 37 Ibid, 35-36.

Walkusky 13 Pasqual while the Mexicans were essentially untouched. Not only did a miscommunication kill Johnston and Moore, it also made some of the other Americans get separated from the majority of the group. With Kearny's column quickly becoming strung out and disorganized, the Mexicans began to believe that they could win this battle. The Mexicans and Pico in particular were not ready for an American invasion at all the previous day, but now the Americans looked like the ones that had been ill-equipped for battle. The small number of dragoons that had blindly followed Moore and Johnston finally began to reach the battlefield. However, the poor weather and darkness still made it hard differentiate which soldiers on the battlefield were on which side. Furthermore, many of the Americans had tattered uniforms that could hardly even be described as an American uniform. This was due to the extremely long journey across the country that the soldiers endured. The lack of a proper uniform made it even harder for Americans to figure out which fighters were on their side. This confusion made it much easier for the Mexicans to take advantage of their attackers. Furthermore, the entire battlefield was not set up for war either. It was essentially a field with no positions. Woodward states, All accounts, American and Californian, agree that it was virtually impossible to tell what was happening upon the field of battle. There were no regular lines, no trenches, no fixed positions of any kind. The battle swirled among the lowland bushes and willows, now eddying through the Indian huts, not flowing out along the plain.38 This meant that the Battle of San Pasqual was essentially a battle of widespread mayhem where both sides had no place to run and hide to.
38 Ibid, 36.

Walkusky 14 The next man to reach the battlefield was Lieutenant Hammond, who had just led the unsuccessful scouting trip to San Pasqual hours before. Hammond was the brother-in-law of Captain Moore, who had just met his demise at the hand of several Californios and their deadly lances. Similar to his brother-in-law, Hammond was greeted by Californios that were waiting patiently with their lances. When Hammond attempted to attack, he was quickly lanced in the ribs. Unlike Moore, Hammond was only lanced once in the ribs and did not suffer any other damage.39 Because of this, Hammond was not able to quickly die like Moore, who was luckily shot by Sanchez. Instead, Hammond bled out and died hours later from the lance wound. Kearny's decision to overrule Gillespie about the Sutter gun would soon prove to be a terrible decision. The howitzers that Kearny had brought cross country for a battle just like this turned into a disadvantage rather than an advantage. The howitzers were far too heavy for the tired horses that the Americans were forced to use. As a result, the howitzers moved slowly and the soldiers in charge of bringing the howitzers to the front of the line were handicapped with a 12 pound gun and an extremely slow and unfit mule. Furthermore, one of the mules that was carrying a howitzer went crazy at Johnston's announcement to charge. This mule sprinted to the front of the formation, but it came after Johnston, Moore, and Hammond because of all of the weight it was carrying. The man in charge of the howitzer was put in a precarious position, because the mule was not used to following orders. Being extremely vulnerable, the man was confronted by two men. Woodward provides an account
39 Ibid, 36.

Walkusky 15 of the first howitzer being taken, The cannoneer scrambled under the carriage of the gun in a vain attempt to ward off the flickering lances. He died there. [Gabriel] Garcia killed the obstinate mule with a shot in the head, then the two vaqueros threw their reatas over the gun and dragged it off, a useless trophy but one which pleased them mightily.40 This shows that Kearny not only put his own man in grave danger by accompanying the howitzer at the front of the line, but he also essentially gave his howitzer to the Mexicans and let the life of a useful mule go to waste. Although the howitzer was extremely encumbering, it still could have helped the Americans. Kearny forced his soldiers and horses to drag the howitzer across country, but he gave it away the first time he could have used it in California. If Kearny had listened to Gillespie and let the Sutter gun sit at the front line instead of the heavy and broken down howitzers, then the battle could have possibly turned out different. At the very least, the howitzers would have been much harder for the Californios to steal if they were placed in the back. After the Californios took the howitzer, they quickly moved southwest behind a long hill and calmly waited for the rest of the Americans to come.
41

The

reason the Californios could move backwards with little resistance and without the Americans knowing exactly where they were going is because the Californios had much stronger and well-rested horses in comparison to the weak and tired horses that the Americans were in possession of. As the Mexicans waited, they gathered themselves for what they expected to be an actual battle, rather than the encounters they just had with several Americans that blindly charged at them
40 Ibid, 36. 41 Ibid, 36.

