Presidio Garrisons

The Journal of San Diego History - SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLYFall 1978, Volume 24, Number 4

The Garrisons of San Diego Presidio: 1770-1794

By Bill Mason - Curator, History Division, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History

The Hispanic period in San Diego has been studied from differing points of view and with a variety of subjects in mind. Little, however, has been written specifically on the men who served in the Spanish and Mexican armies in San Diego and its jurisdiction. The names of these men, with some statistical data and slight anecdotal dressing, may serve to fill a gap in the history of San Diego's formative period. An early photograph of Serra Cross. The landmark was erected in 1913 using tile salvaged from the San Diego Presidio. It stands on the hill once occupied by the San Diego Presidio and near the spot where Father Junpero Serra founded Alta California's first mission in 1769.

The first soldiers to reach San Diego in the Sacred Expedition to California were on the ship San Antonio which anchored in the bay on April 11, 1769. It was joined eighteen days later by another vessel, the San Carlos, and on May 14, 1769, cavalrymen from the Presidio of Loreto rode in. More than sixty men, mostly from the sea expedition, died on the beach in a makeshift tent hospital built of sail canvas in the days that followed the ships' landings. Contemporary sources say they died of scurvy, although it would seem that other diseases were possible causes. The longest period either vessel had been at sea was less than four months, and the length of time without fresh fruits or vegetables was probably less than three months. Dysentery or some other highly communicable disease may have been the real killer. Many sailors, some laborers, and a dozen Catalonian infantrymen died, leaving the expedition shorthanded.1 In 1770, half the expedition left for the north to establish Monterey Presidio, leaving behind a small garrison at San Diego Bay. After establishing a settlement at Monterey and sending some soldiers into Baja California for more supplies, there were still some eighteen men left at San Diego. In a letter written on October 10, 1770. Sergeant Jos Francisco de Ortega listed the cavalrymen at San Diego as follows:

Captain Don Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, marriedCorporal Guillermo Carrillo

Soldiers:

Juan Jos RoblesBernardo Rubio, married, sick with scurvyMateo Ignacio de SotoJuan Mara Miranda, marriedFrancisco de AvilaRafael HernndezMarcelo BravoNicols Antonio SambranoJos Ignacio OliveraMariano de la Luz VerdugoAlejo Antonio GonzalesJuan de Osuna, married, sick with feverSebastin AlvitreAndrs Cota, marriedJos Joaqun Espinosa, marriedAgustn Castelo2

This group formed the nucleus of the future Presidio of San Diego, living in small huts of palisade sticks with thatched roofs, at the site called Cosoy by the Indians in the vicinity of Presidio Hill and Old Town.3

In 1771 a few more soldiers were sent north from Baja California to be added to the enterprise.4 San Diego received some of these men, but with the founding of San Gabriel mission that same year, the San Diego garrison was reduced to only seven or eight men, while most of the district's soldiers were allotted to the new mission. On October 17, 1772, the following men were known to have been at San Diego:

Manuel Mariano de RoblesLuis AguilarCarlos la MarchaJuan Antonio CoronadoAntonio de CotaRafael Gerardo GonzalesMarcelino Bravo5

Pedro Fages, lieutenant in charge of the Catalonian Company, seems to have been temporarily in command of the garrison at that time. His quarrel with Jos Caizares on that date was witnessed by the above mentioned men of San Diego. There may have been one or two more men, but they are not mentioned. According to church records of San Gabriel Mission, the following men of the San Diego company were at San Gabriel late in 1772.

Sergeant Juan Puig (Catalonian Volunteer)Gernimo Planes (Catalonian Volunteer)Soldados de Cuera:Corporal Jos Mara GngoraSoldiers:

Rafael VillavicencioJos Ignacio OliveraJuan Francisco LpezJuan Estevan RochaLuis Gonzaga LugoAlejo DuarteJos Antonio PeaJuan Mara OliveraFrancisco PeaJos Antonio RubioJos Antonio LpezRamn Noriega6

The Catalonians evidently left with Fages for Monterey at the end of 1772.

Bancroft lists sixteen men at San Gabriel mission in the latter part of 1771, and names of fifteen from that garrison are available.7 Added to those of San Diego proper, there was a total of at least twenty-two men in the jurisdiction, which covered 120 miles between San Diego and San Gabriel.

California outposts consisted of nothing more than two small military posts guarding five missions. By 1773-74 Monterey and San Diego had split the little force of fifty cavalrymen and twenty-five Catalonian infantry. Spread thinly over more than 400 miles, these forces left several serious gaps in the line of defense against possible attack by Indians.8 Serious abuse of the Indians around San Gabriel in 1771 had resulted in reprisals by the natives. Hence, a relatively large garrison was maintained at San Gabriel, at the expense of San Diego. The deployment was harrowing: a presidio and mission were at Monterey, similar to the situation at San Diego, but there were two other missions to garrison in the Monterey jurisdiction, one at San Antonio de Padua and one at San Luis Obispo. Warfare among rival Indian groups at the latter mission complicated matters temporarily in the Monterey district.

Between San Gabriel and San Luis Obispo were over 200 miles of territory without a single Spanish outpost, and it was an area densely populated by Indians, primarily the Chumash. Some Chumash villages numbered over 500 inhabitants, and the coastal population between Ventura and Point Concepcion was estimated at from 8,000 to 10,000 by Governor Felipe de Neve in 1777.9 The delivery of mail, movement of troops and some supplies, tours of inspection, and general communication between the northern and southern districts had to pass through this territory or go by sea. To the south communications were no better. From San Diego to the nearest mission in Baja California was more than 300 miles.

