A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I, Part 23

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1184

USA > California > A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I > Part 23

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

*General Kearny's original force of one hundred and twenty had been increased by Gillespie's command, numbering fifty men.

139

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

even if we should have to return the next day. We succeeded in reaching the valley of the Soledad that night by dragging our carts. Next day the commodore proposed to go six miles farther, which we accomplished, and then con- tinued six miles farther. Having obtained some fresh oxen, by assisting the carts up hill we made ten or twelve miles a day. At San Luis Rey we secured men, carts and oxen, and after that our days' marches ranged from fifteen to twenty-two miles a day.

"The third day out from San Luis Rey a white flag was seen ahead, the bearer of which had a communication from Flores, signing himself 'Commander-in-Chief and Governor of Califor- nia,' asking for a conference for the purpose of coming to terms, which would be alike 'honor- able to both countries.' The commodore refused to answer him in writing, saying to the bearer of the truce that his answer was, 'he knew no such person as Governor Flores; that he him- self was the only governor in California; that he knew a rebel by that name, a man who had given his parole of honor not to take up arms against the government of the United States, who, if the people of California now in arms against the forces of the United States would deliver up, he (Stockton) would treat with them on condition that they surrender their arms and retire peaceably to their homes and he would grant them, as citizens of the United States, protection from further molestation.' This the embassy refused to entertain, saying 'they would prefer to die with Flores than to surrender on such terms.' *

"On the 8th of January, 1847, they met us on the banks of the river San Gabriel with between five and six hundred men mounted on good horses and armed with lances and carbines, having also four pieces of artillery planted on the heights about three hundred and fifty yards distant from the river. Owing to circumstances which have occurred since the surrender of the enemy, I prefer not mentioning the particulars of this day's battle and also that of the day fol- lowing, or of referring to individuals concerned in the successful management of our forces." (The circumstance to which Lieutenant Duvall

refers was undoubtedly the quarrel between Stockton and Kearny after the capture of Los Angeles.) "It is sufficient to say that on the 8th of January we succeeded in crossing the river and driving the enemy from the heights. Hav- ing resisted all their charges, dismounted one of their pieces and put them to flight in every direction, we encamped on the ground they had occupied during the fight.

"The next day the Californians met us on the plains of the mesa. For a time the fighting was carried on by both sides with artillery, but that proving too hot for them they concentrated their whole force in a line ahead of us and at a given signal divided from the center and came down on us like a tornado, charging us on all sides at the same time; but they were effectually defeated and fled in every direction in the ut- most confusion. Many of their horses were left dead on the field. Their loss in the two battles, as given by Andres Pico, second in command, was eighty-three killed and wounded; our loss, three killed (one accidentally), and fifteen or twenty wounded, none dangerously. The enemy abandoned two pieces of artillery in an Indian village near by."

I have given at considerable length Midship- man Duvall's account of Stockton's march from San Diego and of the two battles fought, not because it is the fullest account of those events, but because it is original historical matter, never having appeared in print before, and also be- cause it is the observations of a participant written at the time the events occurred. In it the losses of the enemy are greatly exaggerated, but that was a fault of his superior officers as well. Commodore Stockton, in his official re- ports of the two battles, gives the enemy's loss in killed and wounded "between seventy and cighty." And General Kearny, in his report of the battle of San Pasqual, claimed it as a vic- tory, and states that the enemy left six dead on the field. The actual loss of the Californians in the two battles (San Gabriel river and La Mesa) was three killed and ten or twelve wounded .*

*The killed were · Ignacio Sepulveda. Francisco Rubio, and El Guaymeno, a Yaqui Indian.

140

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

While the events recorded in this chapter were transpiring at San Diego and its vicinity, what was the state of affairs in the capital, Los Angeles? After the exultation and rejoicing over the expulsion of Gillespie's garrison, Mer- vine's defeat and the victory over Kearny at San Pasqual there came a reaction. Dissension continued between the leaders. There was lack of arms and laxity of discipline. The army was but little better than a mob. Obedience to or- ders of a superior was foreign to the nature of a Californian. His wild, free life in the saddle made him impatient of all restraint. Then the impossibility of successful resistance against the Americans became more and more apparent as the final conflict approached. Fremont's army was moving down on the doomed city from the north, and Stockton's was coming up from the south. Either one of these, in num- bers, exceeded the force that Flores could bring into action; combined they would crush him out of existence. The California troops were greatly discouraged and it was with great diffi- culty that the officers kept their men together. There was another and more potent element of disintegration. Many of the wealthier natives and all the foreigners, regarding the contest as hopeless, secretly favored the American cause, and it was only through fear of loss of property that they furnished Flores and his officers any supplies for the army.

