The Battle of Cahuenga Pass of 1831 was fought at

Cahuenga Pass The Cahuenga Pass (, ; Tongva: ''Kawé’nga'') 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, California. It has an elevation of . The Cahuenga Pass connec ...

near Los Angeles between the unpopular Mexican Governor of California (

Manuel Victoria Manuel Victoria (died 1833) was governor of the Mexican-ruled territory of Alta California from January 1831 to December 6, 1831. He died in exile. He was appointed governor on March 8, 1830 by Lucas Alamán. Exile The revolt, called Battle of Ca ...

), and a force assembled by wealthy local landowners. Only two men, the lancer

Pacheco Pacheco is a Portuguese and Spanish name which may refer to: General * Alex Pacheco (born 1958), animal rights activist, co-founder of PETA. *Ángel Pacheco (general) (1793-1869), was an Argentine military officer trained by José de San Martín ...

on the government side and a rebel Jose Avila, were killed. Victoria was severely wounded.

Background

A small group made up of wealthier citizens of

Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New 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 ...

united and petitioned Governor Victoria for democratic reforms. Victoria called two of the men,

José Antonio Carrillo Captain José Antonio Ezequiel Carrillo (1796–1862) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and signer of the Californian Constitution in 1849. He served three terms as Alcalde of Los Angeles (mayor). History A member of the prominent Carrill ...

and

Abel Stearns Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens. Early life Stea ...

, "traitors", and ordered their execution. He later stayed the sentences and had the men banished from Alta California. The previous governor, Jose Maria de Echeandia, had been more popular, so the original dissidents, including the two "traitors," along with several other land owners, suggested to him that Victoria's stay as governor would shortly be coming to an abrupt end. They built up a small army, marched into Los Angeles, and "captured" the town. Victoria gathered a small army to drive them off, leading it himself. The forces met on December 5, 1831, at

, with Captain Portilla in charge of the rebels.

The battle

The opposing armies were made up of brothers, sons, uncles, nephews, and friends, who though angry at one-another preferred to avoid mortal combat. Victoria had half the troops of his opponents. Undaunted, he ordered his men to fire. They did so, but aimed their volley over their adversaries' heads. The rebels answered with a similar reply, and a stand-off ensued. Alone among the government troops Captain Jose Antonio Romualdo Pacheco (father of the future governor

Romualdo Pacheco José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco (October 31, 1831January 23, 1899) was a Californio statesman and diplomat. A Republican, he is best known as the only Hispanic person to serve as Governor of California since the American Conquest of California, ...

) interpreted Victoria's order as a command to charge the enemy on horseback, spurring on his mount with outstretched lance. When he discovered he was alone he halted between the two forces. Jose Maria Avila of the rebel army, a former

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

of the

Pueblo of Los Angeles In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

, took offense and went out to challenge Pacheco in mounted combat. Excellent horsemen, the pair were evenly matched. After three unsuccessful charges, Pacheco finally knocked Avila's lance to the ground. Infuriated, Avila drew his pistol and shot Pacheco from the saddle, killing him. Shocked at his reflexive act, Avila sat on his horse in a kind of horrified stupor. Upset at such unchivalrous behavior, Governor Victoria, drew his pistol and shot Avila dead. This angered Captain Portilla, who charged Victoria and put his lance through the Governor's face, ripping off a chunk of flesh and cartilage. Victoria fell writhing at the wound. Both forces broke off the conflict.

Aftermath

Governor Victoria survived, but subsequently resigned the governorship of Alta California. The previous governor,

José María de Echeandía José María de Echeandía (?–1871) was twice Mexican governor of Alta California from 1825 to 1831 and again from 1832 to 1833. He was the only governor of California that lived in San Diego.José Bandini, in a note to Governor Echeandía or t ...

, resumed his role until

Jose Figueroa Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

took over on January 14, 1833. Governor Victoria's wounds were tended to by Joseph Chapman, a naturalized U.S. immigrant living in the area. This battle should not be confused with the

Battle of Providencia Battle of Providencia (also called the "Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass") took place in Cahuenga Pass in 1845 on Rancho Providencia in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles, California. Native ''Californios'' successfully challenged Mex ...

(also known as the ''Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass'').

References

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19th century in Los Angeles December 1831 events