The founding of Rosario Mission in 1774 and Santo Domingo in 1775 cut the distance to just under 200 miles from San Diego to the limits of control in Baja California.

On January 1, 1775, the San Diego garrison was larger than in earlier years. A few additional soldiers had been sent from Mexico, and despite the withdrawal of the Catalonians (aside from the five who had married California Indian women), there were more soldiers in the province by the end of 1774 and more scheduled to arrive in a year. In 1774 San Diego Mission had moved from Presidio Hill to its present location in the valley. It was deemed adequate protection to place a corporal and four soldiers at the mission as escolta, since it was only five miles from the presidio. At the fort were one lieutenant, a sergeant, one corporal, and twenty-three soldiers:

Lieutenant Jos Francisco de Ortega, married[to Antonia Carrillo; two children, Ignacio and Luisa].Sergeant Mariano CarrilloCorporal Guillermo CarrilloCorporal Mariano de la Luz VerdugoSoldiers:

Alexo GonzalesManuel RoblesAlejandro SotoFrancisco Mara RizManuel BernalJos Mara SoberanesMartn ReyesJos Mara OrtegaJuan Estevan RochaJos Raymundo CarrilloJos Manuel LenNicols GonzalesJuan Francisco LpezMariano CorderoJos Antonio Riz LeyvaLuis LugoJuan Jos DomnguezIgnacio VallejoJoaqun HigueraJoaqun ArmentaAntonio PatronNicols BeltranFrancisco Antonio SoteloJuan de OrtegaIgnacio Rafael AlvaradoAlexandro RizBlacksmith Felipe Romero [and his mother,Petrona Garca de Romero]Blacksmith Jos Manuel ArryoCarpenter Manuel RodrguezMuleteer Manuel VirganMuleteer Francisco Bernal

The San Gabriel garrison had been reduced to a corporal and five soldiers:

Corporal Juan Jos RoblesSoldiers:

Gerardo PeaAntonio CotaJos Bonifacio EstradaJuan AlvarezRafael Mrquez

Prisoners at San Gabriel:

Anastacio CamachoAgustn CasteloCarpenter: Jos Lorenzo Esparza, married toManuela DavilaMuleteer: Cristbal Crdenas10

Exclusive of the several thousands of southern California Indians in the San Diego district there were fifty-one gente de razn living in the garrisons and missions. Forty were at San Diego Presidio and Mission, and eleven at San Gabriel. A mule trail united the little garrison at San Gabriel with San Diego, and there were no outposts between the two points as yet.

The Monterey district had about 120 men, women, and children. Of these, forty-four were military personnel. Monterey district did have most of the wives and children of the California colony; of twenty-four married couples in the province, twenty-two were in the northern district. Ten of the wives were California Indian women, of whom five were married to the five Catalonian privates who had elected to stay in the province. These five men were the only natives of Spain in California by 1775. None was in San Diego at this time.

Between January and March, 1775, several men from San Diego were transferred to Monterey, leaving only twenty-eight officers and men in the southern district. A list of March 28, 1775, gives the remainder of the garrison:

Lieutenant Jos Francisco de OrtegaSergeant Mariano CarrilloCorporal Mariano Verdugo

Soldiers at San Diego Presidio and Mission:

Juan Estevan RochaMariano CorderoLuis LugoJuan Francisco LpezNicols GonzalesJos Antonio LeyvaJos Raymundo CarrilloJos Mariano YpizIgnacio VallejoAntonio Jos PatrnJos Manuel de I.enIgnacio AlvaradoNicols BeltrnJos DomnguezJoaqun de ArmentaJuan de OrtegaFrancisco SoteloJos Mara OrtegaAnastacio Camacho, deserter, in prison

At San Gabriel Mission:


Gerardo PeaBonifacio EstradaAntonio CotaFrancisco Rafael MrquezJuan Alfarez

Also at the presidio were:

Carpenter Lorenzo EsparzaBlacksmiths Felipe Romero and Manuel ArroyoMuleteers Francisco Bernal, Manuel Virjan, Luis Contreras,Cristbal Crdenas11

Only a few months after reducing the San Diego forces at the presidio itself, it was decided to place yet another mission in the district, this time at San Juan Capistrano. Lieutenant Ortega, Sergeant Carrillo, and twelve of the soldiers departed for San Juan, leaving only two corporals and ten soldiers. Of these, one corporal and four soldiers were five miles away at the mission, leaving a presidial force of one corporal and six soldiers. Ortega was to return soon with four of the men he had taken, and more recruits were expected overland from Sonora in a few weeks.12

On November 5, 1775, Indians in the surrounding area strongly reacted to Spanish presence. San Diego Mission was attacked by a force estimated from 600 to 1,000 men from several rancheras. Arriving late at night, they nearly succeeded in overcoming the little garrison at the mission. Corporal Juan Estevan Rocha had only soldiers Alejo Antonio Gonzales, Juan Alvarez, and Joaqun de Armenta at his disposal. Francisco Pena had been sent back to the presidio because he was sick and had not yet been replaced. The two blacksmiths, Felipe Romero and Jos Manuel Arroyo, were present, along with carpenter Jos Urcelino. The two priests at the mission were Luis Jayme and Vicente Fuster. Two boys, Leonardo Verdugo, fourteen, and Ignacio Ortega, ten, had come from the presidio to the mission to hear mass the next day.

