Vol.

XXVII, No 1

January/February 2014

ANNUAL BATTLE DAY : SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2013

A Photo Essay
Honoring December 6, 1846

Participants shake hands after a re-enactment.

Photographs courtesy of Michelle Wolf and Melvin Sweet
1

BATTLELINES

SPBVA 2014
BOARD
MEMBERS
Shirley Buskirk
Cliff Clifford
Royce Clifford
Donald Coates
Tom Cook
Jake Enriquez
Randall Hamud
Darlene Hansen
Ron Hinrichs
Gisela Koestner
Richard Meyer
Leroy Ross, Jr.
Stan Smith
Ellen Sweet
Tom Vilicich
Bob Wohl

These officers are

acting until new

Presidents Message:
We have another successful battle reenactment under our belts. It took
place December 1st this year on the
Thanksgiving weekend. You could not
have asked for nicer weather; it made
for a wonderful day. Along with the
many returning participants, we had a
large number of new riders. A large
group of these came to us from a group
of re-enactors known as the Hole-inthe-Wall Gang. We had 20 plus riders
on each side of the fight. I think this
years fight odds were pretty equalat
least I did not feel so out-numbered on
the battlefield. In the many years that I
have been taking part in the reenactment, this was the most riders I
have seen. And with that number of
riders, you should have seen the dust
cloud that we kicked up! Being in the
middle of the dust cloud may have
made it hard to see, but I think it added
to the excitement of the re-enactment.
We also had some new mountain men
and dismounted troops along with our
regulars shooting their rifles and mus-

officers are elected

President:
Tom Vilicich
Vice-President:
Don Coates
President Emeritus:
Leroy Ross, Jr.
Treasurer:
Gisela Koestner
Recording Secy:
Ellen Sweet
Corporate Secy:
Ron Hinrichs

Jan/Feb 2014

by Tom Vilicich
kets. And, of course, we cannot forget
the big noise on the field with our cannon crews. A job well done!
As with any army, those who were in
the fight get all the accolades for their
action in battle, but we must give
credit to the unsung heroes of the rear
echelons and logistics of the State
Parks staff, the many volunteers of the
San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association, and others who volunteered
for the day. These include the Boy
Scouts working in the parking lot, the
JROTC from Kearny High School who
did the flag raising ceremony, the volunteers who manned the museum,
those who took part in the programs in
the amphitheater, and the park staff
and VIP volunteers who took charge of
the many activities in the park on Battle Day.
As most of you know, this is our biggest yearly event at San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park. It takes
not days or weeks to pan this event,
but months. And with the passing of
each re-enactment, we are looking into how we can make the
next years even better. We have
already bounced around a few
ideas.
With 2014 upon us, we have
many events lined up already for
the new year. Our First Sunday
living history program each
month from October through June
begins on Sunday, January 5.
And the cannon will travel to Fort
Rosecrans on Memorial Day and
to Old Town San Diego State
Historic Park for the Fourth of
July. Many military and school
groups will be coming out to the
park for one of our tours of the
events that took place there in
1846. I hope to see you there.

BATTLELINES

Jan/Feb 2014

BATTLE DAY
2013

BATTLELINES

Park Hours:

Jan/Feb 2014

Kearny High School JROTC leads the flag raising.

Saturday &
Sunday, 10 am
to 4 pm
(winter hours)
Park Phone
Number:
(760) 737-2201
weekends only or
(619) 220-5422
www.parks.ca.gov
www.spbva.org

Welcome New Members!

Sergio & Erna Cortez, Temecula
Carl Harrison, Escondido
Returning member:
William Riddle, Oceanside
Renewing members:

SPBVA Info:
Tom Vilicich
(951) 674-0185 or
Trooper284@aol.com

School & Adult

Tours Contact:
Darlene Hansen
(760) 480-6320
BATTLELINES
Contributions
Deadline :
February 28
Contact editor,
Ellen Sweet,

Shirley Buskirk, Escondido

Jim & Hope Caldwell, Vista
Don Coates Family, Escondido
Tom & Jackie Cook, San Diego
Jake Enriquez Family, Escondido
Ron Hinrichs, Escondido
Gisela Koestner, Poway

Carissa Lemon, Corona

Michael Pique, San Diego
Karen Rice, Beaumont
Tom Richards, Virginia Bch, VA
Leroy Ross, Vista
Janice Ryan, Carlsbad
Bob Snashall, Washington, D.C.