Walkusky 16 with little support. However, the Americans were still partially separated and some dragoons rode blindly rode past the hill that the Mexicans had just ducked behind.42 The Mexicans surprised the dragoons, who were once again hoping to charge straight into the Mexicans and defeat them. Another problem in close combat was that the horses that the dragoons rode on were in very poor condition and were not trained to carry soldiers on their backs. In close combat, the dragoons proved to be terrible competition for the Californios that were brilliantly trained with their lances. All of the dragoons that rode past the hill were quickly killed by the Mexicans with their lances.43 The diminutive clubs and sabers that the dragoons possessed were no match for the lances of the Californios. Furthermore, the dragoons were not trained with the clubs and sabers as well as the Mexicans were with their lances. One problem that arose for the Americans during their march on San Pasqual was the continuous rain. Not only did the rain make it hard for the soldiers to see in a foreign land, but it made all of their equipment wet. While this might not sound like a huge problem, it had huge consequences on the battlefield. The most devastating thing that the rain did to the equipment of the Americans was that it completely soaked almost all of the paper cartridges used for their carbines. This made it so that their carbines would not fire because the gunpowder was completely wet.44 Wet gunpowder made the firearms of the Americans essentially useless. A gun that will not not fire on the battlefield is pointless. The lack of firearms for the Americans was a huge advantage for the
42 Ibid, 37. 43 Ibid, 37. 44 Ibid, 35.

Walkusky 17 Mexicans. While Mexicans had some guns, the majority of their weapons were lances and reatas. Reatas were essentially lassos that the Mexicans would use to throw around the neck of opposing soldiers horses to catch the horse and jerk the soldier off the horse, making them go prone and defenseless on the ground. Now, all the Americans had were sabers and guns that could only be used as clubs. Gillespie realized that the Californios were clearly defeating the Americans and that something had to be done. With many of the dragoons already demoralized due to the deaths of their fellow soldiers at the hands of the Californios, Gillespie attempted to bring some positivity into the soldiers quickly disbelieving hearts. Gillespie cried, Rally men! Rally! Show a front, don't turn your backs! Face them! Face them!45 As Gillespie tried to breed some confidence among the soldiers, the Mexicans caught a glimpse of him. Gillespie was already widely hated among Mexicans because he had recently been in charge of Los Angeles and was extremely racist and oppressive towards the Mexican that lived there. Gillespie heard the Mexicans yell, Ya, es Gillespie, adentro hombres, adentro, which translates as, There is Gillespie, at him men, at him!"46 Quickly, a number of Mexicans descended upon Gillespie. All of them wanted to kill the man that they viewed as a Mexican hater that was trying to destroy their way of life. Gillespie dodged several lance thrusts, but one finally got a hold of his coat and he could not keep himself from falling off of his horse. When he tried to get to his feet, a lance thrust pierced his lung and another cut through his lip and shattered one of his front teeth. One last thrust by a lance barely missed his heart and
45 Mary Rockwood Peet, San Pasqual: A Crack in the Hills. (Ramona, CA: Ballena Press, 1949), 45. 46 Gillespie's Report, December 25, 1846

Walkusky 18 pierced his left breast. Luckily, as one of the Mexicans was about to finish Gillespie off, his horse ran away and the Mexican chased after the horse rather than kill Gillespie. With blood seeping out of Gillespie from many open wounds, he somehow made his way to the back of the battle formation.47 As Gillespie stumbled to the rear, the remaining howitzer had finally reached the front of the formation. Unfortunately, consistent with how the Americans had performed that morning in the Battle of San Pasqual, the soldiers had forgot to bring a match the light the fuse for howitzer. Of course, the only man that had the ability to light the howitzer was the badly wounded Gillespie, who was fighting for his life. Gillespie had a mechero, a piece of cotton with steel and flint which is considered an ancestor to today's cigarette lighter, which he pulled out and used to light the wick for the howitzer. After Gillespie lit the wick, he immediately collapsed due to his wounds.48 The shot from the howitzer made the charging Mexicans stop in their tracks. However, the Mexicans still engaged with the Americans on the battlefield. As smoke from the howitzer blast wafted through the air, Midshipman James Duncan arrived at the front of the formation with the Sutter gun, unleashing an explosion of grape-shot upon the Mexicans. Luckily, Duncan's shot made the Mexicans disperse and leave the battlefield completely.49 After the Mexicans dispersed and the Americans fell back, the Americans were still extremely worried about another attack. Fortunately, another attack did not come that day and instead, the Americans had time to count and identify their casualties. The first body that Lieutenant William H. Emory came across was the
47 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 36. 48 Gillespie's Report, December 25, 1846 49 Ibid.