The blacksmith Arroyo was killed at the outset of the attack, when, hearing a noise, he went outside with sword in hand. He was hit by an arrow and fatally wounded. Romero, seeing him stagger back into the smithy to die from his wounds grabbed a musket to shoot one of the attackers. In the confusion among the Indians after the shot, Romero ran to the guards' hut, where the soldiers, by now aroused to danger, were trying to put up a defense. The carpenter Urcelino was fatally wounded in the stomach during the melee and Father Jayme was missing. His body was later discovered in the arroyo, where he had been clubbed to death by a party of Indians.

All three of Corporal Rocha's soldiers were wounded by arrows, as was the corporal himself. A rain of rocks, firebrands, and arrows assailed the survivors, which included Padre Fuster and the two boys, as well as the soldiers and Romero, the blacksmith. They put up a defense in a half-completed adobe cookhouse and managed to keep the Indians at bay until dawn, when the attackers withdrew. Three neophytes who had remained loyal to the mission were sent to the presidio for help. Corporal Verdugo released three men from confinement to aid in a sortie against the enemies still believed to be in the area around the mission. With four men he relieved the mission without difficulty, since the Indians had gone. As one Indian explained later, they had run out of arrows before daybreak. The survivors were escorted to the presidio by Verdugo's little group and a messenger was sent to Ortega at Capistrano. The lieutenant and a party of four returned to San Diego to survey the extent of the tragedy. On seeing the damage he ordered his group back from San Juan Capistrano. The concentration of some twenty-five soldiers at the presidio prevented any immediate attack on the presidio itself, although fear of attack remained for some time.13

For two months San Diego's garrison awaited troops from Monterey or Baja California. Neither Loreto nor Monterey had surplus soldiers to spare. The timely arrival of Captain Juan Bautista de Anza and his party of soldiers and colonists from Sonora was most helpful. Anza and party arrived at San Gabriel early in January, 1776, and immediately sent troops to San Diego. Shortly thereafter a few soldiers were sent from Monterey and from the northern Baja California missions as well. By late June, 1777, Lieutenant Ortega had the aid of a supply officer, a sergeant, six corporals, and sixty-six soldiers. It was considered necessary to keep San Diego's roster larger than before, thanks to recent excitement over an Indian gathering involving twenty-one rancheras.14

The garrison, by December 21, 1777, was reduced to a lieutenant, a sergeant, six corporals, and forty-eight privates:

Lieutenant Jos Francisco de OrtegaSergeant Mariano CarrilloCorporals:

Nicols BeltrnGuillermo CarrilloJos Ignacio OliveraAlejo RodrguezJuan Estevan RochaMariano Verdugo

Soldiers:

Ignacio Rafael AlvaradoJuan AlvarezFrancisco AcebedoAntonio AlegreJuan Angel AmarillasJoaqun de ArmentaManuel BernalFrancisco Bruno GarcaAgustn CasteloAntonio de CastroAntonio CotaJos Dolores DomnguezJuan Jos DomnguezAnastacio FlizHermenegildo FloresVicente FlizFrancisco de Paula GarcaPedro GarrancinoJos Mara GloriaRafael Gerardo GonzalesJoaqun GuerreroJoaqun HigueraJos Antonio LeyvaPedro Antonio LisaldeJos Mara LpezJuan Francisco LpezLuis Gonzaga LugoFrancisco Rafael MrquezPedro MolinaJos Mara OrtegaJos Mara OlivaresIgnacio Mara PatrnFrancisco Pea JosAntonio PeaJos Ignacio PrezSantiago PicoMartn ReyesFrancisco RamrezJulin RiosManuel Antonio RoblesMateo RubioAlejo de SotomayorFrancisco SoteloAlejandro SolsJos Mara VerdugoJuan Jos VallejoMatas de la VegaPo Quinto Ziga15

The garrison lost seven men on November 26, 1777, when they were sent to the Monterey district. Conditions at San Diego were judged sufficiently stabilized to cut the number of soldiers somewhat. The names of those soldiers who were sent to Monterey in November were:

Julin AcebedoIgnacio CantuaJos Mara GuerreroJoaqun LpezToribio Martnez GuzmnJos Antonio RodrguezFrancisco Villagomez15

The artisans, mechanics and other employees of the presidio at the time were: carpenter Lorenzo de Esparza, muleteer Tadeo Rivera, storekeeper Rafael de Pedro y Gil, blacksmiths Antonio Sandoval, Felipe Romero and two San Gabriel employees of San Juan Capistrano Mission, Jos Manuel Silvas and Isidro Jos Leal. Both San Diego and San Juan Capistrano Missions were re-established in 1776, once it was safe enough from Indian attack to do so.

