Combat· Mexican-American War
Battle of San Pasqual
The worst American reverse of the California campaign, and Gillespie's most desperate personal fight.
General Stephen Kearny's Army of the West, worn down to about a hundred and fifty mounted men after its long march from New Mexico, met the Californio lancers of Andrés Pico at San Pasqual on 6 December 1846. In the close fighting the Americans were badly mauled by the skilled Californio horsemen and their lances: some nineteen Americans were killed, Kearny himself was wounded twice, and Captain Gillespie, attached to the column with a small contingent, took three lance wounds. The Californios withdrew, but the battered survivors were left stranded and surrounded on a hill. The dead and wounded were Army dragoons and Gillespie's party; no Marine was killed. San Pasqual was a bloody check that nearly destroyed Kearny's command and set up the siege and relief that followed.
Podcast episodes on Mexican-American War
Record no. 332