Dragoon Level Members ($100 or more this year)

Ronilee Clark & Brian Arnold

Cliff & Royce Clifford
Donald Coates
Jake Enriquez Family

ELSweet@gmail.com

Greg Hill
Michael Pique
Melvin & Ellen Sweet
Thomas M. Vilicich

BATTLELINES

BATTLE DAY
2013

Jan/Feb 2014

BATTLELINES

Jan/Feb 2014

BATTLELINES

Jan/Feb 2014

JOIN NOW! Our non-profit organization supports the activities of the San Pasqual Battlefield State
Historic Park. All members receive BATTLELINES, a 10% discount on all bookstore items, special
programs, field trips, history discussions, and opportunities to participate in our Living History Sundays
and in our annual December re-enactment of the Battle.
SAN PASQUAL BATTLEFIELD VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
P.O. Box 300816, Escondido, CA 92030-0816
(760) 737-2201
This is my/our membership application & dues for the following category:
____Student ($5)

____ Sustaining ($50)

____Dragoon ($100 or more)

____Individual ($15)

____Organization ($25)

____Benefactor ($1,000 or more)

____Family ($20)

____Corporate ($100)

Please make checks payable to: SPBVA

NAME(S)_______________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY _______________________________________________________ STATE _______________ZIP _________________
PHONE_____________________________________________ EMAIL________________________________________
OCCUPATION_________________________INTEREST/SKILLS_____________________________________________

Off the

Shelf...

by Shirley Buskirk

When San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park

was in the planning stages, people thought it should
be about more than the battle. After all, an Indian
village was there when the battle occurred, and what
about the people who settled in the valley when
California became part of the United States?
Youll find that same three-fold emphasis at the
park. Displays in the visitor center begin with the
San Pasqual Indians who lived on the sitethere are
pictures of their houses and real grinding stones.
The displays also tell about the Spanish missions,
the Mexican ranchos, the battle, its participants, and
the American settlers who came afterwards.
The selections in the bookstore also reflect this diversity. The books about the Native Americans are
as wide-ranging as all of California and as specific
as San Pasqual. Books about Californias history
cover the Spanish settlements and missions, as well
as when it was a Mexican outpost.
Most of the books are about the war with Mexico,
the battle at San Pasqual, and the treaty ending the
war. There are books about the US dragoons, the
Mormon Battalion, military men and people like Kit

Carson, who fought in the battleand fell off his

horse. The war ended in California shortly after this
battle, but it was almost two years later, after the
Americans had captured Mexico City, when the war
really ended. Mexico lost half its land and the
United States stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. So there are books that tell the whole story
about the war, too.
While most of the
books are written for
adults, many are for
children and a few are
in both English and
Spanish. If you arent
interested in books,
there are military reports, old newspapers,
maps and drawings of
the soldiers, postcards,
medallions, miniature
cannons, and a DVD.
Something for everyone!
7

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Escondido, CA 92025
Permit No. 414

SAN PASQUAL BATTLEFIELD

VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 300816
Escondido, CA 92030-0816

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

BATTLELINES

CALENDAR
Sunday, January 5
Living History, Park
Tuesday, January 21
History Discussion, Escondido Library, 4:30 to 6:30 pm,
Boden Canyon led by Stan Smith
Friday, January 24
Board Meeting, 11 am-1 pm
Saturday, January 25, Mormon Battalion Day, Old
Town SDSHP, 10 am-3 pm
Sunday, February 2
Living History, Park
Tuesday, February 18
History Discussion, Escondido Library, 4:30 to 6:30 pm
Friday, February 28
Board Meeting, 11 am-1 pm
8

Jan/Feb 2014

SPBVAs
HISTORY DISCUSSIONS:
Tues, January 21 4:306:30 pm
Boden Canyon
led by Stan Smith
Tues, February 18 4:306:30 pm
To Be Announced
Please call Ron Hinrichs,
760-746-8380 for information.
Escondido Public Library,
239 S. Kalmia,
2nd floor conference room.
,