Other soldiers had been borrowed from Monterey and Baja California in 1776, and those who were still in San Diego's jurisdiction in 1777 are mentioned. From Monterey, the following:


Sebastin LpezSerferino LugoJuan Mara RuizMariano Ypiz15

Those of the Loreto Company who had been in the northern part of Baja California and were temporarily attached to San Diego were:

Sergeant Francisco AguiarSoldiers:

Francisco Xavier AguilarPablo AmadorJuan BotillerJuan Miguel CamachoJoaqun DazClaudio Victorio FlizIgnacio HigueraLuis LpezJulin MorilloFelipe Santiago MorenoJos Manuel NietoJos Ramn Noriega15

Most of the men lived in huts of palisada roofed with reeds, or after the danger of fire was demonstrated during the revolt at the mission, with clay and earth over sticks and reeds. There were but two adobe buildings at San Diego Presidio as late as 1778, when the work of building the presidio was earnestly begun. The presence of married soldiers was an added inducement for improved quarters to house their families.16

Probably the most important problem to the average soldier was that of food. In 1774 the ration had been one almud of corn (a dry measure, which weighed 13.6 pounds for corn) per week, and a half-almud of beans. Added to this rather starchy ration was an eighth of an almud of chile and three and one-half pounds of jerked beef per week. Married men were to receive two almudes of corn, and if the couple had children, another half-almud was added for them. It made no difference if a man was married or not, his bean and chile rations were the same. Only one-half pound of meat extra was allowed to married men.17 Additional rations had to come out of a soldier's pay.

Married women at the presidios managed to obtain some extra rations by making tortillas for bachelor soldiers and preparing other food for them. In exchange for such work it was customary to give some corn, beans, or whatever other food the soldier could spare.

Approximately half the diet was corn. Small amounts of garbanzos, rice, lentils, brown sugar loaves (panocha) and a bit of chocolate occasionally varied the diet. But, the bulk was a humdrum fare largely of corn and beans, sometimes reduced when supply arrival was delayed.

In, January, 1777, Lieutenant Ortega reported that his men received only one and one-half almud of corn and one-eighth almud of menestra weekly. The latter was a mixture of beans, garbanzos and lentils, not a sufficient diet. His soldiers subsisted for the most part on tortillas. To supplement their poor diet, Ortega gave the men a half-pound of powder and two pounds of shot to hunt the abundant wildfowl in the area. Twenty pounds of corn and about two or three pounds of mixed beans was hardly adequate.

In 1778 the ration was but slightly larger per man, and somewhat more varied, although half the ration was still corn. In addition to the beans were garbanzos, lentils, and rice. Plus, in small amounts, lard, flour, panocha, chile, fresh meat (San Diego now had a herd of nearly 50 cattle), a little dried fish for Fridays and a fair amount of hardtack. With some of the brown sugar, sifted corn flour, and a pinch or two of chocolate at times, atole could be made for breakfast.18

New uniforms were provided in 1777, since the old ones in the company were in poor condition. Standard black hats and black silk scarves were issued, as well as blue jackets with red collars, cuffs, and lapels. Knee-length pants were trimmed on the sides with metal buttons and were of blue wool, like the jackets. White stockings were almost entirely covered by botas, or loose leggings of deerhide, which hung from just below the knee to the ankle and touched the tops of the lowcut shoes. Over this uniform was worn a large sleeveless coat of six thicknesses of deerhide, yellowish brown in color, carefully stitched together with the royal crest and the name of the presidio embroidered on it. This was the cuera, leather armor which could stop an arrow at point blank range. This distinctive leather coat, or cuera, was the reason the Spanish frontier soldier was called a soldado de cuera. His weapons were a musket, two pistols, a sword, and lance. Cartridges were carried in a case on his belt. All across the northern frontier of Mexico, from Texas to California, this uniform was worn with slight variation.19 Mounted on their horses, these soldiers were formidable antagonists. Horses still were not plentiful in California even as late as 1778. Before that time, some men were mounted on mules.

The San Diego Company by January 1, 1780, consisted of Lieutenant Ortega, supply officer Pedro y Gil, one sergeant, five corporals, and forty-six soldiers:

Lieutenant Jos Francisco de OrtegaSupply Officer Rafael Pedro y GilSergeant Mariano CarrilloCorporals:

Guillermo CarrilloMariano VerdugoJuan Estevan RochaAlejo Antonio GonzalesJos Ignacio Olivera

Privates:

Alejandro SotoNicols BeltrnJos Mara VerdugoLuis LugoJuan Francisco LpezAnastacio FlizMartn ReyesManuel Antonio RoblesJos Antonio LeyvaAntonio CotaRafael MrquezManuel BernalFrancisco PeaJuan AlvarezIgnacio AlvaradoSalvador CarreagaFrancisco Bruno GarciaJos Mara GloriaFrancisco de Paula GarcaAntonio SandovalPedro LisaldeJos Mara OrtegaJoaqun HigueraJuan Jos DomnguezJoaqun ArmentaJuan Angel AmarillasRafael Gerardo GonzalesFrancisco AcebedoVicente FlizSantiago PicoMateo RubioJoaqun GuerreroAntonio CastroJos Mara LpezPedro GarrancinoAgustn CasteloAlejandro SolsJos Miguel FloresToms Mara CamachoPo Quinto ZigaJuan Mara OliveraFrancisco SoteloHermenegildo FloresJos Ignacio Prez

Carpenter: Lorenzo EsparzaBlacksmith: Felipe RomeroEmployees: Antonio Mara Beas and Anastacio CamachoMuleteers: Bonifacio Salazar and Jos Miguel Vliz 20

The distinctive long leather coat, or cuera, made of six thicknesses of deerhide, was the reason the Spanish frontier soldier was called a soldado de cuera. Five of the men listed above can be traced back to the first list of 1770. These are Jos Ignacio Olivera, Guillermo Carrillo, Mariano Carrillo, Mariano Verdugo, Alejo Antonio Gonzales, and Agustn Castelo. There were other veterans of the 1769 expedition at San Diego in 1780 who had been elsewere in 1770. These were Jos Francisco de Ortega, Antonio Cota, Juan Jos Domnguez, and Alejandro de Soto.