Walkusky 19 dead body of Captain Abraham Johnston, who had a bullet wound right between his eyes.50 According to Emory, Captain Johnston and one dragoon were the only persons either killed or wounded on our side in the fight by firearms.51 General Kearny wanted to bring the dead bodies with them on their journey to San Diego, but there were not enough healthy mules to transport them there. As a result, the decision was made to bury the dead in a massive unmarked grave. Emory goes on to say, Thus they were put to rest together, and forever, a band of brave and heroic men. The long march of 2,000 miles had brought out little command, both officers and men, to know each other well. Community of hardships, dangers, and privations, had produced relations of mutual regard which caused their loss to sink deeply in our memories.52 Kearny wanted his men to continue their advance towards San Diego, but the need to bury the dead and let the wounded rest forced Kearny to stay put for the time being. Ambulances were made with the help of San Pasqual Indians. They constructed the ambulances by using willow poles and tying them to the mules travois-style and the wounded were then wrapped in buffalo robes between the poles.53 In total, the Americans suffered 18 deaths and 15 men were wounded.54 While the dead were being buried and the wounded were being placed on ambulances, General Kearny was determined to figure out exactly what to do. Evan Kearny had suffered an injury during the battle, but he had to continue working to ensure that his soldiers would continue to respect him. In a letter to his
50 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 43. 51 William H. Emory, Notes of a Military Reconnaissance, from Fort Leavenworth, in Missouri, to San Diego, in California......(Washington D.C.: Wendell and Van Benthuysen, 1848), 108. 52 Ibid, 109. 53 Gillespie's Report, December 25, 1846 54 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 44.

Walkusky 20 wife, Kearny wrote, About 16 of us were wounded, myself in 2 places in the left side by lances, one of which bled very freely, which was of advantage to me.55 The reason Kearny says that bleeding freely was of advantage to him is because many people back in the 1800s still believed in the concept of blood-letting, which is when bad blood leaves the system so that good blood can replace it. His soldiers had just been demoralized by a Mexican foe who could have possibly still been planning another attack that night. The Mexicans completely outclassed the Americans on the battlefield and showed that they were a much more capable foe than the Americans had given them credit for. Kearny knew that with how tired his soldiers were and how little food they possessed that they could not reach San Diego. Reinforcements would be needed in addition to some sort of transportation device to carry out the wounded. Despite being somewhat embarrassed, Kearny came to the conclusion that he would once again need to appeal to Commodore Robert Stockton for aid. With the decision being made, Kearny sent Alexis Godey, Thomas Burgess, and another man to Stockton.56 The three messengers carried a message from Captain H.S. Turner, who was Kearny's aide-de-camp. Turner's letter read, I have to suggest to you the propriety of despatching [sic], without delay, a considerable force to meet us on the route to San Diego, via the Soledad and San Bernardo, or to find us at this place; also, that you will send up carts or some other means of transporting our wounded to San Diego. We are without provisions, and in our present situation find it impracticable to obtain cattle from the ranches in the vicinity.57
55 Stephen Kearny, A Letter from the Mexican War, Military History of the Southwest 20 (Fall 1990), 189-190 56 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 44. 57 Ibid, 44.

