San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park honors the soldiers who fought in the 1846 Battle of San Pasqual, the bloodiest battle in California 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 ...

. The battle was fought between United States troops under the command of General Stephen Kearny, and the Californio forces under the command of General Andres Pico on December 6, 1846. The

Native Sons of the Golden West The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic ...

were instrumental in raising money, preserving and ultimately creating the park which was then given to the State of California. It is now a

California State Park The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

as well as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

. The park is next to the

San Diego Zoo Safari Park The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, originally named the San Diego Wild Animal Park until 2010, is an 1,800 acre (730 ha) zoo in the San Pasqual Valley area of San Diego, California, near Escondido. It is one of the largest tourist attractions in S ...

, at San Pasqual Valley Road, south of

Escondido, California Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census. Et ...

on Highway 78 in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. The park is open only on weekends, and features a visitor center with displays about the cultural history of the

San Pasqual Valley San Pasqual Valley, historically spelt as San Pascual (Spanish for " Saint Paschal"), is the northernmost community of the city of San Diego. It is named for the Kumeyaay village of San Pasqual that was once located there. It is bordered on the ...

, exhibits, and a movie about the battle.http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/glance/uniquely/battlefield/index.html City of Escondido Living history presentations are held at the park, with volunteers from the San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association.

References

External links

San Pasqual Battlefield State Historic Park
– official site
San Pasqual Battlefield Volunteer Association
California State Historic Parks Battles of the Conquest of California Military and war museums in California Museums in San Diego County, California Parks in San Diego County, California History museums in California {{SanDiegoCountyCA-geo-stub