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Vol. XXV, No 6 November/December 2012
PRES. POLKS WAR
in SAN DIEGO
BATTLE of SAN PASQUAL, DECEMBER 6, 1846
Photograph of Bernardo and the San Pasqual Valley by Herve
Friend for Douglas Gunn, 1885
BATTLE DAY RE-ENACTMENT at the
PARK, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2012
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Presidents Message: by Tom Vilicich
History Discussions by Ron Hinrichs
SPBVA 2012
BOARD
MEMBERS
Shirley Buskirk
Jim CaldwellCliff Clifford
Royce Clifford
Donald Coates
Tom Cook
Randall Hamud
Darlene Hansen
Ron Hinrichs
Gisela Koestner
Richard MeyerLeroy Ross, Jr.
Ellen Sweet
Tom Vilicich
Bob Wohl
President:
Tom VilicichVice-President:
Ron Hinrichs
President Emeri-
tus:
Leroy Ross, Jr.
Treasurer:
Jim Caldwell
Recording Secy:
Ellen SweetCorporate Secy:
Ron Hinrichs
BATTLELINES Nov/Dec 2012
The good news: With the signing of abill in Sacramento, San
Pasqual Battle-field State Historic Park has been takenoff the
chopping block for the next twoyears, along with the other parks
slated
for closure. With that said, Battle Dayon Sunday, December 2,
2012, is com-ing up fast. Of course, we are hopingthat this years
re-enactment will be the
biggest ever. We do need help from ourmembership. We need some
volunteersto help man the SPBVA table and pos-sibly in the Visitor
Center/Museum. Ifyou would like to help, please contactme (Tom) at
951-674-0185.
The SPBVA Annual Meeting for the
general membership was held at thepark on October 20. You missed
a won-derful guest speaker, Dr. Jack Wil-liams. He spoke on Indian
Heritage vs.Anglo American History. It was very
interesting and engaging.Have you gone online to check out
the
SPBVAs new website at SPBVA.org?It has the basic information at
this time,
but you can expect it to grow soon. Socheck it out. Remember,
Battle Day isSunday, December 2. I hope to seemany of you at the
park. Last year, Ifell off my horse--without any harm tome or the
horse! So, lets see if I canstay in the saddle this year.
Sam Brannan led by Richard Meyer,September discussion
Richard Meyer led the September dis-cussion about Sam Brannan.
Brannanwas a mover and shaker in San Fran-cisco. An early member of
the MormonChurch, he had been chosen to lead a
group from New York to Oregon. Theywanted to go to California,
but it wasstill part of Mexico with strict lawsabout bringing
weapons into that coun-try. When their ship, the Brooklyn,stopped
at Hawaii, they were informedthat the Mexican War had started
andCalifornia was in U.S. hands. So, Cali-fornia became their
destination.
Sam was born in Maine in 1819,moved to Ohio, and was apprenticed
to
a printer in his early years. Later, inNew Orleans, he purchased
a printingpress and returned to Ohio. With hispress, he went to New
York and therehe met William Smith, brother of Jo-seph Smith, who
started the Mormonreligion. Sam joined and was ordained.William did
not like Brigham Young
and this led to Sam being disfellow-shipped, but he was later
reinstated. Hestarted a newspaper, The Prophet, forthe church.
In San Francisco, Sam arranged topay for the groups passage by
cuttingredwood trees and selling the lumber.
With crime rampant in the city, Samorganized the Vigilantes and
reducedthe crime rate, but was written out ofthe LDS for his
unlawful acts. Hestarted the California Starnewspaper inJanuary
1847.
He met Brigham Young in Wyomingin April 1847 and suggested that
theMormons should come to Californiainstead of Utah. Brigham
demurred.Brannan met with John Sutter and
wanted to build a store at his fort. Aftergold was discovered
Sam was selling$150,000 per month in his store. He
became Californias first millionaire.He started the first school
in San
Francisco. He purchased land in theupper Bay and started the
town of Ca-
(Continued on page 3)
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BATTLELINES Nov/Dec 2012
Park Hours:
Saturday &
Sunday, 10 am
to 5 pm.
Park Phone
Number:
(760) 737-2201
SPBVA Info:
Tom Vilicich(951) 674-0185 or
[email protected]
School & Adult
Tours Contact:
Darlene Hansen
(760) 480-6320
BATTLELINES
Contributions
Deadline :
Dec 21, 2012
Contact editor,
Ellen Sweet,
[email protected]
Welcome to our newest SPBVA member:Michael J. Holleran of
Escondido
listoga with its hot springs. He in-vested in land near Los
Angeles, buy-ing the Abel Stearns rancho. He had anaffair with Lola
Montez, was shot try-
ing to repossess a sawmill, started abank, sued t he Big Four,
but settled outof court.
