San Pasqual BattlefieldState Historic Park - California |
San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park honors the soldiers who fought in the 1846 Battle of San Pasqual, the bloodiest battle in California during the Mexican-American War. The battle was fought between United States troops under the command of General Stephen Kearny, and the Californio forces under the command of General Andres Pico on December 6, 1846.
The 50-acre (200,000 m2) park is next to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, at San Pasqual Valley Road, south of Escondido, California on Highway 78 in San Diego County.The park is open only on weekends, and features a visitor center with displays about the cultural history of the San Pasqual Valley, exhibits, and a movie about the battle. Living history presentations are held at the park, with volunteers from the San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association.
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Vintage 1950 USGS 1:250000 Map of San Diego in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Vintage USGS - Santa Ana - 1947
Vintage 1947 USGS 1:250000 Map of Santa Ana in California. Published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=655
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pasqual_Battlefield_State_Historic_Park
San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park honors the soldiers who fought in the 1846 Battle of San Pasqual, the bloodiest battle in California during the Mexican-American War. The battle was fought between United States troops under the command of General Stephen Kearny, and the Californio forces under the command of General Andres Pico on December 6, 1846.
The 50-acre (200,000 m2) park is next to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, at San Pasqual Valley Road, south of Escondido, California on Highway 78 in San Diego County.The park is open only on weekends, and features a visitor center with displays about the cultural history of the San Pasqual Valley, exhibits, and a movie about the battle. Living history presentations are held at the park, with volunteers from the San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association.
San Pasqual
Battlefield
State Historic Park
Our Mission
The mission of California State Parks is
to provide for the health, inspiration and
education of the people of California by
helping to preserve the state’s extraordinary
biological diversity, protecting its most
valued natural and cultural resources, and
creating opportunities for high-quality
outdoor recreation.
The concept of
“Manifest Destiny” held
that the United States
had a divine right to
expand its borders from
California State Parks supports equal access.
Prior to arrival, visitors with disabilities who
need assistance should contact the park at
(760) 737-2201. This publication is available
in alternate formats by contacting:
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS
P. O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001
For information call: (800) 777-0369
(916) 653-6995, outside the U.S.
711, TTY relay service
www.parks.ca.gov
Discover the many states of California.TM
San Pasqual Battlefield
State Historic Park
15808 San Pasqual Valley Road
Escondido, CA 92027
(760) 737-2201
Detail of Battle of San Pasqual painting by
Col. Charles Waterhouse, USMCR
© 2009 California State Parks
Printed on Recycled Paper
the Atlantic to the Pacific.
After the battle at San
Pasqual, that concept
came closer to reality.
F rom high on the slope of a south-facing hill,
San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park
commands a sweeping view of the San Pasqual
Valley. The park also overlooks the site of the
bloodiest battle fought in California during
the U.S.-Mexican War. During this skirmish,
American forces sought to take California, and
Mexican forces sought to keep it. At the end of
the battle, both sides would claim victory.
THE BATTLE OF SAN PASCUAL
Early on December 6, 1846, General Stephen W.
Kearny led a contingent of the First Dragoons
into battle with a group of Californios (persons
of Hispanic descent living in California after
the Mexican Revolution) in what is now the San
Pasqual Valley. Led by Captain Andrés Pico,
brother of Pío Pico, one of the last governors of
Mexican California, the Californios were resisting
American military occupation of their homeland.
United States vs. Mexico
When President James K. Polk took office in
March 1845, relations between the U.S. and
Mexico were already severely strained. While
Texas was still under Mexican rule, the U.S. had
made it the 28th state of the Union. In anger,
Mexico quickly broke off relations with the U.S.
and began to prepare for the possibility of war.
Realizing the potential of Mexican California’s
coastline to maritime trading, Polk sent an
envoy to Mexico with an offer to purchase
California. When Mexico refused, President Polk
ordered General Zachary Taylor and his troops
south to the Rio Grande River, into territory
claimed by both sides.
The U.S. claimed that the Rio Grande was
Mexico’s border with Texas, but Mexico said
that the border was the Nueces River, 150 miles
farther north. Taylor’s men built a small fort
across from the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
This action brought a detachment of Mexican
cavalry across the Rio Grande to attack the U.S.
patrol, killing or wounding 16 American soldiers.
Citing that Mexico had “invaded our territory
and shed American blood,” Polk declared war
on Mexico.
The San Pascual Pueblo
The native northern Kumeyaay, known as the
Ipai, were the largest indigenous group in
today’s San Pasqual Valley.
After the missions were secularized, mission
lands were divided into large ranchos. In 1835
the Mexican government established the San
Pascual (“Pasqual” is used today) Pueblo with
81 native residents. Following the death in
Stained glass images of American soldiers (left) and a Californio (right), on view at visitor center
1874 of their highly respected chief, Capitán
José Pedro Panto, non-Indians increasingly
homesteaded the remaining acreage in the
valley. With the formal eviction of native
people in 1878, the pueblo ceased to exist,
so its residents resettled elsewhere.
Stephen W. Kearny
In June 1846, Colonel Stephen W. Kearny
and his soldiers were ordered by President
Polk to take Santa Fe for the U.S. The First
Dragoons left Fort Leavenworth (in what is
now Kansas) and peacefully seized Santa Fe.
