The United States declared war against Mexico in May of 1846. President James Polk sent the U.S. Army, 1st U.S. Dragoons almost immediately, under the command of Stephan Watts Kearny, west from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to California. It was considered at the time the longest U.S. military march in history. Almost 2000 miles later, on December 6, 1846, these soldiers engaged in combat with a group of Mexican cowboys called caballeros at a place now called “San Pasqual”.
The small group of about 100 Mexicans, then called Californios, (and nicknamed the Greyhounds) engaged approximately 100 Americans (of a 169 men force), most of which were comprised, at the time, of one of the most elite fighting units in the United States Military Arsenal, the 1st U.S. Dragoons. The Mexicans fought ferociously against the foreign aggressors and, despite being out-gunned, inflicted tremendous casualties against the Americans. In less than an hour, the battlefield found at least 19 Americans and possibly six Mexicans dead and over thirty wounded combined.
The battle is unique in that it touched three separate cultures that fateful morning, the Euro-American, the Hispanic, and the Indian. The battle is also unique in that it is one of the few military battles in the United States that involved elements of the Army, Navy, Marines, and civilian volunteers, all in the same skirmish. The San Pasqual Battlefield is presently considered perhaps the last significant battlefield left in the Western United States that is still in somewhat pristine condition. Research continues in hope that by fully understanding what in fact occurred at this battle, that we might also locate sites relevant to this event. By doing so, we can secure formal archaeological surveys of these sites and, if possible, retrieve artifacts from these sites for preservation and display at the San Pasqual Battlefield Museum.
This web site is donated and dedicated to the people of the State of California and dedicated to the memory of those who died at the Battle of San Pasqual.
This web site serves as an on-line database for resource information to be used by historical researchers, students, and others interested in this battle to help stimulate future discoveries and debate concerning this historic event. While historians have been known to hoard important pieces of historical information and research, the SPBSLP will share and make public all sources of information. This project believes that such information does not belong in the private collections of certain said historians but to the people of the State of California and, the United States of America for whom these men died at San Pasqual.
We hope you enjoy this site and we welcome any questions, comments, academic debate, opposing views, and new information concerning this battle. Thank you!
This web site and all the discoveries made by the SPBSLP would not have been made possible without the encouragement, support, assistance, and generosity of many organizations and certain members therein. The Project now spans two decades, beginning in 1991. For clarity, we here gratefully acknowledge the following people, in these named positions, with these named organizations, working in these listed capacities, at the time that they helped and/or supported the SPBSLP.
State of California
The Honorable Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante
California State Senate
The Honorable Senator David G. Kelly
County of San Diego
The Honorable Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, Bill Horn (5th District)
Historian Mary Ward
City of San Diego
The Honorable Councilwoman — Barbara Warden (5th District)
City of Escondido
Mayor Sid Hollins
The United State Marine Corps
Camp Pendleton Base Commanding General — Lieutenant General A. C. Zinni
Camp Pendleton Museum, History Museums Officer — A. Faye Jonason
Department of the Army
Fort Leavenworth Frontier Army Museum — Director Stephan J. Allie
Fort Leavenworth Frontier Army Museum — Exhibit Specialist George R. Moore
United States National Archives
Washington D.C. — Michael T. Meier
Laguna Niguel, California — Suzanne Dewbery
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument — National Park Service
Chief Historian — Douglas C. McChristian
Park Ranger, Division of Interpretation — John August Doerner
State of California — Department of Parks & Recreation
San Diego Coast District Superintendent — Edward Navarro
San Diego Coast District Park Superintendent — Victoria M. Long
Historic Sector Superintendent — Steffani Jarrett
State Historian II — George R. Stammerjohan
Associate State Archaeologist — Michael Sampson
Chief Ranger Old Town San Diego — Gary Watts
State Park Ranger, San Pasqual Battlefield — Joann Nash
State Park Interpreter, San Pasqual Battlefield — Peggy Hurley
State Park Interpreter, San Pasqual Battlefield — Peggy Van Cleeve
State Park Interpreter, San Pasqual Battlefield — Mitzi E. Wiseman
San Dieguito River Valley Regional Open Space Park
Project Director — Susan Carter
San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association
President — Tom Cook
Historian — Ron Hinrichs
Historian — Leroy Ross
Historian — Benjamin A. Cueva
San Diego Historical Society
Executive Director — James Vaughan
Director — Richard Crawford
Photo Archivist — Thomas J. Adema
Custodian — Barbara Pope
Escondido Historical Society
Director — Norm Syler
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Director — Jack Shaw
Historian — Dr. Eugene K. Chamberlin
Natural History Museum — Los Angeles, California
Military & Technological Historian — Konrad F. Schreier Jr.
Platte, Missouri Historical Society
Director — Fran Bohachick
The California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Regent — Dorothy E. Webb
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Operations Manager — Michael A. Ahlering
Assistant Operations Manager — Adam M. Ringler
The San Pasqual Band of Indians
Chairwoman — Dorthy M. Tavui
Representative — Claudina H. Masura
Representative — Tilda M. Green
San Pasqual Valley Association
Witman Ranch Inc. CEO — William “Bill” Witman
Milton & Rebecca Judson
University of Louisville
Associate Curator of Photographs — Cynthia E. Stevenson
Hunsaker & Associates of San Diego
Vice —President & Land Surveyor – Jack Hill
G.I.S. Technician — Gary Greenberg
R. B. Hill & Associates of Vista
Founder and Land Surveyor — Richard B. Hill
Land Surveyor — George P. Lounsbury
Centre For Health Care — San Diego
Dr. Vivek C. Nazareth
Other Notable Contributors
Historian — Marjorie Rustvold
Historian — Cloyd Sorensen Jr.
Historian — Leeland Bibb
Historian — Charles Young
Historian — George Mroczkowski
Website Creator — Michael Pique
Nancy Myer — Czetli
This website was created by Michael Pique and its contents published on the world wide web in 2010. The site has been upgraded in 2019.
The first book written in detail about the Battle of San Pasqual in over fifty years. Order your copy today. Features all the information contained on this website plus much more. Complete with 83 photographs and illustrations telling the dramatic story of the Battle and its Battlefield.
“For those with a passion for minute-by-minute accuracy on the history of a military battle; its place, time, strategy, errors, casualties, and precise location of events … most certainly, this has been accomplished by the San Pasqual Battlefield Site Location Project. With their years of intense research, field surveys, and their sharing with both private and governmental organizations, they have in effect, rewritten the Battle of San Pasqual as we have known it.”
Historian – Tom Cook
Former President of the San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association
“Thank you, George Hruby. As descendants of Philip Crosthwaite, our family are forever grateful for your dedication to bringing the true history of the battle of San Pasqual to life. The Search for John Cox has been wonderfully written in how it transports the reader to a place and time when honor, loyalty, love, determination, and commitment were the primary objectives of life. The way Mr. Hruby presents the story of John Cox, and history of the battle with the support of historical maps, quotes, documents and photos, gives the reader a hands-on experience in the research process and stirs a desire to become part of the mission to resolve the mystery and preserve the battle site. It’s a beautiful journey that captivates, educates, and motivates. We are so appreciative of your fine work and dedication to historical truth.”
Daniel Anthony Tucker and The Tucker Family (Direct descendants of Philip Crosthwaite)