Of those who had been at San Diego on January 1, 1775, eighteen men were on the list of 1780. In five years only one-third of the garrison still remained. There were several married men in the company, especially since the Anza Expedition had added some men and their families to San Diego. There had been few children at San Diego in 1775, but by 1780 there were several at the presidio and among the mission guard company's families.

The events after the attack of 1775 and two years of alarms and fears of a new outbreak gave way to a period of relative stability and peace between 1778 and 1781. Another expedition of soldiers and colonists as large as the Anza Expedition was expected to arrive in the summer of 1781. Another presidio was to be placed at Santa Barbara and a pueblo to be founded near San Gabriel. The latter settlement would grow crops to feed San Diego and the new presidio. Ideally the troops would no longer be given corn and bean rations from central Mexico, which were too often exposed to mold in ships' hulls. From San Diego's point of view, prospects were brighter.

With the new presidio, additional missions in the California chain, and the shortening of the distance to the Baja California frontier by the founding of San Vicente Mission in 1780, San Diego's isolation was lessened considerably. The distance to San Vicente from San Diego was but 140 miles, and from the future site of Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo, Monterey district's southernmost mission, only about 100 miles. These gaps were trifling compared to the earlier period, and were to be filled with missions within the decade.

The old fears of Indian attack were renewed in August of 1781 when the revolt of the Yuma Indians on the Colorado River severed the land connection pioneered by Captain Anza and gave the California settlements several anxious months. No Indian attacks, however, were made against San Diego. On May 20, 1782, a garrison list read as follows:

Lieutenant Jos de Ziga, commander, age 29Alfrez Jos Velsquez, age 64Sergeant Guillermo Carrillo, age 49

Corporals: Age: Birthplace: Caste: Literate IlliterateJuan Estevan Rocha 46 S. Fco. de Los Pozos Espaol *Ignacio Rafael Alvarado 37 Baja California Espaol * Francisco Acebedo 34 Sinaloa Espaol * Jos Mara Verdugo* 31 Loreto Espaol * Juan Mara Olivera* 32 Loreto Espaol *

Soldiers:Juan Jos Dominguez 59 Sinaloa Espaol *Manuel Prez Nieto* 34 Sinaloa Espaol *Jos Antonio Pea 36 San Jos del Cabo Espaol * Juan Francisco Lpez* 46 El Sur de Baja Calif. Espaol *Juan Alvarez* 39 Rio Yaqui Mestizo *Manuel Antonio Robles 33 Loreto Espaol *Antonio de Cota* 50 El Fuerte Espaol * Jos Joaqun Armenta 50 Sinaloa Mestizo *Manuel Ramn Bernal 46 Alamos Mestizo *Santiago Pico* 49 S. Miguel Horcasitas Mestizo *Vicente Fliz 41 Alamos Espaol * Mateo Rubio* 30 Belgium Espaol * Jos Mara Gloria 34 Guadalajara Espaol * Julin Acevedo 25 Loreto Espaol *Agustn Castelo 45 Sinaloa Espaol *Jos Mara Lopez* 23 Baja California Espaol *Francisco Bruno Garca 23 Mexico City Indio *Jos Olivares 26 Guadalajara Mestizo *Jos Alejandro Sols 27 San Martn Mestizo *Po Quinto Ziga* 35 Guadalajara Mestizo * Antonio de Castro 40 Cdiz Espaol * Pedro Antonio Lisalde* 29 San Miguel de Horcasitas Espaol * Jos Antonio Leyva* 30 El Fuerte Mestizo * Salvador Carriaga* 20 Loreto Coyote * Gregorio Sandoval* 41 Durango Mestizo *Roque Jacinto de Cota* 57 El Fuerte Espaol * Jos Francisco Fliz 20 Alamos Espaol * Juan Mara Romero* 35 Sinaloa Mestizo *Francisco Seplveda* 40 Sinaloa Espaol * Segundo Valenzuela* 39 Alamos Mulato *Pedro Jos Meja* 23 Sinaloa Mestizo *Juan Antonio Ibarra* 22 Mazatlan Coyote *Jos Ramn Buelna 21 Sinaloa Espaol *Mximo Alans* 22 Chametla Mestizo *Jos de la Luz Garca 27 Sinaloa Espaol *Francisco Serrano 37 Sastago [Aragon] Mestizo *Manuel Bustamente 29 Santiago [Cuba] Mestizo *Pedro Valenzuela* 24 Alamos Mestizo *Francisco Sotelo 29 Sinaloa Espaol *Hermenegildo Flores 31 Ahuacatlan Espaol *Jos Ignacio Prez 34 Rio Yaqui Mestizo * Gregorio Crispn Prez* 29 Sinaloa Espaol * Juan Francisco Padilla 33 Santa Ana [Baja Calif. Mestizo *Jos Manuel Caedo22 19 Culiacan Mestizo *

*Asterisks after men's names indicate soldiers known to have been married by 1782.

