The Battle of Chino, a skirmish of the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...
occurred on September 26–27, 1846, during which 24 Americans led by
Benjamin D. Wilson
Benjamin Davis Wilson (December 1, 1811 – March 11, 1878), commonly known as Don Benito Wilson,Excerpt: ''"Wilson, now known as Don Benito, became a Californio – that group of Mexicans and Angols who thought of themselves as Californians rathe ...
, who were hiding in the adobe house of
Rancho Santa Ana del Chino, were captured by a group of about 50
Californios
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
.
Background
In late September 1846, as war between Mexico and the United States was declared, about 20 Americans led by Benjamin Davis Wilson assembled at
Isaac Williams' Rancho Santa Ana del Chino. Williams, originally from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, had become a Mexican citizen – a prerequisite for owning land – and married Maria de Jesus Lugo, daughter of
Antonio Maria Lugo
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...
. The
Californios
Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
doubted the loyalty of Wilson's men and set out to arrest them.
Battle
Serbulo Varela,
Diego Sepulveda and Ramon Carrillo left Los Angeles with about fifty men, while
José del Carmen Lugo with another fifteen to twenty men left from San Bernardino to converge upon Rancho del Chino. On the night of September 26, 1846, the adobe ranch house was surrounded by the Californios. At dawn, the following day, gunfire was exchanged resulting in one Californio (Carlos Ballesteros, son of the grantee of
Rancho Rosa Castilla Rancho Rosa Castilla was a Mexican land grant in the southwestern San Rafael Hills, in present day Los Angeles County, California, given to Juan Ballesteros in 1831 by Governor Manuel Victoria.
It included present day Rose Hills, Lincoln Heigh ...
) dead with two wounded and three Americans wounded. When the Californios attempted to set fire to the roof of the house, Wilson surrendered to Varela. This brief engagement became known as the Battle of Chino.
[James Boyd, 1922, ''History of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties'', Western Historical Association, Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, IL]
Aftermath
Wilson's men were taken prisoner and marched to Paredon Blanco in
Boyle Heights
Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include:
Disambiguation
*Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
, the main camp of the Californio forces. The prisoners were nearly executed in retaliation for the death of Carlos Ballesteros, the only fatal casualty at Chino, but many were related by marriage to Mexican families, and Varela and others intervened. Later, the prisoners were taken to
Rancho Los Cerritos :''This article refers to the land grant. For the Rancho Los Cerritos adobe, see Los Cerritos Ranch House''
Rancho Los Cerritos was a 1834 land grant in present-day southern Los Angeles County and Orange County, California The grant was the res ...
, near present-day Long Beach, where they were detained and ultimately released.
See also
*
Battles of the Mexican–American War
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...
*
List of conflicts in the United States
This is a list of conflicts in the United States. Conflicts are arranged chronologically from the late modern period to contemporary history. This list includes (but is not limited to) the following: Indian wars, skirmishes, wars of independenc ...
References
{{coord, 33.990, N, 117.718, W, display=title
Chino
1846 in Alta California
1846 in the Mexican-American War
Chino, California
Chino Hills (California)
Pomona Valley
History of San Bernardino County, California
September 1846 events