Walkusky 21 The number of Mexican casualties was much lower than the number of casualties that the Americans suffered. In total, one Californio died and twelve were wounded.58 The Californio that died was Francisco Dorio Lara. Lara was a young boy who was extremely frightened at the thought of fighting another human being to the death. For this reason, Lara remained at the Californios camp when they moved out to attack the Americans.59 Lara was quite literally paralyzed by fear when the Battle of San Pasqual took place. Because Lara was stationary, it was very easy for the Americans to take him captive.60 Three Americans found Lara hiding in an Indian hut and Lara immediately gave his weapons to his captors. Shortly after being caught, Lara was killed by Indians that had accompanied General Kearny at the Battle of San Pasqual.61 Don Jose Antonio Tonito Serrano was another Mexican that was unwilling to fight.62 He was alone after Pico had led his soldiers in the ambush behind the hill against unsuspecting dragoons. The only weapon that Serrano had in his possession was a reata. Despite Pico telling his soldiers earlier that they needed to leave their horses with Indians so that they could graze, Serrano had left his horse near their encampment in case anything happened.63 When the battle began, Serrano was at the house of the leader of the San Pasqual Indians. Instead of joining his comrades in battle, Serrano stayed far away from combat and watched the battle from a house. However, the Americans began to advance and
58 Richard F. Pourade, The Silver Dons. (San Diego: Union-Tribune Publishing, 1963), http://www.sandiegohistory.org/books/pourade/silver/silverchapter6.htm. 59 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 42. 60 Ibid, 42. 61 Ibid, 42. 62 Ibid, 42. 63 Ibid, 42.

Walkusky 22 the howitzer that was taken from the Americans happened near where Serrano was viewing the battle. Because the fight had come so close to him, Serrano began to backtrack even more. The story of Serrano is important because he is the only Mexican that witnessed Lara being taken captive by three Americans.64 Although the Battle of San Pasqual was officially over, the ensuing events that took place nearby San Pasqual would prove to be just as important. The day following the Battle of San Pasqual, General Kearny saw that the Mexicans had gathered together in a narrow valley about a mile and a half from where he was. Kearny felt that his soldiers must avoid the Mexicans at all costs because of their losses, so he veered right and rode along the hills instead of going straight down the valley into the Mexican forces.65 The Californios followed Kearny's path to try and stay in front of him, but he turned left and headed towards Rancho San Bernardo. The Americans stopped at the property of Mr. Snooks, an Englishman, where some soldiers were able to catch some chickens and obtain some cattle for sustenance. Unfortunately for Kearny, Mexicans were now coming from both the southwest, east and southeast in an attempt to envelop the Americans.66 A small number of the Californios tried to attack the Americans, but very little came of it and nobody was hurt badly. To try and drive the Mexicans away, Kearny sent Emory along with about eight men to engage them. Emory succeeded in ousting the Mexicans, but a couple of Americans were severely hurt in the engagement. Although Emory was successful, the cattle and the chickens that the Americans had just gathered ran way during the skirmish and the Americans were left with
64 Ibid, 42. 65 Ibid, 45. 66 Ibid, 45.

Walkusky 23 no food.
67

With no food and a number of wounded soldiers slowing down the group, Kearny decided to spend the night on the hill that they were situated on. He hoped that his men would feel better after one night of sleep and that they could then continue on their way to San Diego. The dearth of food proved to be too much for the American soldiers to handle. The men made the decision that the mules of the command had to be killed and eaten for them to survive.68 For this reason, the hill that the soldiers were on would be referred to as Mule Hill. The only water the men had to drink was a very small amount obtained from digging in the dirt.69 In addition to having no food, the men had no shelter as well. Their only shelter was a barricade of large boulders to try and prevent attacks from the Californios. To make their position stronger and give them more shelter, Kearny commanded his men to stack smaller boulders on top of the large boulders, which gave them a makeshift room with no ceiling.70 Having done all they could to make their situation as livable as possible, all the soldiers could think of now was if they would survive and if relief would ever come to help them. Finally, something happened on December 8 to create action in the American camp. Andrs Pico showed a white flag to the Americans because he hoped to trade prisoners.71 Apparently, Pico believed that the Americans had a lot of prisoners, because Pico was in possession of four Americans that he wished to trade for four Californios. However, the Americans only had one Mexican prisoner
67 68 69 70 71 Ibid, 45-46. Bancroft, History of California, 349. Ibid, 349. Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual,, 46. Ibid, 46.