Racial composition of the San Diego company shown in the 1782 list is particularly noteworthy. The data show thirty-one men are classed as espaoles, seventeen as mestizos, two coyotes, one mulato and one indio. If this list is compared with the 1790 census of San Diego which follows, it is discovered that there are some inconsistencies.23

Of the fifty-two men on this list, twenty-four were married, five of them to Indian women from California. The proportion of married men in the presidial companies increased steadily through the years. This compares favorably with the two married couples at San Diego and San Gabriel in 1775, when a total of less than five percent of the company was married. By 1790, out of fifty-seven men, thirty-seven were married, eighteen were single, and two were widowers. A total of sixty-seven percent were married in 1790, as compared with only forty-six percent in 1782. The occupation of frontier soldiers was no longer a celibate profession within twenty years after the establishment of Spanish control in California.24

It is also worth noting that the population of San Diego was becoming relatively stable. The turnover in presidial personnel had slowed over the decade; from March 1775 to May 1782 only eight men had remained in the San Diego Company. Between 1782 and 1790, there were twenty-nine out of the company who were still serving at San Diego. After the Yuma massacre presidial life had settled down to a routine succession of guard-mounts, garrison duty at the missions, occasional mail runs and once in a while an exploration into the back country around Cuyamaca, Santa Isabel, Lake Elsinore, or even the northern part of Baja California.

A list dated December 1, 1784, provides an opportunity to review the usual duties and distribution of the San Diego company. At the presidio and in reserve were the lieutenant, alfrez (second lieutenant), sergeant, and twelve soldiers, all in reserve. On duty as presidial guards were a corporal and five soldiers. Three soldiers nearby guarded the horses and cattle. At each of the missions - San Diego, San Juan Capistrano and San Gabriel - were a corporal and five soldiers.

Three soldiers were on guard at the pueblo of Los Angeles and two men on special duty in San Francisco by order of the governor. Two more men were with Governor Pedro Fages on special duty and three men were in San Gabriel with the mule train for supplies.

A second list of December 1, 1784 includes the following names:

Lieutenant Jos de ZigaSergeant Ignacio AlvaradoCorporal Francisco AcebedoCorporal Juan Mara OliveraAlfrez Jos VelsquezCorporal Juan Estevan RochaCorporal Jos Mara Verdugo

Soldiers:

Manuel NietoAntonio PeaFrancisco LpezJuan AlvarezManuel RoblesAntonio de CotaJoaqun de ArmentaRamn BernalSantiago PicoVicente FlizMateo RubioJos Mara LpezFrancisco Bruno GarcaLuz GarcaManuel BustamanteFrancisco SoteloJuan PadillaJos Manuel SilvasEstevan PrezJuan Jos SeplvedaJos Ignacio MesaJos OlivaresJos SolsPo Quinto ZigaPedro LisaldeAntonio LeyvaSalvador CarriagaAntonio SandovalRoque de CotaFrancisco FlizFrancisco SeplvedaJuan Segundo ValenzuelaRamn BuelnaMximo AlansFrancisco SerranoPedro ValenzuelaCrispn Prez NietoJos Mara PicoJos Miguel SilvasLuis PrezMacario de Castro

Blacksmith: Felipe RomeroCarpenter: Lorenzo Esparza

Total: One Lieutenant, one alfrez, one sergeant, four corporals, 45 privates.25

The gaps between missions from Baja California to Monterey, the capital, were lessened by 1787 with the addition of San Miguel Mission in Baja California and La Pursima Mission between Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The only region between Loreto and San Francisco which still had no missions was that area separating San Miguel (between Tijuana and Ensenada) and San Vicente Mission. Here were ninety miles of country in which the Indians had been unfriendly in the past. The founding of Santo Toms in 1791 closed this gap, as the sixty-five miles from San Miguel to Santo Toms could be traveled in a day or two.

CENSUS OF SAN DIEGO COMPANY, 1790

1. Don Jos de Ziga, lieutenant, espaol, native of Cuautitln, Mexico, 34 years old, unmarried.

2. Don Pablo de Grijalva, alfrez, espaol, native of Valle de San Luis, Sonora, 48 years old; married to Dona Dolores Valencia, espaola, from San Miguel de Horcasitas, Sonora, 40 years old, one orphan, (unnamed in this list), espaol, 14 years old.

3. Ignacio Alvarado, sergeant, espaol, from Real de Santa Ana, Baja California, 45 years old, unmarried.

4. Francisco Acebedo, corporal, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 42, unmarried.

5. Antonio Vorba, corporal, europeo, from Villafranca, Catalonia, Spain, age 47; married to Mara Josefa Grijalva, espaola, from San Miguel de Horcasitas, Sonora, age 24; four children: Antonio, 15; Francisco Xavier, 13; Jos Antonio, 4; Tomas, 2.

6. Jos Mara Verdugo, corporal, espaol, from Loreto, Baja California, age 37; married to Mara Lpez, espaola, from San Antonio, Baja California, age 24; four children: Mara Josefa Antonia, 11; Mara Antonia Martina, 5; Mara Ignacia, 3; and Julio Antonio, a baby.

7. Juan Mara Olivera, corporal, espaol, from Loreto, Baja California, age 37; married to Guadalupe Briones, mestiza, from San Luis Potos, age 26; four children: Leonardo Martn, 9; Desiderio, 4; Mximo, 7; Matas, a baby and an orphan, Mara Briones, 13.