In October Kearny, now a Brigadier General,
led the Dragoons to California, where he
met frontier scout Kit Carson. Carson told
him that Commodore Robert F. Stockton had
raised the American flag over San Diego, and
California was now in American hands.
Believing the war over, Kearny sent most
of his troops back to Santa Fe. Guided by Kit
Carson, Kearny continued to San Diego with
about 100 men.
On December 5, the First Dragoons met
Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie, sent to
escort Kearny to San Diego. Gillespie told
Kearny that Andrés Pico was camped at San
Pascual village with a force of insurgents.
Andrés Pico
Captain Andrés Pico and his brother, Pío Pico,
owned the Rancho Santa Margarita, which
was near the San Pasqual Valley.
Andrés Pico had led his group of local
Californio ranchers
Rattlesnakes Warning
Rattlesnakes are found routinely on the hiking
trails here at San Pasqual SHP. Rattlesnakes
are an important part of the native ecosystem.
Rattlesnakes are protected within parks. If you
encounter a rattlesnake on the hiking trail or
in the park please inform staff. Be alert while
you are at the park. Snakes can been seen year
around, however, most sightings are during the
spring and summer months. If bitten, remain
calm and call 911.
Nature Trail
The San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park
nature trail has been designed to offer the park
visitor an opportunity not only to view the area
of the battle, but also to experience the beauty
of the San Pasqual flora and fauna. On the nature
trail, the visitor can find some of the resources
that the California Indian inhabitants utilized.
At each post, the pamphlet lists uses of the
particular plant or physical feature. We hope that
your walk along the nature trail will add to your
appreciation of the Valley’s environment and the
resourcefulness of its original inhabitants.
Volunteer Association
The San Pasqual Battlefield
Volunteer Association is
a non-profit organization
that works in conjunction
with California State Parks,
and supports living history
www.spbva.org
programs, assists with the
visitor center, operations, outreach programs
and provides general support. They are always
looking for more members.
San Pasqual Battlefield SHP
NATURE TRAIL
California State Parks supports equal
access. Prior to arrival, visitors with
disabilities who need assistance should
contact the park at (760) 737-2201. If you
need this publication in an alternate
format, contact interp@parks.ca.gov.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS
P.O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001
For information call: (800) 777-0369
(916) 653-6995, outside the U.S.
711, TTY relay service
www.parks.ca.gov
© 2006 California State Parks (Rev. 2014)
2. Engelmann Oak (Quercus engelmanni)
The acorns of the Engelmann Oak, and other
species of oak, were used to make a flour or
acorn meal. Acorns were a diet staple for many
tribes throughout California; they are high in fat,
carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals,
and an excellent source of fiber. They were
processed by being pounded in a mortar, sifted,
and leached several times with water to remove
the bitterness of the high content of tannic acid.
Gathering, processing, storing, and cooking acorns
were important and time-consuming activities that
were an integral part of daily life.
3. Our Lord’s Candle or Chaparral Yucca
(Hesperoyucca whipplei)
The fiber of this Yucca was used but not as
extensively as the Mojave Yucca found on the
coast and in the desert. The stalks
were used for food, often roasted
and sometimes boiled. Roasted,
dried stalks were also
ground into flour and
used to form cakes.
Yucca
The flowers of the
Yucca could be eaten
after they were
cooked in water.
Image courtesy Missouri
Botanical Garden
4. Wild Buckwheat (Erigonum fasciculatum)
California Indians gathered the flowers and roots
of the buckwheat plant to make a tea to sooth
stomach ailments.
5. White Sage
White
(Salvia apiana)
Sage
California Indians
used white sage
medicinally to
treat respiratory
problems. They
would gather the
young branches
before they began
to flower and dry the
leaves for later use. The
dried leaves were made
into tea for chest colds and
coughs and steam treatments
when congested. The smoke
from the dried sage leaves was used in
sweathouses. Sage was also used as a deodorant.
When preparing for a hunt, the fresh leaves were
crushed and used under the armpit to disguise
the scent of body odor. Crushed leaves were also
mixed with water and used as shampoo.
6. Laurel Sumac
(Malosma laurina)
Bark of the Laurel Sumac was
made into tea and given to the
mother after childbirth.
7. California Gnatcatcher
The California Gnatcatcher lives in
coastal sage scrub vegetation. They will
eat small insects and spiders.
8. Sagebrush (Artemisia californica)
Leaves of this plant were chewed when fresh to
cure colds, ground into a poultice for ant bites,
boiled and used in a bath to treat measles.
Sagebrush tea was used as a hair tonic and to
treat sore eyes and stomach disorders.
9. San Pasqual Valley
The California Indian traveled throughout the
scenic valley of San Pasqual to take advantage of
seasonal availability of wild plants and migrating
game. During the summer they would travel to
the coast where temperatures were cooler.
© CSP, Faith Rumm
1. Beale-Carson Monument
The monument depicts Lt. Edward F. Beale and
Kit Carson hailing Commodore Robert Stockton.
Beale and Carson had journeyed to San Diego
from San Pasqual to get help for General S.W.
Kearny and his troops stranded on Mule Hill.
10. Hunting Grounds
On occasion, you may spot one of the following
animals that were hunted by the California
Indians using throwing sticks and bows and
arrows; mule deer, rabbits, squirrels, wild fowl
and small rodents. Early or late in the day you
may have the