Brannans wife divorced him and re-ceived half of his assets,
one-half mil-lion, in cash. He had invested in Mexi-can bonds and
received title to onemillion acres, half o f which was Indianland.
He was not able to develop this,
but received $46,000 from Mexico forhis bonds. He married a
Mexican
woman, but later divorced when shefound he was not rich.He moved
to Escondido, where he
died a pauper. His body was later bur-ied in Mount Hope Cemetery
in SanDiego.Captain William Warner led by RonHinrichs, October
discussion
William H. Warner was the subjectof the October meeting led by
RonHinrichs. Born on 8 May 1812, he at-tended West Point from 1831
to 1836and graduated as a second lieutenant inartillery.
He served in the Seminole War, theremoval of the Cherokees to
Okla-homa, and was transferred to the newTopographical Engineers in
1838.Warner did engineering work on har-
bors in New York, New Orleans, theOhio River, and the Great
Lakes. Healso did a re-survey of the U.S.-Canadian boundary in
Vermont.
In 1846, he was assigned to go withColonel Kearny to Santa Fe.
Prior toleaving, he met with President JamesK. Polk and had dinner
with the British
ambassador. At Ft. Leavenworth, hereported his weight as 129
pounds.During the battle at San Pasqual, hereceived three minor
stab wounds. Hislast treatment for this condition was 14
January 1847.Moving to Monterey, he met Lt. Wil-
liam T. Sherman from whom he ob-tained some clothes. He was
assignedto do many surveys. He was also al-lowed to take personal
jobs, and wasemployed by Sutter to survey Sacra-mento. Sherman
helped him in this. Hehad a partnership in a store and made atidy
sum.
Back in San Francisco, he weighed
139 pounds. He mapped Fort Point andsurveyed Alcatraz. He went
with Colo-nel Mason to look at the gold fields.He did various
surveys in SouthernCalifornia.
In 1849, Warner was directed to finda pass through the mountains
in north-east California, suitable for a railroad.He was given a
military escort. Whenthey encountered illness, he hired 11civilians
to accompany him. On 26September 1849, he hurried on withone man to
perform his task, but wasattacked and killed by Indians. War-ners
body was never found.
Coming Attractions: At our lastmeeting, the group agreed to move
the
November meeting date up one weekbecause of the Thanksgiving
holiday.However, the meeting room was notavailable. So the history
discussion onJohn Sutter, led by Shirley Buskirk,will be postponed
until January 15,2013. Have a Happy Halloween, aTasty Thanksgiving,
a Merry Christ-mas, and a Happy New Year.
(Continued from page 2)
History Discussions
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BATTLELINES Nov/Dec 2012
WE APPRECIATE
OUR CORPORATE
MEMBERS and
ENCOURAGE YOUR
PATRONAGE
Randall B. Hamud,
Attorney at Law
1200-Third Ave,
Ste 1321, San Diego 92101
619 696-0815
Milo Johnson Automotive
Service
535 N. Quince
Escondido
92025
760 745-3841
San Diego Archaeological
Center
preserving pieces of the past
16666 San Pasqual Valley Rd
Escondido 92027
760 291-0370
US Seagoing Marine Assn
Lt. Col. Stan Smith, ret.
Escondido, 92027
Www.seagoingmarines.com
Valley Camper Sales
450 West 13th Ave
Centre City Pkwy at
13th Ave, Escondido 92025
760 745-2463
Agnew, Anstes
Bowman, Bob & JudyCoates, Donald
Cowgill, Jane StokesFoucar, Allen & Barbara
Hill, Greg
Key, Robert S.
Lobdell, KymPique, Michael
Sweet, Melvin & EllenVilicich, Thomas M.
First Sergeants Cornerfrom Tom Vilicich
Dragoon Level Members ($100 or more this year)
SCHOOL OF THE PLATOON,MOUNTED.
Direct march of platoon in line,
cont.
500.The trooper having been
sufficiently exercised in marchingwith open files, the
instructor haltsthe platoon, and commands:
1. Close files to the right (or tothe left.)
2. MARCH.3. Right(orleft4. FRONT.At the command MARCH, all
the
troopers, except the right file, pas-sage to the right, as
prescribed, No.
342, and resume their places boot toboot.
platoon, it is marched with filesclosed by the command
prescribed,
No. 498.The troopers march straight
forward, feeling lightly the boottowards the side of the
guide.
manage their horses properly at the
walk, they are required to open andclose files, marching at the
samegait, taking care not to repeat thesemovements too often, but
to makethem march some time after havingopened the files, before
closingthem, and after having closed thefiles, before opening them,
for this
purpose the instructor commands:1. Open files to the left (or to
the
right.)
2. MARCH.At the command MARCH, all the
troopers, except the right file, makea quarter-turn to the left,
at thesame time advancing and preserv-ing their alignment; when
they areat one pace from the man on theright, they straighten their
horsesand move forward.
