The small group of about 100 Mexicans, then called Californios, (and nicknamed the Greyhounds) engaged approximately 100 Americans (of a 169 men force), most of which were comprised, at the time, of one of the most elite fighting units in the United States Military Arsenal, the 1st U.S. Dragoons. The Mexicans fought ferociously against the foreign aggressors and, despite being out-gunned, inflicted tremendous casualties against the Americans. In less than an hour, the battlefield found at least 19 Americans and possibly six Mexicans dead and over thirty wounded combined.
The battle is unique in that it touched three separate cultures that fateful morning, the Euro-American, the Hispanic, and the Indian. The battle is also unique in that it is one of the few military battles in the United States that involved elements of the Army, Navy, Marines, and civilian volunteers, all in the same skirmish. The San Pasqual Battlefield is presently considered perhaps the last significant battlefield left in the Western United States that is still in somewhat pristine condition. Research continues in hope that by fully understanding what in fact occurred at this battle, that we might also locate sites relevant to this event. By doing so, we can secure formal archaeological surveys of these sites and, if possible, retrieve artifacts from these sites for preservation and display at the San Pasqual Battlefield Museum.
This web site is donated and dedicated to the people of the State of California and dedicated to the memory of those who died at the Battle of San Pasqual.
This web site serves as an on-line database for resource information to be used by historical researchers, students, and others interested in this battle to help stimulate future discoveries and debate concerning this historic event. While historians have been known to hoard important pieces of historical information and research, the SPBSLP will share and make public all sources of information. This project believes that such information does not belong in the private collections of certain said historians but to the people of the State of California and, the United States of America for whom these men died at San Pasqual.
We hope you enjoy this site and we welcome any questions, comments, academic debate, opposing views, and new information concerning this battle. Thank you!
Project Director and Research Historian
George Hruby
March, 2010
Email rsvp209@gmail.com
This web site and all the discoveries made by the SPBSLP would not have been made possible without the encouragement, support, assistance, and generosity of many organizations and certain members therein. The Project now spans two decades, beginning in 1991. For clarity, we here gratefully acknowledge the following people, in these named positions, with these named organizations, working in these listed capacities, at the time that they helped and/or supported the SPBSLP.
State of California
The Honorable Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante
California State Senate
The Honorable Senator David G. Kelly
County of San Diego
The Honorable Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors, Bill Horn (5th District)
Historian Mary Ward
City of San Diego
The Honorable Councilwoman — Barbara Warden (5th District)
City of Escondido
Mayor Sid Hollins
The United State Marine Corps
Camp Pendleton Base Commanding General — Lieutenant General A. C. Zinni
Camp Pendleton Museum, History Museums Officer — A. Faye Jonason
Department of the Army
Fort Leavenworth Frontier Army Museum — Director Stephan J. Allie
Fort Leavenworth Frontier Army Museum — Exhibit Specialist George R. Moore
United States National Archives
Washington D.C. — Michael T. Meier
Laguna Niguel, California — Suzanne Dewbery
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument — National Park Service
Chief Historian — Douglas C. McChristian
Park Ranger, Division of Interpretation — John August Doerner
State of California — Department of Parks & Recreation
San Diego Coast District Superintendent — Edward Navarro
San Diego Coast District Park Superintendent — Victoria M. Long
Historic Sector Superintendent — Steffani Jarrett
State Historian II — George R. Stammerjohan
Associate State Archaeologist — Michael Sampson
Chief Ranger Old Town San Diego — Gary Watts
State Park Ranger, San Pasqual Battlefield — Joann Nash
State Park Interpreter, San Pasqual Battlefield — Peggy Hurley
State Park Interpreter, San Pasqual Battlefield — Peggy Van Cleeve
State Park Interpreter, San Pasqual Battlefield — Mitzi E. Wiseman
San Dieguito River Valley Regional Open Space Park
Project Director — Susan Carter
San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association
President — Tom Cook
Historian — Ron Hinrichs
Historian — Leroy Ross
Historian — Benjamin A. Cueva
San Diego Historical Society
Executive Director — James Vaughan
Director — Richard Crawford
Photo Archivist — Thomas J. Adema
Custodian — Barbara Pope
Escondido Historical Society
Director — Norm Syler
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery
Director — Jack Shaw
Historian — Dr. Eugene K. Chamberlin
Natural History Museum — Los Angeles, California
Military & Technological Historian — Konrad F. Schreier Jr.
Platte, Missouri Historical Society
Director — Fran Bohachick
The California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Regent — Dorothy E. Webb
The San Diego Wild Animal Park
Operations Manager — Michael A. Ahlering
Assistant Operations Manager — Adam M. Ringler
The San Pasqual Band of Indians
Chairwoman — Dorthy M. Tavui
Representative — Claudina H. Masura
Representative — Tilda M. Green
San Pasqual Valley Association
Witman Ranch Inc. CEO — William “Bill” Witman
Milton & Rebecca Judson
University of Louisville
Associate Curator of Photographs — Cynthia E. Stevenson
Hunsaker & Associates of San Diego
Vice —President & Land Surveyor – Jack Hill
G.I.S. Technician — Gary Greenberg
R. B. Hill & Associates of Vista
Founder and Land Surveyor — Richard B. Hill
Land Surveyor — George P. Lounsbury
Centre For Health Care — San Diego
Dr. Vivek C. Nazareth
Other Notable Contributors
Historian — Marjorie Rustvold
Historian — Cloyd Sorensen Jr.
Historian — Leeland Bibb
Historian — Charles Young
Historian — George Mroczkowski
Nancy Myer —Czetli
Please note that although we enthusiastically support their public education efforts, there is no formal affiliation between the San Pasqual Battlefield Site Location Project and the San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association or the California State Parks. For information on the San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association (SPBVA) write PO Box 300816, Escondido, California 92030-0816 or phone the San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park and Museum at (760) 489-0076. The park and museum is located one mile east of the San Diego Wild Animal Park on State Highway 78, GPS reference 33 degrees 5.36 minutes N, 116 degrees 59 minutes west. We urge you to get involved with the SPBVA, learn, help out, and have fun.
Copyright © 2010 San Pasqual Battlefield Site Location Project. Reproduction in any form permitted provided this copyright notice is preserved.