Rio San Gabriel

As 1846 came to an end, the Americans regrouped at San Diego and planned to return to Los Angeles, which Mexican forces had recaptured from the Americans earlier that fall. The American force consisted of dismounted dragoons, California volunteers, marines and sailors, as well as a battery of artillery. 

On January 8, as the American column prepared to cross the San Gabriel River, the enemy attacked. Insufficient and defective ammunition failed the Mexicans, while American artillery, under the command of Commodore Robert F. Stockton, silenced Californio cannon. Kearny commanded the American advance, which was met by Mexican lancers shouting “Viva Los Californios.” An American counter assault, shouting “New Orleans, New Orleans,” (in honor of General Andrew Jackson’s victory over the British thirty-one years earlier) drove the Mexicans from their defensive positions. The fighting lasted ninety minutes. The next day, the two foes skirmished for about two hours before the Mexicans retreated. The following day the victorious Americans entered Los Angeles, according to General Kearny, “without molestation.”