- Battle of Rio San Gabriel
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Rio San Gabriel
caption=Memorial overlooking the battleground in Montebello, CA
partof=theMexican-American War
date=January 8 ,1847
place=nearLos Angeles ,California
result=American victory
combatant1=United States of America
combatant2=Californios ,Mexico
commander1=Robert F. Stockton Stephen Watts Kearny
commander2=José Mariá Flores
strength1=U.S. naval and army forces
600 sailors, marines
and dragoons
strength2=Californios
160 Militia soldiers
casualties1=8 wounded
casualties2=80The Battle of Rio San Gabriel was a decisive action of the
California campaign of theMexican-American War and occurred at the sites of present-day Montebello and Pico Rivera onJanuary 8 ,1847 .Background
After the
Battle of San Pasqual , the battered Army of the West commanded by GeneralStephen W. Kearny went to the headquarters of CommodoreRobert F. Stockton atSan Diego, California . Stockton's next objective was to recapture Pueblo de Los Angeles. That settlement had been previously captured by Stockton's forces but was left in the command of CaptainArchibald Gillespie and had been lost to theCalifornio militia , commanded by GeneralJosé Mariá Flores .Kearny and Stockton initially disputed the right of command. Although Kearny had superior orders from the
United States War Department , he had previously sent most of his troops back toSanta Fe, New Mexico , believing that the war in California had ended, and his remaining force sustained heavy losses in theUS defeat at theBattle of San Pasqual . Stockton had a larger force and was familiar with the area, so Kearny did not initially dispute Stockton's command of the campaign to recapture Los Angeles. Stockton departed San Diego in late December with a force of over 600 seamen and Marines, as well as Kearny's remaining force of about sixtydragoon s.Battle
U.S. scouts discovered the Mexican position at a key ford along the San Gabriel River on
January 7 ,1847 . Stockton and Kearny planned a crossing for the next day. The U.S. forces were formed into a hollow square with the artillery and baggage in the center. Kearny ordered the artillery unlimbered to cover the crossing, but Stockton countered the order and began to move across the river. The crossing proved to be especially difficult because Flores was in a good position to contest the crossing from the heights across the river, and the ford had patches ofquicksand at the bottom of the knee deep water.The U.S. 560 man force came under fire as it crossed, but because of a lack of sufficient guns and ammunition, and inadequate gunpowder, the
Californio 's artillery proved to be ineffective. The U.S. officers and men manhandled their cannon across while the forward quarter of the square took cover on the riverbank. Stockton personally helped unlimber and direct the artillery, which silenced both Californio cannons. Kearny led and commanded the assault force while Stokcton stayed with the guns. The left flank of the square took a Californio hilltop position and held it against a counterattack fromMilitia Lancers shouting "Viva Los Californios". Then the whole square charged forward shouting ""New Orleans, New Orleans"", in honor ofAndrew Jackson 's great victory againstGreat Britain there that day thirty-one years before. The charge took the heights, and Flores withdrew his smaller force. The battle had lasted an hour and a half, and while 8 Americans were wounded in the battle, as opposed to 7 Californio casualties, the battle was decisive in the campaign for control of Los Angeles, and Alta California.Aftermath
Stockton and Kearny stayed on the field overnight and resumed the pursuit the next day, thinking to overwhelm Flores' troops in the
Battle of La Mesa , at the confluence of the San Gabriel andLos Angeles River s in present day Vernon. The Americans suffered 6 casualties as opposed to 40 for the Californios. OnJanuary 10 the U.S. forces reoccupied Los Angeles, andArchibald Gillespie was able to raise the sameU.S. Flag over the house which he was forced to bring down a year before during theSiege of Los Angeles .After Los Angeles and the whole of southern California was secured, the command issue between Stockton and Kearny heated up once again. Stockton, who had been the initial military governor of California, later granted that post to his aide, Lieutenant-Colonel (later General)
John C. Fremont . Kearny, based on his more recent orders from the War Department, asserted that post for himself but was initially ignored, and Fremont represented the United States at the signing of theTreaty of Cahuenga onJanuary 13 ,1847 , atCampo de Cahuenga . Based on that snub, Kearny later brought charges against Fremont. A court-martial did convict Fremont, but PresidentJames Polk later pardoned him.Some historians believe that the Battle of Rio San Gabriel was under-reported because of the influence of the politically-ambitious Frémont and his father-in-law Senator Thomas Hart Benton, in order to make Frémont look better by downplaying Stockton and Kearny. Others believed that if reports were made of the brave and resistant Californio Lancers, recruiting for the US Army would be difficult, motivation for the Mexicans would be great, and the US Congress would further divide over this war.
On
January 10 ,1847 , Stockton established his headquarters on Wine Street, now known asOlvera Street , in the pueblo settlement of Ciudad de Los Angeles and assisted in setting up a civil government; that home is still standing as part of the historic area. He left California overland onJune 20 ,1847 , and arrived atWashington, D.C. on aboutDecember 1 . He later served in theUnited States Senate , representingNew Jersey .Kearny left California in August 1847 for
Fort Leavenworth ,Kansas , and was reassigned to the war in Mexico.A memorial, marked by a plaque flanked by two cannon, is located at the corner of Washington Blvd. and Bluff Rd. in Montebello. Volunteers in costume re-enact the battle annually.
ee also
*
List of conflicts in the United States
*Battles of the Mexican-American War References
*Hubert Howe Bancroft; Volume 22; History of California, Volume 5: 1846 - 1848Published in 1886 (indexed at end of volume 24)
*Nevin, David; editor, "The Mexican War" (1978)
*Bauer, K. Jack, "The Mexican-American War 1846-48"
*Eisenhower, John S. D., "So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico, 1846-1848" (1989)
*http://www.gbp.net/mexicanwar/mexwar/messages/12.html
*http://www.cityofmontebello.com/CITYINFO/HISTORY.HTM
*http://www.losangelesalmanac.com/topics/History/hi06.htm
*http://www.mta.net/LAUND/yester/lytimeline.htm
*http://www.lospobladores.org/Battle-San-Gabriel.htm
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