Walkusky 24 in their possession, Pablo Vjar.72 General Kearny sent Lieutenant Emory to negotiate with Pico. It was revealed that Thomas Burgess, one of the three messengers sent by Kearny following the Battle of San Pasqual, was one of the Americans held captive by the Mexicans. This answered the widespread questioning by American soldiers, who wondered why relief had not come to help them yet. Because Burgess and information that he might possess was very important to the survival of the Americans on Mule Hill, Emory decided to trade Vjar for Burgess.73 With Burgess back among his American friends, he revealed all of the information that he had.74 Burgess had actually been able to reach Commodore Stockton in San Diego, but he was captured by the Mexicans on his way back to San Pasqual to deliver the reply to General Kearny. According to Burgess, Stockton had no extra horses and did not have enough men to come relieve General Kearny.75 This news was extremely disappointing to General Kearny and his men as they were just barely surviving their current situation. As a result, Kearny decided that he had to once again send men to San Diego to explain the terrible situation the Americans were living in on Mule Hill. He chose Lieutenant Beale to head to San Diego and could not decide on another man. Beale urged Kearny that Kit Carson would be the perfect man to accompany him to San Diego, but Kearny claimed that Carson was too valuable. Nonetheless, Beale got his way and Carson went with him to speak to Commodore Stockton.76 Beale and Carson also brought a Native American, who may or may not have been Beale's servant, along with them. To get to San Diego, Beale and Carson had to stealthily make their way through enemy lines without being caught. Carson's own account of what happened describes their journey the best, As soon as dark we started on our mission. In crawling over the rocks and brush our shoes making noise,
72 73 74 75 76 Ibid, 46. Bancroft, History of California, 350. Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 47. Ibid, 47. Ibid, 47.

Walkusky 25 we took them off; fastened them under our belts. We had to crawl about two miles. We could see three rows of sentinels, all ahorseback, we would often have to pass within 20 yards of one. We got through, but had the misfortune to have lost our shoes, had to travel over a country, covered with prickly pear and rocks, barefoot.77 The trek to San Diego proved to be incredibly taxing on all three men, especially Lieutenant Beale. The reason the journey was so difficult on Beale was because he was not accustomed to traveling far distances on foot, especially without shoes. Although the trip to San Diego was difficult on Kit Carson and the Native American, they were not nearly as damaged as Beale. This is because Carson was a frontiersman who was renowned as a fantastic guide. He was more or less used to walking long distances and he could handle being barefoot. Not much background is given on the Native American, but if he was the servant of Beale, then it should be no surprise that he was used to working very hard, which means that a long walk would not be very difficult for him. Before the three reached San Diego, they all split up in the hopes that at least one of them would safely make it to Commodore Stockton.78 If they had stuck together and gotten caught, then their mission would have been for naught. The Native American reached San Diego first and Carson and Beale shortly followed. Beale's feet were so cut up that he had to be carried into Stockton's office because he could no longer walk.79 Once the three conveyed the terrible situation at Mule Hill to Stockton, the commander made the immediate decision to send reinforcements to Mule Hill and help General Kearny. Stockton got his men ready and prepared everything as quickly as he could. Stockton made sure that each man leaving San Diego had a blanket, three pounds of beef jerky, and three pounds of hardtack for the starving soldiers.80 Stockton stayed in San Diego to keep order and commanded Lieutenant Andrew F. V. Gray

77 78 79 80

Blanche Grant, Kit Carson's Own Story of His Life (Taos N.M.: Kit Carson Memorial Foundation, 1926): 83 Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 48. Ibid. 48. Ibid. 49.