During the latter part of December and the first days of January Flores' army was stationed at the San Fernando Mission, on the lookout for Fremont's battalion; but the more rapid advance of Stockton's army compelled a change of base. On the 6th and 7th of January Flores moved his army back secretly through the

Cahuenga Pass, and, passing to the southward of the city, took position where La Jaboneria (the soap factory) road crosses the San Gabriel river. Here his men were stationed in the thick willows to give Stockton a surprise. Stockton received information of the trap set for him and after leaving the Los Coyotes swung off to the right until he struck the Upper Santa Ana road. The Californians had barely time to effect a change of base and get their cannon planted when the Americans arrived at the crossing.

Stockton called the engagement there the bat- tle of San Gabriel river; the Californians call it the battle of Paso de Bartolo, which is the bet- ter name. The place where the battle was fought is on bluff just south of the Upper Santa Ana road, near where the Southern California railroad crosses the old San Gabriel river. (The ford or crossing was formerly known as Pico's Crossing.) There was, at the time of the bat- tle, but one San Gabriel river. The new river channel was made in the great flood of 1868. What Stockton, Emory, Duvall and other American officers call the battle of the Plains of the Mesa the Californians call the battle of La Mesa, which is most decidedly a better name than the "Plains of the Plain." It was fought at a ravine, the Canada de Los Alisos, near the southeastern corner of the Los Angeles city boundary. In these battles the Californians had four pieces of artillery, two iron nine-pounders, the old woman's gun and the howitzer captured from Kearny. Their powder was very poor. It was made at San Gabriel. It was owing to this that they did so little execution in the fight. That the Californians escaped with so little punishment was probably due to the wretched marksmanship of Stockton's sailors and marines.

141

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

CHAPTER XX.

CAPTURE AND OCCUPATION OF THE CAPITAL.

A FTER the battle of La Mesa, the Amer- icans, keeping to the south, crossed the Los Angeles river at about the point where the south boundary line of the city crosses it and camped on the right bank. Here, under a willow tree, those killed in battle were buried. Lieutenant Emory, in his "Notes of a Military Reconnoissance," says: "The town, known to contain great quantities of wine and aguardiente, was four miles distant (four miles from the battlefield). From previous experience of the difficulty of controlling men when enter- ing towns, it was determined to cross the river San Fernando (Los Angeles), halt there for the night and enter the town in the morning, with the whole day before us.

"After we had pitched our camp, the enemy came down from the hills, and four hundred horsemen with four pieces of artillery drew off towards the town, in order and regularity, whilst about sixty made a movement down the river on our rear and left flank. This led us to suppose they were not yet whipped, as we thought, and that we should have a night attack.

"January 10 (1847) -. Just as we had raised our camp, a flag of truce, borne by Mr. Celis, a Castilian; Mr. Workman, an Englishman, and Alvarado, the owner of the rancho at the Alisos, was brought into camp. They proposed, on behalf of the Californians, to surrender their dear City of the Angels provided we would re- spect property and persons. This was agreed to, but not altogether trusting to the honesty of General Flores, who had once broken his parole, we moved into the town in the same order we should have done if expecting an at- tack. It was a wise precaution, for the streets were full of desperate and drunken fellows, who brandished their arms and saluted us with every term of reproach. The crest, overlooking the town, in rifle range, was covered with horsemen engaged in the same hospitable manner.

"Our men marched steadily on, until crossing the ravine leading into the public square (plaza), when a fight took place amongst the Califor- nians on the hill; one became disarmed and to avoid death rolled down the hill towards us, his adversary pursuing and lancing him in the most cold-blooded manner. The man tumbling down the hill was supposed to be one of our vaqueros, and the cry of 'rescue him' was raised. The crew of the Cyane, nearest the scene, at once and without any orders, halted and gave the man that was lancing him a volley; strange to say, he did not fall. The general gave the jack tars a cursing, not so much for the firing without orders, as for their bad marks- manship."

