Battle of San Pasqual

Battle of San Pasqual
Part of the Conquest of California
Mexican–American War

Battle of San Pasqual, Charles Waterhouse
DateDecember 6–7, 1846
Location
San Pasqual Pueblo, Alta California
Modern Day: San Pasqual Valley, San Diego, California
33°5′10″N 116°59′24″W / 33.08611°N 116.99000°W / 33.08611; -116.99000[1]
Result See assessment[2][3][4][5][6]
Belligerents
 United States Mexico
Commanders and leaders
Stephen Kearny
Archibald H. Gillespie		 Andrés Pico
Strength
150[7] 75[7]
Casualties and losses
18 killed
13 wounded[7]: 188 		 12 wounded
1 captured[7]
Battle of San Pasqual is located in USA West
Battle of San Pasqual
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Location within modern-day United States
A map of the battle site

The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican–American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community of the city of San Diego, California. The series of military skirmishes ended with both sides claiming victory, and the victor of the battle is still debated.[8] On December 6 and 7, 1846, General Stephen W. Kearny's US Army of the West, along with a small detachment of the California Battalion led by Archibald H. Gillespie, engaged a small contingent of Californios and their Presidial Lancers Los Galgos (The Greyhounds), led by Major Andrés Pico. After U.S. reinforcements arrived, Kearny's troops were able to reach San Diego.

  1. ^ "San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ John Wilson. "The Shooting of James King". Stanford University School of Medicine and the Predecessor Schools : An Historical Perspective. Stanford University. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011. Although the Californians retreated and the Americans remained in possession of the battlefield, their victory was a pyrrhic one for their attack was ill-conceived and many American lives were recklessly and needlessly sacrificed.
  3. ^ John C. Pinheiro (2007). Manifest Ambition: James K. Polk and Civil-military Relations During the Mexican War. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-275-98409-0. ... at best must be described as a Pyrrhic victory ...
  4. ^ Dwight Lancelot Clarke (1961). Stephen Watts Kearny: Soldier of the West. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 232. ... it was certainly a Pyrrhic victory.
  5. ^ Hollon, LTC Cory S. (April 29, 2013). Operational Art in the Campaign of Stephen Watts Kearny to Conquer New Mexico and California, 1846-7 (PDF) (Master's Thesis). U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017. The first battle of the war for Kearny was a Pyrrhic victory at San Pasqual, but Kearny recovered and led a large force in a successful operation against prepared forces of Californios.
  6. ^ Niderost, Eric (May 26, 2016). "Mexican-American Clash at San Pasqual". Military History. McLean, Virginia: Sovereign Media. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017. The lancers left the field, enabling the Americans to technically claim a victory, albeit a mostly Pyrrhic one. Three officers and 21 men were dead, and another 17 were wounded.
  7. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Bauer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference www.sanpasqual.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).