8. Francisco Serrano, corporal, europeo, from Sstago, Aragn, Spain, age 46; married to Mara Silvas, espaola, from Villa Sinaloa, age 26; two children: Leandro, 7; and Ramona, 3.

9. Manuel Nieto, mulato, from Villa Sinaloa, age 56; married to Mara Teresa Morillo, coyota, from Loreto, Baja California, age 34; two children, Juan Jos, 11; Jos Antonio, 5; Nieto's mother, Manuela Prez, espaola, age 70.

10. Antonio Pea, espaol, from San Jos del Cabo, Baja California, age 44; unmarried.

11. Francisco Lpez, espaol, from Todos Santos, Baja California, age 48; married to Feliciana Arballo, espaola, from Culiacn, Sinaloa, age 38; five children: Ignacio, 12; Jos, 3; Margarita, 10; Josefa, 5; and Mara Antonia, a baby.

12. Antonio de Cota, espaol, from El Fuerte, Sinaloa, age 58; married to Mara, india, from San Juan Capistrano, age 26; two children: Marcela, 11; and Matilde, 5.

13. Vicente Fliz, espaol, from Alamos, Sonora, age 51, widower.

14. Mateo Rubio, europeo from Yes, Belgium, age 38; married to Ursula Dominguez, india, from Santa Gertrudis, Baja Californa, age 26; five children: Ramn, 9; Jose Santiago, 3; Josefa Vicente, 10; Mara Paula, 5; and Luisa Antonia Juana, a baby.

15. Julin Acebedo, espaol, from Loreto, Baja California, age 34, unmarried.

16. Jos Olivares, mestizo, from Guadalajara, age 34; married to Juana Ontiveros, mulata, from Villa Sinaloa, age 21; two children: Pedro, 3; and Jos Francisco, a baby.

17. Francisco Bruno Garca, indio, from Mexico City, age 32; unmarried.

18. Po Quinto Ziga, mulato, from Guadalajara, age 44; married to Rufina, india, from San Juan Capistrano, age 30; four children: Ventura, 11; Serapio, 5; Ignacio, a baby; Mara Anastacia, 6.

19. Pedro Lisalde, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 36; married to Mara Encarnacin Prez, coyota, from the Yaqui River, age 22; three children: Diego, 4; Francisco, 1; Marcela, five months.

20. Antonio Sandoval, mulato, from Durango, age 50; married to Mara Dolores Ontiveros, mulata, from Batopilas, Chihuahua, age 34; one child: Mara Antonia, 11.

21. Salvador Carriaga, indio, from Loreto, Baja California, age 30; married to Mara Guadalupe, india, from San Juan Capistrano, age 30.

22. Francisco Fliz, espaol, from Alamos, Sonora, age 28; married to Josefa de Cota, espaola, from Loreto, age 19.

23. Juan Segundo Valenzuela, color quebrado, from Alamos, Sonora, age 39; married to Agustina Alcntara, mulata, from Alamos, age 36; five children: Miguel, 6; Mximo, 5; Mara Antonia, 20; Mara Dominga, 3; and Juana, a baby.

24. Pedro Mejas, color quebrado, from Villa Sinaloa, age 38; married to Ana Mara Ortega, espaola, age 36, from Villa Sinaloa.

25. Francisco Antonio Ibarra, color quebmdo, from Mazatln de los Mulatos, Sinaloa, age 34; married to Mara de los Angeles Velsquez, coyota, from Villa Sinaloa, age 30; five children: Alvino, 11; Gil, 6; Desiderio, 4; Andrs, 3; and Gertrudis, 9.

26. Ramn Buelna, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 30; married to Petra Mejas, mulata, from Villa Sinaloa, age 21; four children: Jose Ramn, 3; Juan Jos, 2; Mara Guadalupe, 4; Mara Francisca, four months.

27. Maximo Alans, espaol, from Chametla, Sinaloa, age 32; married to Juana Miranda, espaola, from Alamos, age 34; five children: Nicols, 6; Antonio, 4; Dorotea, 3; Juliana, 10; and Paula Josefa, a baby.

28. Manuel Bustamante, color quebrado, from Santiago, Cuba, age 38; married to Clara, india, from San Diego, age 26; four children: Mara Josefa Leyva, 11; Mara de Jess Leyva, 9; Valeria Leyva, 6; and Marta Francisca Bustamente, a baby.

29. Carmen Araza, espaol, from Cosal, Sinaloa, age 32; married to Manuela Astorga, espaola, from Villa Sinaloa, age 32.

30. Doroteo Fliz, espaol, from Alamos, Sonora, age 26; married to Juana Villalobo, espaola, from Villa Sinaloa, age 19, one child: Mara Martina Petra, 2.

31. Francisco Sotelo, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 40; married to Gabriela Silvas, espaola, from Villa Sinaloa, age 34; four children: Ramn, 11; Jos Antonio, 7; Francisco, 5; Venancia, 2.

32. Crispn Prez Nieto, mulato, from Villa Sinaloa, age 38; married to Mara Reyes Armenta, coyota, from Villa Sinaloz, age 30; one child; Mara Gertrudis, 13.