Shortly after the above episode, the Cali- fornians did open fire from the hill on the vaqueros in charge of the cattle. (These vaqueros were Californians in the employ of the Americans and were regarded by their country- men as traitors.) A company of riflemen was ordered to clear the hill. A single volley ef- fected this, killing two of the enemy. This was the last bloodshed in the war: and the second conquest of California was completed as the first had been by the capture of Los Angeles. Two hundred men, with two pieces of artillery, were stationed on the hill.

The Angeleños did not exactly welcome the invaders with "bloody hands to inhospitable graves," but they did their best to let them know they were not wanted. The better class of the native inhabitants closed their houses and took refuge with foreign residents or went to the ranchos of their friends in the country. The fellows of the baser sort. who were in pos- session of the city, exhausted their vocabularies of abuse on the invading gringos. There was one paisano who excelled all his countrymen in this species of warfare. It is a pity his name has not been preserved in history with that of

142

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

other famous scolds and kickers. He rode by the side of the advancing column up Main street, firing volleys of invective and denunciation at the hated gringos. At certain points of his tirade he worked himself to such a pitch of indignation that language failed him; then he would solemnly go through the motions of "Make ready, take aim!" with an old shotgun he carried, but when it came to the order "Fire!" discretion got the better of his valor; he low- ered his gun and began again, firing invective at the gringo soldiers; his mouth would go off if his gun would not.

Commodore Stockton's headquarters were in the Abila house, the second house on Olvera street, north of the plaza. The building is still standing, but has undergone many changes in fifty years. A rather amusing account was re- cently given me by an old pioneer of the manner in which Commodore Stockton got possession of the house. The widow Abila and her daugli- ters, at the approach of the American army, had abandoned their house and taken refuge with Don Luis Vignes of the Aliso. Vignes was a Frenchman and friendly to both sides. The widow left a young Californian in charge of her house (which was finely furnished), with strict orders to keep it closed. Stockton had with hin a fine brass band, something new in California. When the troops halted on the plaza, the band began to play. The boyish guardian of the Abila casa could not resist the temptation to open the door and look out. The enchanting music drew him to the plaza. Stockton and his staff, hunting for a place suitable for headquar- ters, passing by, found the door invitingly open, entered, and, finding the house deserted, took possession. The recreant guardian returned to find himself dispossessed and the house in pos- session of the enemy. "And the band played on."

It is a fact not generally known that there were two forts planned and partially built on Fort Hill during the war for the conquest of California. The first was planned by Lieut. Wil- liam H. Emory, topographical engineer of Gen- eral Kearny's staff, and work was begun on it by Commodore Stockton's sailors and marines. The second was planned by Lieut. J. W. David- son, of the First United States Dragoons, and

built by the Mormon battalion. The first was not completed and not named. The second was named Fort Moore. Their location seems to have been identical. The first was designed to hold one hundred men. The second was much larger. Flores' army was supposed to be in the neighborhood of the city ready to make a dash into it, so Stockton decided to fortify.

"On January 11th," Lieutenant Emory writes, "I was ordered to select a site and place a fort ·capable of containing a hundred men. With this in view a rapid reconnoissance of the town was made and the plan of a fort sketched, so placed as to enable a small garrison to com- mand the town and the principal avenues to it, the plan was approved."

"January 12. I laid off the work and before night broke the first ground. The population of the town and its dependencies is about three thousand; that of the town itself about fifteen hundred. * Here all the revolutions have had their origin, and it is the point upon which any Mexican force from Sonora would be directed. It was therefore desirable to estab- lish a fort which, in case of trouble, should en- able a small garrison to hold out till aid might come from San Diego, San Francisco or Mon- terey, places which are destined to become cen- ters of American settlements."

"January 13. It rained steadily all day and nothing was done on the work. At night I worked on the details of the fort."

