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Biographical Notes
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Stephen Watts Kearny
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On September 25, 1846 General Kearny and 300 selected officers and men departed Santa Fe for California. Early in October they met Kit Carson on the trail at Socorro and were told that Commodore Robert Stockton and Colonel Fremont had control of all of California. Based on this information Kearny sent two thirds of his force back to Santa Fe and, guided by Carson, continued on to California. Late in November Kearny learned that subsequent to Carson's departure from California, the Californios had risen up in rebellion in southern California and retaken control of most of the settlements there. Kearny's party crossed the Colorado on November 25 and continued west into the desert. It was difficult going and the men and livestock suffered greatly from lack of food and water. They reached the mountains on November 28 and managed to send word of their arrival in California to Commodore Stockton on December 3.
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On December 5, 1846, Captain Archibald Gillespie with 39 men and a four-pound howitzer joined Kearny's force. Gillespie also brought a message from Stockton saying that Andres Pico and a force of about 150 Californios were located at San Pasqual. Stockton deferred to Kearny but suggested that he might attack this force. On the morning of December 6 Kearny attacked Pico at San Pasqual and was badly mauled by the Californios. The exact number of casualties is still a point of debate among scholars, but Kearny's surgeon put the number of American killed and wounded at 35. Both Gillespie and Kearny were among the wounded. Pico claimed that his losses were one killed and twelve wounded but these numbers are also in question. At the end of the fighting the Americans controlled the battlefield but the need to care for and transport their wounded made forward progress difficult. On December 7 they camped on and fortified what became known as Mule Hill. There they received word that Stockton could not reinforce them.
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Carson and two others slipped out of camp on Mule Hill on the evening of December 8, 1846, to take word of their plight to Stockton and appeal for relief. Stockton arrived with reinforcements on the evening of December 9 and the combined force was able to proceed to San Diego (the only settlement still in American hands in southern California). They arrived on December 12 and eight days later General Kearny was well on his way to a full recovery, but he was soon embroiled in another battle - this time with Stockton and Fremont over the issue of command and control. Both Stockton and Kearny had orders that they felt entitled them to the senior position in California. Early on, Stockton offered to let Kearny assume the senior position. Even though Kearny's rank as a brigadier general was superior to Stockton's rank as a Commodore, Kearny proposed to serve as troop commander (under Stockton as commander-in-chief of the territory) in the campaign to retake Los Angeles in as much as most of the force involved were naval personnel.
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On January 8, 1847, the Americans and the Californios clashed at the San Gabriel River and again the next day in the Battle of the Mesa. Both Stockton and Kearny were in the thick of things and both gave tactical orders to the troops. On January 10 the American force reoccupied Los Angeles. On January 12 Commodore Stockton issued a general order congratulating the troops which he signed as governor and commander-in-chief. Also on January 12 Fremont, without consulting either Stockton or Kearny, signed a treaty with Andres Pico at Cahuenga. Fremont arrived in Los Angeles on January 14 at the head of his 400 man California Battalion. Fremont first "reported to" Stockton and then "called on" Kearny. It was clear that Fremont considered Stockton to be his commander not Kearny. (Stockton had promised to make Fremont Governor upon his own departure from California once the territory was secure.) Over the next few days personal relations between the three men were severely strained as each maneuvered for position.
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On January 16, 1847, Commodore Stockton appointed Fremont governor and commander-in-chief of the territory of California. Kearny felt that Stockton's action was improper and exceeded his authority. On January 17 Kearny wrote a letter to the commodore saying that in as much as he was unable to carry out the orders that he had received from the President of the United States he was moving to Monterey in order to avoid further conflict with Stockton. Kearny also wrote to the Adjutant General of the Army explaining the situation and his proposed course of action. On January 22 Commodore Stockton reported to Washington that California had been conquered and a civilian government successfully established. He sailed south out of San Diego hoping to become engaged in the fighting still going on in Mexico. Following Stockton's departure Fremont was recognized as governor in southern California for several weeks.
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