Walkusky 26 to lead the mission to San Pasqual.81 Lieutenant Gray led 200 marines and naval officers toward Mule Hill while Carson and Beale stayed in San Diego to rest.82 The outcome of the Native American's life is unknown. Meanwhile, General Kearny and his men had very little hope that they would be saved by Stockton. On the night of December 9, Kearny ordered, All public property now in the camp which we have not the means of transporting to San Diego, will at once be destroyed, this of course becomes necessary in order to prevent such property from falling into the hands of the enemy by whom we are now surrounded.83 This order conveys how little confidence Kearny had at the time. By this time, the Californios were having fun and messing around with the Americans. The Californios were waiting for the Americans to either surrender or starve to death, because it seemed like no help was on the horizon for the soldiers stuck on Mule Hill. At one point, Cristobal Lopez and about six other Californios were having so much fun with their situation that they sent a group of healthy mules up to Mule Hill to try and stampede the American horses. The only thing that turned away the healthy mules of the Mexicans was the blast of the Sutter gun. Still, one mule continued charging at the Americans and they killed it which gave them a small amount of food.84 Another instance of the Californios mocking the Americans was when a number of Californios surrounded the Americans and had their lances in a ready position, but they stayed away just far enough to where the Americans could not shoot them.85 At around 2 A.M on December 11, Lieutenant Gray and his reinforcements from San Diego arrived at Mule Hill.86 General Kearny's men were initially frightened because they thought the Mexicans might have finally decided to march up to them on Mule Hill and put them out of their

81 82 83 84 85 86

Bancroft, History of California, 350. Ibid, 350. Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 50. Bancroft, History of California, 350. Woodward, Lances at San Pasqual, 50. Ibid, 50.

Walkusky 27 misery. Instead, when a scared sentinel asked who was there, a reply came saying, Americans.87 Upon hearing this, Kearny's men rejoiced and could not believe that someone had finally come to help them. Immediately, Kearny's men devoured the beef jerky and crackers that the reinforcements had brought for them. In return, the reinforcements were served bowls of hot mule soup, which had been the diet of the men of Mule Hill for far too long. Now that everyone on Mule Hill was full and had energy, the next order of business was to fight through the Californios and make their way south to San Diego. However, getting off of Mule Hill proved to be far easier than the Americans thought it would be. On the night of December 11, a musket ball zoomed through the American camp, but it did not hit anyone.88 Apparently, the Californios had given up on fighting the Americans at Mule Hill. Andrs Pico realized that the reinforcements brought to the area by Stockton would be very difficult to defeat and it would most likely result in a Mexican loss. Therefore, Pico and his men fell back into the background after the bitter shot of a musket and allowed the Americans to get off of Mule Hill with no conflict. Just the day before, Pico was supremely confident that his men had defeated an extremely important division of United States soldiers. To his dismay, his crowning military victory would not happen due to the efforts of Kit Carson, Edward Beale, the unnamed Native American, and all of the reinforcements sent by Commodore Stockton that took took part in the 29 mile trek from San Diego to the now-famous Mule Hill. When comparing the decision making of General Kearny and Andrs Pico's during their encounters at San Pasqual and Mule Hill, it is clear that Pico made much smarter decisions. Pico's realization that fighting the Americans after Stockton arrived at Mule Hill would most likely result in losing a very important battle that would entail a high number of deaths for the Mexicans was very smart. Conversely, Kearny's decision to march through San Pasqual rather than take the uncontested
87 Ibid, 50. 88 Ibid. 51.

Walkusky 28 route through Mission Valley ended up being catastrophic for his men. At the very least, General Kearny could have waited for the fog to lift and the rain to stop before he began his march on San Pasqual. Also, Kearny should have waited for some sunlight so that his men could have discerned which soldiers were on their side during the battle. Kearny pointlessly put his men in danger which ended up in 15 deaths for the Americans. Furthermore, Kearny's decisions led to many of his men almost starving to death, which caused some of them physical and mental damage for many years following the Battle of San Pasqual. Nonetheless, General Kearny still believed that the Battle of San Pasqual resulted in a victory for the Americans. Kearny wrote to his wife, I have to tell you that on the 6th at day break with about 80 men we attacked a Party of 160 Mexicans, which we defeated after an hours fighting & chased them from the field---this was at San Pasqual & about 40 miles from this place [San Diego]. We gained a victory over the enemy, but paid most dearly for it.89 Kearny was one of the few that believed that the skirmish at San Pasqual was a victory. His belief that dispersing the Mexicans from the battlefield counts as a victory is a ridiculous thought. The Mexicans dispersed due to a shot by the Sutter gun and they regrouped right after, making a plan to trap the Americans, which worked. The rest of the day after the Mexicans left the battlefield, the Americans, including Kearny, dressed their wounds, buried their dead, and remained intimidated at the thought that the Mexicans could strike again. In the following days, the Americans almost starved to death and got lucky that Commodore Stockton had enough men to save their lives. If this was Kearny's definition of a victory, then the Mexicans would have enjoyed for General Kearny to be victorious like he was at San Pasqual more often. With all the evidence at hand, it is clear that the Battle of San Pasqual could have easily been avoided if General Kearny had not been yearning for a battle. Lieutenant Beale and others tried to convince Kearny that taking the road to San Diego that passed through Mission Valley would be a
89 Kearny. A Letter from the Mexican War, 189.