"January 15. The details to work on the fort were by companies. I sent to Captain Tilghman, who commanded on the hill, to de- tach one of the companies under his command to commence the work. He furnished, on the 16th, a company of artillery (seamen from the Congress) for the day's work, which was per- formed bravely, and gave me great hopes of success."

On the 18th Lieutenant Emory took his de- parture with General Kearny for San Diego. From there he was sent with despatches, via Panama, to the war department. In his book he says: "Subsequent to my departure the en- tire plan of the fort was changed, and I am not the projector of the work finally adopted for defense of that town."

143

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

As previously stated, Fremont's battalion began its march down the coast on the 29th of November, 1846. The winter rains set in with great severity. The volunteers were scantily provided with clothing and the horses were in poor condition. Many of the horses died of starvation and hard usage. The battalion en- countered no opposition from the enemy on its march and did no fighting. On the 11th of January, a few miles above San Fernando, Colo- nel Fremont received a message from General Kearny informing him of the defeat of the enemy and the capture of Los Angeles. That night the battalion encamped in the mission buildings at San Fernando. From the mission that evening Jesus Pico, a cousin of Gen. An- dres Pico, set out to find the Californian army and open negotiations with its leaders. Jesus Pico, better known as Tortoi, had been arrested at his home near San Luis Obispo, tried by court-martial and sentenced to be shot for breaking his parole. Fremont, moved by the pleadings of Pico's wife and children, pardoned him. He became a warm admirer and devoted friend of Fremont's.

He found the advance guard of the Califor- nians encamped at Verdugas. He was detained here, and the leading officers of the army were summoned to a council. Pico informed them of Fremont's arrival and the number of his men. With the combined forces of Fremont and Stockton against them, their cause was hopeless. He urged them to surrender to Fremont, as they could obtain better terms from him than from Stockton.

General Flores, who held a commission in the Mexican army, and who had been appointed by the territorial assembly governor and comand- ante-general by virtue of his rank, appointed Andres Pico general and gave him command of the army. The same night he took his de- parture for Mexico, by way of San Gorgonio Pass; accompanied by Colonel Garfias, Diego Sepulveda, Manuel Castro, Segura, and about thirty privates. General Pico, on assuming com- mand, appointed Francisco Rico and Francisco de La Guerra to go with Jesus Pico to confer with Colonel Fremont. Fremont appointed as commissioners to negotiate a treaty, Major P.

B. Reading, Major William H. Russell and Capt. Louis McLane. On the return of Guerra and Rico to the Californian camp, Gen. Andres Pico appointed as commissioners, José Antonio Carrillo, commander of the cavalry squadron, and Agustin Olvera, diputado of the assembly, and moved his army near the river at Cahuenga. On the 13th Fremont moved his camp to the Cahuenga. The commissioners met in the de- serted ranch-house, and the treaty was drawn up and signed.

The principal conditions of the treaty or ca- pitulation of "Cahuenga," as it was termed, were that the Californians, on delivering up their ar- tillery and public arms, and promising not again to take arms during the war, and conforming to the laws and regulations of the United States, shall be allowed peaceably to return to their homes. They were to be allowed the same rights and privileges as are allowed to citizens of the United States, and were not to be compelled to take an oath of allegiance until a treaty of peace was signed between the United States and Mexico, and were given the privilege of leaving the country if they wished to. An additional section was added to the treaty on the 16th at Los Angeles releasing the officers from their paroles. Two cannon were surrendered, the howitzer captured from General Kearny at San Pasqual and the woman's gun that won the bat- tle of Dominguez. On the 14th, Fremont's bat- talion marched through the Cahuenga Pass to Los Angeles in a pouring rainstorm, and en- tered it four days after its surrender to Stock- ton. The conquest of California, was com- pleted. Stockton approved the treaty, although it was not altogether satisfactory to him. On the 16th he appointed Colonel Fremont gov- ernor of the territory, and William H. Russell, of the battalion, secretary of state.

