Response by armed Mexican civilians to the occupation in 1846 by the United States Marines
The
siege of Los Angeles
, sometimes known as the
Battle of Los Angeles
,
[1]
was a military response by armed
Mexican
civilians to the
August 1846 occupation of the
Pueblo de Los Angeles
by the
United States Marines
during the
Mexican?American War
.
[2]
Background
[
edit
]
Following the
Battle of Monterey
, the Americans held northern California but General Jose Maria Castro and Governor
Pio Pico
planned resistance in the south around the Los Angeles area.
[a]
: 172
Commodore
Robert F. Stockton
arrived at Monterey Bay aboard the
Congress
on July 15 and took over command from
John D. Sloat
.
[a]
: 170
Stockton accepted the Bear Flag revolutionaries, under the command of Major
John C. Fremont
, as the
California Battalion
.
[a]
: 173
Stockton then garrisoned
Sonoma
,
San Juan Bautista
,
Santa Clara
, and
Sutter's Fort
.
[a]
: 173
Stockton's plan for dealing with Castro was to have Commander
Samuel Francis Du Pont
carry Fremont's men in the
Cyane
to
San Diego
to block any movement southwards, while Stockton would land a force at
San Pedro
which would move overland against Castro.
[a]
: 174
Fremont arrived at San Diego on July 29 and reached San Pedro on August 6 aboard the
Congress
.
[a]
: 174
Occupation
[
edit
]
Upon holding a
council of war
, Castro decided to leave California, heading to
Sonora
with Pico and a few supporters on August 11, while the rest of his force retired to
Rancho San Pascual
.
[a]
: 176
On August 13, 1846, Stockton led his column into town, followed by Fremont's force a half-hour later.
[a]
: 176
On August 14, the remnants of the Californio army surrendered.
[a]
: 176
Resistance
[
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]
Stockton established a garrison of forty-eight men under Capt.
Archibald H. Gillespie
and departed in September
[a]
: 177, 183
His men, however, were undisciplined in an area with pro-Mexican feelings.
[a]
: 183
Siege
[
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]
On September 23, twenty men under the command of Cerbulo Varela exchanged shots with the Americans at Government House, which ignited Los Angeles.
[a]
: 184
On September 24, 150
Californios
, organized under
Jose Maria Flores
, a Mexican Officer who remained in California, at Castro's old camp at La Mesa.
[a]
: 184
Gillespie's forces were effectively besieged, while Gillespie sent
Juan "Flaco" Brown
to Commodore Stockton for help.
[a]
: 184
Gillespie's men retreated to Fort Hill on September 28, but without water, they surrendered the next day.
[a]
: 184
Terms called for Gillespie's men to leave Los Angeles, which they did on September 30, 1846, and boarded the American merchant vessel
Vandalia
.
[a]
: 184
Flores quickly cleared the remaining American forces in southern California.
[a]
: 184
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Bauer, K.J. (1974).
The Mexican War, 1846-1848
. New York: Macmillan.
ISBN
0803261071
.
Further reading
[
edit
]