The Battle of Santa Clara, nicknamed the "Battle of the Mustard Stalks", was a skirmish during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, fought on January 2, 1847, miles west of

Mission Santa Clara de Asís Mission Santa Clara de Asís () is a Spanish mission in the city of Santa Clara, California. The mission, which was the eighth in California, was founded on January 12, 1777, by the Franciscans. Named for Saint Clare of Assisi, who founded th ...

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 ...

. In late December, the former Californio military commander of Yerba Buena and a rancher from the San Mateo peninsula, Francisco Sanchez, imprisoned the American Mayor of Yerba Buena, Washington Bartlett, and five of his men, who were all engaged in a foraging raid on the peninsula. After receiving the news of the abduction on December 29, Commodore Montgomery in San Francisco ordered Marine Captain Ward Marston to rescue Bartlett and his men. It was the only engagement of its type in Northern California during the war.

Background

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 ...

s were angry at

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

immigrants settling on their ranchos. Six men of the U.S. sloop ''

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

'', who had gone ashore to buy cattle from Mexicans for food, were taken hostage by a group under Francisco Sánchez. One of the hostages was Lieutenant

Washington Allon Bartlett Washington Allon Bartlett (''c.'' 1816 – February 6, 1865) was the first U.S. citizen to serve as alcalde of Yerba Buena/San Francisco, appointed by the military government during the Mexican-American War and serving from August 14, 1846, to ...

, the

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

Yerba Buena Yerba buena or hierba buena is the Spanish name for a number of aromatic plants, most of which belong to the mint family. ''Yerba buena'' translates as "good herb". The specific plant species regarded as ''yerba buena'' varies from region to reg ...

(soon to be renamed

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

). Captains Joseph Aram and Charles Maria Weber, commanding U.S. volunteers at Santa Clara and San Jose respectively, were sent to free them. Sánchez had command of 200 men, so U.S. marines and artillery under Captain Marston were dispatched as reinforcement. James F. Reed, acting lieutenant of the San Jose volunteer contingent, was in the area to muster a rescue party for his family, members of the

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...

snowbound in the high Sierras. The war made volunteers hard for him to find.

Battle

The Americans were in a mustard field in a dry creek when the Mexicans opened fire. Once the Americans reached open ground the fighting turned their way. An armistice was agreed after two hours, by which time four Mexicans were killed, with four Mexicans and two Americans injured. Tinkham writes, "The women stood on the housetops at Santa Clara and anxiously watched the battle. After the battle the regulars marched into the pueblo and were given a rousing reception and a dinner."

Aftermath

The putative site of the "Armistice Oak" is marked beside El Camino Real near Lawrence Expressway. The Mexicans retreated to the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...

. On January 8, the Marines having arrived, Sánchez surrendered. The Americans did agree to respect the Californios' property.

References

External links

* Historical Marker Database: *
The Battle of Santa Clara; January 2-7, 1847
*
Armistice Oak Tree Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Santa Clara (Mexican-American War) Santa Clara 1847 in Alta California History of Santa Clara, California 1847 in the Mexican-American War January 1847

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

External links