This precipitated a quarrel between Stockton and Kearny, which had been brewing for some time. General Kearny claimed that under his instructions from the government he should be recognized as governor. As he had directly under his command but the one company of dragoons that he brought across the plain with him, lie was unable to enforce his authority. He left on the 18th for San Diego, taking with him the

144

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

officers of his staff. On the 20th Commo- dore Stockton, with his sailors and marines, marched to San Pedro, where they all em- barked on a man-of-war for San Diego to re-

join their ships. Shortly afterwards Commo- dore Stockton was superseded in the command of the Pacific squadron by Commodore Shu- brick.

CHAPTER XXI.

TRANSITION AND TRANSFORMATION.

T HE capitulation of Gen. Andres Pico at Cahuenga put an end to the war in Cali- fornia. The instructions from the secre- tary of war were to pursue a policy of concilia- tion towards the Californians with the ultimate design of transforming them into American citi- zens. Colonel Fremont was left in command at Los Angeles. He established his headquarters on the second floor of the Bell block (corner of Los Angeles and Aliso streets), then the best building in the city. One company of his bat- talion was retained in the city; the others, under command of Captain Owens, were quartered at the Mission San Gabriel.

The Mormons had been driven out of Illinois and Missouri. A sentiment of antagonism had been engendered against them and they had begun their migration to the far west, pre- sumably to California. They were encamped on the Missouri river at Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, preparatory to crossing the plains, when hostilities broke out between the United States and Mexico, in April, 1846. A proposition was made by President Polk to their leaders to raise a battalion of five hundred men to serve as United States volunteers for twelve months. These volunteers, under command of regular army officers, were to march to Santa Fe, or, if necessary, to California, where, at the expira- tion of their term of enlistment, they were to be discharged and allowed to retain their arms. Through the influence of Brigham Young and other leaders, the battalion was recruited and General Kearny, commanding the Army of the West, detailed Capt. James Allen, of the First United States Dragoons, to muster them into the service and take command of the battalion. On the 16th of July, at Council Bluffs, the bat-

talion was mustered into service and on the 14th of August it began its long and weary march. About eighty women and children, wives and families of the officers and some of the enlisted men, accompanied the battalion on its march. Shortly after the beginning of the march, Allen, who had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel, fell sick and died. The battalion was placed temporarily under the command of Lieut. A. J. Smith, of the regular army. At Santa Fe Lieut .- Col. Philip St. George Cooke took com- mand under orders from General Kearny. The battalion was detailed to open a wagon road by the Gila route to California. About sixty of the soldiers who had become unfit for duty and all the women except five were sent back and the remainder of the force, after a toilsome jour- ney, reached San Luis Rey, Cal., January 29, 1847, where it remained until ordered to Los Angeles, which place it reached March 17.

Captain Owens, in command of Fremont's battalion, had moved all the artillery, ten pieces, from Los Angeles to San Gabriel, probably with the design of preventing it falling into the hands of Colonel Cooke, who was an adherent of General Kearny. General Kearny, under addi- tional instructions from the general government, brought by Colonel Mason from the war depart- ment, had established himself as governor at Monterey. With a governor in the north and one in the south, antagonistic to each other, California had fallen back to its normal condi- tion under Mexican rule. Colonel Cooke, shortly after his arrival in the territory, thus de- scribes the condition prevailing: "General Kearny is supreme somewhere up the coast. Colonel Fremont is supreme at Pueblo de Los Angeles; Colonel Stockton is commander-in-

145

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

chief at San Diego; Commodore Shubrick the same at Monterey; and I at San Luis Rey; and we are all supremely poor, the government hav- ing no money and no credit, and we hold the territory because Mexico is the poorest of all."

Col. R. B. Mason was appointed inspector of the troops in California and made an official visit to Los Angeles. In a misunderstanding about some official matters he used insulting language to Colonel Fremont. Fremont promptly challenged him to fight a duel. The challenge was aceepted; double-barreled shot- guns were chosen as the weapons and the Rancho Rosa del Castillo as the place of meet- ing. Mason was summoned north and the duel was postponed until his return. General Kearny, hearing of the proposed affair of honor, put a stop to further proceedings by the duelists.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

A history of California and an extended history of its southern coast counties, also containing biographies of well-known citizens of the past and present, Volume I, Part 23

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company Number of Pages: 1184

Author: Guinn, James Miller, 1834-1918
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Los Angeles, Cal., Historic record company
Number of Pages: 1184