Battle of Providencia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Providencia
Date February 19–20, 1845 Location Cahuenga Pass, Alta California, Centralist Mexico (now California, U.S.) Result Californio victory
Belligerents
Alta California	Centralist Mexico
Commanders and leaders
Juan Bautista Alvarado José Antonio Castro	Manuel Micheltorena
Strength
N/A	N/A

The Battle of Providencia (also called the "Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass") happened in 1845. It took place in Cahuenga Pass, near Los Angeles, California. This battle was important because native Californians, called Californios, successfully fought against Mexican forces. They wanted more control over their home, Alta California.

Why the Californios Were Unhappy

Alta California was a large territory that is now part of California, USA. It had been under Mexican rule since 1822. As the local Californio population grew up, many wanted to govern themselves. They were tired of the Mexican government always choosing governors who were not from California.

In 1842, the Mexican government appointed Manuel Micheltorena as governor. He was not a Californio and quickly became very unpopular. By 1844, people began to revolt against him. This led to the Battle of Providencia.

Micheltorena brought an army with him from Mexico. These soldiers were not well-behaved. They had no money for food, so they took supplies from local homes and farms. This made the Californios very angry and led to widespread hatred of Governor Micheltorena. The soldiers caused many problems for the local people.

The Fight for Control

Juan Bautista Alvarado had been a Californio governor before Micheltorena. He organized a revolt against Micheltorena. When Micheltorena heard about the revolt, he asked John Sutter to lead his troops.

Sutter went to John Marsh, who owned a very large ranch in California. Sutter hoped Marsh would join his army. Marsh did not want to fight, but Sutter forced him to join.

John Marsh was a ranch owner in California.

The two armies met in Cahuenga Pass, near Los Angeles. This is where the Battle of Providencia happened. It is also known as the Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass. Even though there was a lot of cannon fire, very few people were hurt. Only one horse and one mule were injured.

A Clever Plan

During the long march to the battle, John Marsh had tried to convince other soldiers not to fight for Micheltorena. During the battle, Marsh ignored Sutter. He found a way to signal the other side to talk. Many soldiers on both sides were settlers from the United States. Marsh convinced them that they had no reason to fight each other.

Because of Marsh's efforts, these American soldiers on both sides decided to stop fighting. They abandoned Micheltorena's cause and even captured John Sutter. Micheltorena was defeated. After this, Pio Pico, who was born in California, became the new governor.

Pio de Jesus Pico became governor after the battle.

See also

In Spanish: Batalla de Providencia para niños