Walkusky 29 much wiser decision than even scouting the other road that passed through San Pasqual, but Kearny did not want to listen. Just like Kearny had done when Kit Carson advised him to get rid of the wagons before they crossed through Arizona, he ignored sound advice and listened to himself. Even the local inhabitants of San Pasqual that had no rooting interest in the battle viewed the outcome as a victory for the Californio lancers.90 If it had not been for Commodore Stockton, then the Americans would have suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Mexicans. Luckily, for Kearny's sake, Stockton sent Lieutenant Gray with reinforcements and the loss at San Pasqual meant little for the Americans when framed within the ultimate victory that the United States ended up achieving in the Mexican-American War.

90 Sally Cavell Johns, Viva Los Californios! The Battle of San Pasqual, The Journal of San Diego History 19. (Fall 1973), http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/73fall/sanpasqual.htm.

Walkusky 30

Bibliography Bancroft, Hubert Howe. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft: History of California: Volume V, 1846-1848. San Francisco: The History Company, 1886. Burr, Charles Todd. The battle of San Pasqual a study, with map, itinerary and guide to the battle fields. Pomona: Progress Publishing Co., 1925.

Emory, William H. Notes of a Military Reconnaissance, from Fort Leavenworth, in Missouri, to San Diego, in California......Washington D.C.: Wendell and Van Benthuysen, 1848. Fleek, Sherman L. History May Be Searched in Vain: A Military History of the Mormon Battalion. Spokane: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 2006. Gillespie, Archibald. Battle Report to Commodore R.F. Stockton, December 25, 1846. Golder, Frank Alfred. The March of the Mormon Battalion: From Council Bluffs to California. New York: The Century Co., 1928.

Grant, Blanche. Kit Carson's Own Story of His Life. Taos N.M.: Kit Carson Memorial Foundation, 1926. Harrison, Powell. San Pasqual Reconsidered: An Unnecessary Battle. Californians. Vol. 13, No. 1. (1996): 8-20. Johns, Sally Cavell. Viva Los Californios! The Battle of San Pasqual. The Journal

Walkusky 31 of San Diego History. Vol. 19, No. 4. (Fall 1973)

Kearny, Stephen. A Letter from the Mexican War, Military History of the Southwest.Volume 20, No. 2 (Fall 1990): 189-193 Peet, Mary Rockwood. San Pasqual: A Crack in the Hills. Ramona: Ballena Press, 1949. Pourade, Richard F. The Silver Dons. San Diego: Union-Tribune Publishing, 1963. <http://www.sandiegohistory.org/books/pourade/silver/silverchapter6.htm>. Woodward, Arthur. Lances At San Pasqual. California Historical Society Quarterly. Vol. 26, No. 1 (Mar., 1947): 21-62

Walkusky 32

Notes

I believe that I was able to obtain almost every legitimate source that exists on the Battle of San Pasqual. I combed through just about every California history book at UC Riverside that mentions the Mexican-American War. My reason for using the journal article Lances at San Pasqual by Arthur Woodward extensively is because it had all of the information that I found in other sources, but it also went into much greater detail than the other sources. Many sources that I found cited Lances at San Pasqual and had very little detail. I tried to keep myself from using Lances at San Pasqual so much in my paper, but it provided my paper with a much greater amount of detail than if I had not used the article extensively.