The Battle of Rio San Gabriel (2024)

The Mexican War and California

The Battle of Rio San Gabriel

The Battle of Rio San Gabriel was a part of the California campaignof the Mexican-American War and occurred at the sites of present-dayMontebello and Pico Rivera on January 8, 1847.

After the battle of San Pasqual, the batteredArmy of the West commanded by General Stephen W. Kearny went tothe headquarters of Commodore Robert F. Stockton at San Diego.Stockton's next objective was to recapture Ciudad de Los Angeles.That settlement had been previously captured by Stockton's forces,but was left in the command of Lieutenant Archibald Gillespieand had been lost to the Mexicans milita, commanded by GeneralJosé Mariá Flores.

Kearny and Stockton initially disputed theright of command. Although Kearny had superior orders from theWar Department, he had previously sent most of his troops backto Santa Fe, believing that the war in California had ended, andhis remaining force had been badly damaged at San Pasqual. Stocktonhad a larger force, and was familiar with the area, so Kearnydid not initially dispute Stockton's command of the campaign torecapture Los Angeles, which departed San Diego in late Decemberwith Stockton's force of over 500 seamen and marines, as wellas Kearny's remaining force of about sixty dragoons.

U.S. scouts discovered the Mexican positionat a key ford along the San Gabriel River on January 7. Stocktonand Kearny planned a crossing for the next day. The U.S. forceswere formed into a hollow square with the artillery and baggagein the center. Kearny ordered the artillery unlimbered to coverthe crossing but Stockton countered the order and began to moveacross the river. The crossing proved to be especially difficultas Flores was in a good position to contest the crossing fromthe heights across the river and the ford had patches of quicksandat the bottom of the knee deep water.

The U.S. force came under fire as it crossed,but due to poor ammunition and bad aim the Mexican artillery provedto be ineffective. The U.S. officers and men manhandled theircannon across while the forward quarter of the square took coveron the river bank. Stockton personally helped unlimber and directthe artillery which silenced both Mexican cannon. The left flankof the square took a Mexican hilltop position and held it againsta counterattack. Then the whole square charged forward shouting"New Orleans, New Orleans" in honor of Andrew Jackson'sgreat victory there that day thirty-one years ago. The chargetook the heights and Flores withdrew in good order. The battlehad lasted only an hour and a half, but it was decisive in thecampaign for Los Angeles.

Click above for a larger image.

Lacking resources to immediately pursueFlores, Stockton and Kearny stayed on the field overnight andresumed the pursuit the next day, quickly encountering Floresagain for the Battle of La Mesa, at the confluence of the SanGabriel and Los Angeles rivers. On January 10 the U.S. forcesreoccupied Los Angeles and Archibald Gillespie was able to raisethe same U.S. Flag over the government house which he was forcedto bring down a year before.

After Los Angeles and the whole of southernCalifornia was secured, the command issue between Stockton andKearny heated up once again. Stockton, who had been the initialmilitary governor of California, later granted that post to hisaide, Lieutenant-Colonel (later General) John C. Fremont. Kearny,based on his more recent orders from the War Department, assertedthat post for himself, but was initially ignored, and Fremontrepresented the United States at the signing of the Treaty ofCahuenga on January 13, 1847. Based on that snub, Kearny laterbrought charges against Fremont. A court-martial did convict Fremont,but he was quickly pardoned by President James Polk, and his careereventually eclipsed Kearny's.

Some historians believe that the Battleof Rio San Gabriel was under-reported due to the influence ofthe politically-ambitious Frémont, and his father-in-lawSenator Thomas Hart Benton, in order to make Frémont lookbetter by downplaying Stockton and Kearny.

On January 10, 1847, Stockton establishedhis headquarters in a home on Wine Street, now known as OlveraStreet, in the pueblo settlement of Ciudad de Los Angeles andassisted in setting up a civil government; that home is stillstanding as part of the historic area. He left California overlandon June 20, 1847 and arrived at Washington about December 1. Helater served in the United States Senate, representing New Jersey.

Kearny left California in August, 1847 forFort Levenworth, Kansas, and was reassigned to the war in Mexico.

A memorial located at the corner of WashingtonBlvd. and Bluff Rd. in Montebello is marked by a plaque flankedby two cannons. The battle is re-enacted annually by volunteersin costume.

Copyright (C) 2000,2001,2002 FreeSoftware Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston,MA 02110-1301 USA Everyone is permitted to copy and distributeverbatim copies of this license document, but changing it is notallowed.

Search our Site!

Questions and comments concerningthis site should be directed to the Webmaster

Updated 30 Nov 20