SAN DIEGO—Although it was a gift in November 1970 from Mexico’s President Gustavo Diaz-Ordaz, it is not difficult to imagine the sculpture of a Mexican on horseback at the upper edge of Presidio Park as a scout for the Californios trying to determine whether the American troops at nearby Fort Stockton are vulnerable to counter-attack.
After the outbreak of war between Mexico and the United States in 1846, a detachment of U.S. Marines under the command of Samuel F. DuPont disembarked from the sloop U.S.S. Cyane at La Playa near the mouth of San Diego B ay and then marched for the Mexican settlement that today is known as Old Town.
Initially, the troops did not meet any resistance and were able to raise a flag in Old Town’s central plaza. However, skilled riders who remained loyal to Mexico established themselves in November on a bluff overlooking Old Town, and began firing down upon the soldiers and inhabitants friendly to the American cause. U.S. troops were sent up Presidio Hill to capture the promontory. The Californios, deciding to fight another day, melted away.
Initially called Fort DuPont, the vantage point overlooking Old Town later was deemed important enough to name for the overall commander of the U.S. forces on the Pacific Coast, Commodore Robert Stockton—the same man for whom the midsized California Delta city of Stockton was named in 1849.
Although the Californios did not make their stand on Presidio Hill, they would fight an important battle – and win – in December 1846 when they met forces led by Gen. Stephen Kearny at San Pasqual. The scout Kit Carson brought news of the battle to Stockton at his headquarters in Old Town, prompting the commodore to send a relief column to rescue Kearny. Eventually American forces subdued the Californios and a surrender was signed at Cahuenga in modern-day North Hollywood.
Today Fort Stockton recalls its history as the place of encampment for a portion of the Mormon Battalion, a detachment of 500 men accompanied by 80 wives and children that began a march from Council Bluffs, Iowa, in July 1846, and reached San Diego on July 29, 1847—the trek of approximately 2000 miles being the longest overland infantry march in history.
Around a high flagpole, a circle of artworks and plaques tell the remarkable story of the Mormon Battalion, whose members volunteered to fight for the United States as a way of showing their loyalty to the American nation, notwithstanding the persecution of their church members by those enraged by the practice of polygamy.
A mural executed by a Depression-era artist employed by the Works Project Administration depicts members of the Battalion on the march from Council Bluffs and a heroic sculpture focuses on one of the soldiers, rifle slung over his shoulder and the top of a Bible peeking out of a pocket in his knapsack.
Although the Mormons arrived in San Diego shortly after the Capitulation at Cahuenga—and therefore did not have to engage in hostile action—the plaque salutes the unit for having “helped to win California for the Union and open a new road to the Pacific over desert waste.” In wartime, soldiers who volunteer to fight, but who are prevented from doing so by circumstances far beyond their control, are considered as worthy of honor as those who actually encountered hostilities.
It was the long trek of the Mormons that was considered most remarkable, the plaque beneath the mural asserting: “History may be searched in vain for an equal march of infantry according to U.S. military records.”
The plaque by the statue of the soldier elaborates: “This expedition helped win the war, prepared the way for colonization of the southwest, opened new trade routes and strengthened distant national boundaries.”
A little-known portion of the Mormon Battalion’s history was how women were enlisted to serve as laundresses. A marker, etched with a camp scene with the women at work, tells some details:
“Mormon women were anxious to reach the glorious west, and any means offered seemed an answer to the prayer to help them on their way,” it reads. “When it was learned that four laundresses would be allowed each of the five companies the wives of the soldiers made application and 20 were chosen. Men who could meet the expenses were permitted to take their families. Hence nearly 80 women and children accompanied the battalion. They endured the hardships of the journey, knowing hunger and thirst. Four wives, Susan M. Davis, Lydia Hunter, Phebe D.P. Brown, and Melissa B. Coray , traveled the entire distance arriving in San Diego 29 January 1847. Mrs. Hunter gave birth to a son April 20, 1847, the first LDS child born in San Diego. She died two weeks later.”
According to another plaque, Fort Stockton was abandoned as a military outpost on September 28, 1848.
Between the figure of the Mexican horseman and the soldiers of Fort Stockton lies another favorite landmark in the upper reaches of Presidio Park: the colonnaded, partially-roofed pergola, which is a popular San Diego venue for outdoor weddings.
The spot not only is romantic but is historically fitting: in the years following the Mexican-American War, intermarriages between women and men of the two nations became quite common in San Diego.
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. This article appeared previously on examiner.com