The Battle of Providencia (also called the "Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass") took place in

Cahuenga Pass The Cahuenga Pass (, ; Tongva: ''Kawé’nga''), also known by its Spanish name Paseo de Cahuenga, is a low mountain pass through the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Hollywood Hills district of the City of Los Angeles, Califor ...

in early 1845 on

Rancho Providencia Rancho La Providencia was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given by governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1843 to Vicente de la Osa. The majority of Rancho Providencia land north of the modern chan ...

in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

, north of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Native ''

Californios Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

'' successfully challenged Mexican forces regarding autonomy of

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

The conflict

, originally a province of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, had been a territory under Mexican rule since 1822. As the native-born

Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

population reached adulthood, many of them became impatient that the government of Mexico continued to choose non-native born governors. Following the Californio Juan Bautista Alvarado, the central government in 1842 appointed the

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

-born

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general and adjutant-general of the Mexican Army, List_of_governors_of_California_before_1850#Mexican_governors_of_California_(1837–47), gover ...

as governor, who proved very unpopular. By 1844, a revolt against him arose, culminating in the Battle of Providencia. Micheltorena had been sent to California from Mexico, along with an army that had been recruited out of Mexico’s worst jails. He had no money to feed his army, which then spread out to people’s homes and farms “like a plague of locusts, stripping the countryside bare.” This enraged the Californians and led to widespread hatred of Micheltorena. Women were not considered safe from the depredations of Micheltorena’s army. Juan Bautista Alvarado, the governor who had been forcibly replaced by Micheltorena, organized a revolt against Micheltorena. Upon learning of the impending revolt, Micheltorena appointed

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Switzerland, Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter ...

to lead troops in opposition. Sutter came to John Marsh, who had one of the largest ranchos in California, hoping he would join. Marsh wanted no part of it, but Sutter forced him to join his army against his will. The two forces met in

, near Los Angeles, and fought the Battle of Providencia (also known as the Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass). In spite of an extensive artillery barrage battle casualties were similarly slight as in the first Battle of Cahuenga Pass, being limited to one horse and one mule. On the long march to the battle Marsh had taken every opportunity to dissuade the other soldiers from Micheltorena’s cause. Ignoring Sutter, Marsh seized an opportunity during the battle to signal the other side for a parley. Many of the soldiers on each side were settlers from the United States. Marsh convinced them that they had no reason to be fighting each other. At Marsh’s urging, these soldiers on both sides united, abandoned Micheltorena’s cause, and even captured Sutter. Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born

Pío Pico Don (honorific), Don Pío de Jesús Pico IV (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a California politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the List of governors of California before 1850, last governor of Alta California und ...

was returned to the governorship.Stone, Irving. ''From Mud-Flat Cove to Gold to Statehood,'' pp 66–68, Word Dancer Press, Clovis, California, 1999. .

References

External links

* {{coord, 34.180, -118.328, display=title Providencia 1845 in Alta California History of the San Fernando Valley 19th century in Los Angeles Providencia Providencia