Battle of San Pasqual — Kearny Ambushed in California

General Kearny's exhausted 100-man Army of the West was ambushed by 75–160 California lancers under Andrés Pico at San Pasqual, near modern Escondido. In the worst US defeat in California, 18 Americans were killed and 13 wounded — including Kearny himself — by skilled Mexican cavalry lance charges. US forces survived only because of the timely arrival of a naval rescue party from San Diego sent by Commodore Stockton.