The Battle of Santa Clara, nicknamed the "Battle of the Mustard Stalks", was a skirmish during 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 1 ...

, fought on January 2, 1847, 2½ miles west of

Mission Santa Clara de Asís Mission Santa Clara de Asís ( es, Misión 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 Franciscan order. Named for ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was the only engagement of its type in Northern California during the war.

Background

Californio 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 ...

s were angry at

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...

'', 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 administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

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 regi ...

(soon to be renamed

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

). 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 The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

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 in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in th ...

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 There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz co ...

. The Mexicans retreated to the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...

. 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 History of Santa Clara County, California History of Santa Clara, California 1847 in the Mexican-American War January 1847 events

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References

External links