¡Ay, Caramba! The Battle of San Pasqual (1846)
Philip’s excellent cavalry figures, painted by club president Phil, were on display on Friday 5 June at the community centre, as we refought a cavalry skirmish set in the Mexican-American war (1846-1848).
The Americans were tasked with breaking through a pass on the Mexican table edge by following the road on the US right. We used One in a Maximilian rules.
Here are some highlights:
Initial Mexican deployment by Paul and Rob. Terrain – open table with gully on the Mexican right. Various small hills blocking line of sight but not affecting movement.
Doug deployed the first group of Americans – the 1st Dragoons.
Mexican cavalry forward of the main line encountered the US Dragoons near the Ranch…
The Mexican force included the Presidial Lancers led historically by Major Andres Pico.
The Mexican figures looked great, and Rob, Paul and Patrick moved them up the table…
Doug’s Dragoons soon advanced on the US right, repelling some of the Mexican advanced pickets
Doug kept advancing, and his dragoons dismounted to pepper the Mexicans with bullets. Meanwhile, Richard’s 26th Mounted Rifles arrived next to Doug’s men.
My cavalry arrived on the US left. I planned to outflank the Mexicans and even ride around their rear. The Mexicans and Dragoons were embroiled in the centre of the table, and a Stoical Rob was rolling normally (execrably) as usual…
The pell-mell in the centre continued… as I rolled well to move rapidly down the table, threatening Rob’s Mexican right flank.
Realising that we were running out of time to mount a raid on the Mexican rear, I turned my three units of Missouri Volunteer cavalry to face the Mexican flank. I dismounted them, beginning a fusillade that soon began to impact Rob’s cavalrymen with multiple hits…
Richard saw off some Mexican horse in the centre, and now exploited a gap to charge the cavalry I had been firing at. The game ended with a stalemate though the Mexicans seem to have got the worst of it.
Nice figures in a visually satisfying encounter. Thanks to Philip for hosting.
What happened historically?
Battle of San Pasqual by Charles Waterhouse
The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, occurred in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community in the county of San Diego, California. The series of skirmishes, near a prominent ranch, ended with both sides claiming victory, and the victor of the battle is still debated, though the Americans lost far more men. On December 6 and 7, 1846, General Stephen W. Kearny’s US Army of the West, along with a small detachment of the California Battalion led by Archibald H. Gillespie, engaged a small contingent of Californios and their Presidial Lancers Los Galgos (The Greyhounds), led by Major Andres Pico. The Americans had 150 men, while the Mexicans had 75 men. After U.S. reinforcements arrived, Kearny’s troops were able to reach San Diego. However, the Americans lost 18 killed and 13 wounded, but the Mexicans lost only 12 wounded and 1 captured.
