Battle of Natividad - Detail was a Mexican-American War engagement fought in California, 1846.
The Battle of the Natividad took place on November 16, 1846, in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California, United States, during the California Campaign of the Mexican-American War, between United States organized California militia (the California Battalion) and loyalist Mexican militia.
San Juan Bautista was the marshaling area for Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont's forces of about 450 men of the California Battalion en route to joining up with Commodore Robert Stockton's and General Stephen W. Kearny's forces of about 500 men converging on Los Angeles to put down a sputtering revolt there.
An American scouting party was attacked by a force of mounted Mexican Californios on Rancho La Natividad in the Salinas Valley. The Californios were attempting to capture some horses being herded by the Americans to Fremont's base. A battle ensued in which the Californio force killed four Americans and wounded more. The American volunteers were buried on the Gomez Rancho. The Californios reported no deaths but 5 wounded. The Americans reported several Californios dead and several wounded. As the Californios retreated, the Americans did not give chase. The Walla Walla and Lenape detachment, fighting with the Americans, fought aggressively and bravely displaying two scalps they had taken during the conflict.
That the paroles of all officers, citizens and others of the United States, and of naturalized citizens of Mexico, are by this foregoing capitulation cancelled; and every condition of said paroles from and after this date are of no further force and effect; and all prisoners of both parties are hereby released.
was inserted to protect several members of the Californios fighting in this fight who were in clear violation of their paroles they had given to keep the peace and not undertake hostilities.
The site of the battle is now registered as California Historical Landmark #651.
Approximate location. The nearest recorded settlement is shown; the exact site is unrecorded.
This page covers Battle of Natividad - Detail. A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside historic sites, land records, and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Wikipedia source.
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the US, drawing on NRHP records, battlefield archives, census history and geological data to tell the full story of a place.