1. Close files to the right(or to theleft.)
2. MARCH.This movement is executed fol-
lowing the same principles, but byinverse means. Each trooper
shouldclose the leg in sufficient time to
prevent his horse from pressingagainst the one on which he
closes.
The files are always opened to-wards the side opposite to
theguide, and closed upon him.
been executed to the right and to theleft in marching at the
walk, they
are repeated at the trot, in passingfrequently from the walk to
the trot,and from the trot to the walk.
The platoon is then exercised incommencing the trot from a
halt,and halting while marching at thisgait.
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BATTLELINES Nov/Dec 2012
Favorite photos from Battle Days of the Past
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BATTLELINES Nov/Dec 2012
Thanks to our many photographers: Michelle Wolf, MaryLou
Jimenez,
Bob Bowman, Tom Vilicich, Cliff Clifford, Mike Pique, and Melvin
Sweet.
And a big thank you to our past participants!
Please join us
once again for
Battle Day on
December 2
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JOIN NOW! Our non-profit organization supports t he activities
of the San Pasqual Battlefield StateHistoric Park. All members
receive a subscription to BATTLELINES, a 10% discount on all
bookstoreitems, special programs, field t rips, history
discussions, and opportunities to participate in our LivingHistory
Sundays and in our annual December re-enactment of the Battle.
SAN PASQUAL BATTLEFIELD VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP
APPLICATIONP.O. Box 300816, Escondido, CA 92030-0816
(760) 737-2201
This is my/our membership application & dues for the
following category:
____Student ($5) ____ Sustaining ($50) ____Dragoon ($100 or
more)
____Individual ($15) ____Organization ($25) ____Benefactor
($1,000 or more)
____Family ($20) ____Corporate ($100) Please make checks payable
to: SPBVA
NAME(S)_______________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDRESS
______________________________________________________________________________________________
CITY _______________________________________________________
STATE _______________ZIP _________________
PHONE_____________________________________________
EMAIL________________________________________
OCCUPATION_________________________INTEREST/SKILLS_____________________________________________
BATTLELINES Nov/Dec 2012
CALENDAR
Sunday, November 4
Living History, Park
Friday, November 16Board Meeting, 11 am-
1 pm
(note date change)
Sunday, December 2
Annual BATTLE DAY
at the park
Friday, December 21
Board Meeting, 11 am-
1 pm
(note date change)
Thanks to these loyal members for their renewals:Hildreth,
Dorothy Poway
Koestner, Gisela PowayPico, Andres Colorado Springs, CO
Ryan, Janice CarlsbadPrice, Antoinette San Diego
U.S.Seagoing Marine Assn Escondido
WATCH OUR
NEW WEBSITE
GROW!
www.SPBVA.org
HISTORY
DISCUSSIONS
RESUME
JANUARY 15, 2013
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BATTLELINES Nov/Dec 2012
SAN PASQUAL BATTLEFIELDVOLUNTEER ASSOCIATIONP.O. Box
300816Escondido, CA 92030-0816
Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDEscondido, CA 92025
Permit No. 414
RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Off the Shelf... by Shirley Buskirk
Its re-enactment time again, Sunday, December2. Shots will echo
through the valley, the clang ofsabers and lances will be heard,
and the boom ofthe cannon will cause the Californios to ride
away.You already know about the battle, but do youreally know what
happened that misty morning in1846?
Official reports were made by two participants,General Stephen
Kearny and Captain ArchibaldGillespie, both of whom were injured
that day.Kearnys report to the adjutant general in Washing-
ton, D.C., is a little over three pages long and hedescribes his
injuries; Among the wounded aremyself (in two places). . .
Gillespies report to Commodore Robert Stocktonis 16 pages long
and he describes his wounds andhow he received them: Four lances
were darted atme instantly, which being parried, the fifth andsixth
quickly followed, accompanied by the dis-
charge of an Escopeta, almost, into my face. At thismoment I
noticed a lance in rest coming from thefront, and when leaning over
the neck of my horse,
parrying t he charge, I was struck on the back of theneck by
another lance, at the collar of my coat, withsuch force as to be
thrown clear from my saddle tothe ground, with my saber under me.
As I attemptedto rise I received a thrust from a lance from
behindme, striking above the heart, making a severe gashopen to the
lungs. I turned my face in the directionof my assailant, when, one
of the Enemy riding at
full speed, charged upon me, dashed his lance at myface, struck
and cutting my upper lip, broke a fronttooth, and threw me upon my
back a s his horse
jumped over me. . .Now thats exciting! We sell both reports as
well
as Kearnys report of the march from Santa Fe andLt. William H.
Emorys maps of that march and the
battle. See you on December 2 at Battle Day!