33. Juan Padilla, espaol, from Real de Santa Ana, Baja California, age 43; unmarried.

34. Jos Mara Pico, espaol, from San Xavier de Cabazn, Sinaloa, age 27; married to Mara Eustaquia Gutirrez, espaola, from Culiacn, Sinaloa, age 18.

35. Manuel Silvas, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 27; married to Gertrudis Camacho, mulata, from Santa Gertrudis, Baja California, age 22; two children: Juan Jos, 3; Jos Mara, 2.

36. Esteban Prez, coyote, from the Vaqui River, Sonora, age 27, unmarried.

37. Juan Verdugo, espaol, from Loreto, Baja California, age 28, married to Matilde Amzquita, mulata, from Terrenante, Sonora, age 21.

38. Juan Jos Seplveda, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 23; married to Tomasa Gutirrez, espaola, from Culiacn, Sinaloa, age 21; one child: Patricia, 2.

39. Jos de Herrera, color quebrado, from Guadalajara, age 31, unmarried.

40. Jos Carlos Rosas, indio, from Rosario, Sinaloa, age 32; married to Mara Dolores, india, from San Gabriel, age 26; three children: Baltazar, Juan Jos, a baby; Serafina, 3.

41. Felipe Romero, armorer, color quebrado, from Guadalajara, age 36; married to Rosala Mrquez, color quebrado, from Loreto, Baja California, age 20; three children: Anselmo, 10; Catalina, 12; Luisa Beatriz, 3.

42. Joaqun Higuera, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 39; married to Mara Beatriz de Cota, espaola, from Loreto, Baja California, age 34; three children: Juan Jos, 13; Jos Mara, 5; Mara Victoria, 2.

43. Joaqun de Osuna, espaol, from Loreto, Baja California, age 22, unmarried.

44. Pedro Alvarez, color quebrado, from the Yaqui River, Sonora, age 30; married to Mara Teresa Graciana, mulata, from the Vaqui River, age 28; four children: Doroteo, 10; Mara Bernarda, 12; Josefa Alvina, 7; Mara Luisa, 2.

45. Vicente Rodrguez, mulato, from Cosal, Sinaloa, age 22, unmarried.

46. Juan Jos Alvarado, espaol, from Loreto, Baja California, age 21, unmarried.

47. Francisco Duarte, mulato, from Alamos, Sonora, age 24; unmarried.

48. Feliciano Ros, espaol, from Tepic, Nayarit, age 22; unmarried.

49. Jos Monroy, color quebrado, from Tepic, Nayarit, age 37; widower.

50. Ignacio Riz, espaol, from the Yaqui River, age 20; married to Mara Gorgona Valenzuela, coyota, from Topago, Sonora, age 20.

51. Patricio Ontiveros, mulato, from Chametla, Sinaloa, age 18, unmarried.

52. Claudio Lpez, espaol, from Real de San Antonio, Baja California, age 23; married to Luisa de Cota, espaola from Loreto, Baja California, age 14; one child: Esteban, a baby.

53. Juan Antonio Espinosa, espaol, from Villa Sinaloa, age 36, unmarried.

54. Jos Fliz, espaol, from Alamos, Sonora, age 29; married to Mara Celia Cota, espaola, from Loreto, Baja California, age 32; five children: Silvestre Botiller, 9; Joaquin Botiller, 4, Jos Antonio Botiller, 3; Mara Luisa Botiller, 6; and Juana Gertrudis Fliz, a baby.

55. Luis Gonzaga Manrquez, coyote, from San Jos de Comond, Baja California, age 19, unmarried.

56. Lorenzo Esparza, carpenter, espaol, from Aguascalientes, age 45, married to Juana Alvarado, mulata, from Guadalajara, age 34; two orphan Indian girls, aged 20 and 9.

57. Juan Barajas, deserter, color quebrado, from San Blas, age 30, unmarried.26

There were 190 persons listed in the above census, of whom ninety-six were adults. Among the adults forty-nine were listed as espaoles,of whom three were europeos, that is people born in Europe; two were from Spain, one a Belgian. There were twenty-five mulatos and colores quebrados, that is, people with some degree of African ancestry who made up about a quarter of the adults. There were only two mestizos; seven were classed as coyotes, in California usually meaning persons of one-quarter Spanish ancestry, and either three-quarters Indian, or half Indian and one-quarter black. Nine were classed as indios, of whom five were women of Alta California, and two were from Baja California.

Of the forty-nine espaoles on this list at least seven were classed as mestizos or other castes on earlier lists or in church records of Sonora and Sinaloa. Jos Mara Pico, for example, although he was listed as an espaol, has brothers who are mulatos at Santa Barbara and Los Angeles in 1790, while his parents are listed in Los Angeles as a mestizo and a mulata. Mximo Alans showed a tendency to lighten through the years. In 1780, at Alamos, Sonora, he was an indio; in San Diego, 1782, he was listed as a mestizo, and by 1790 he was an espaol. One's racial background was not of serious consideration to the people of northern Mexico, although such things as caste and racial origin were apparently more important in the major cities of central Mexico, hence the reason for including such designations on reports which were sent to Mexico City.

A possible reason for the need to lighten the soldiers of the California garrisons was a decree of 1762 which stated that militia companies were to have a least two-thirds espaoles in their garrisons.27 Even so, the California garrisons fell short of this requirement, which, in any case, was not enforced rigorously by the 1780s. Three presidios on the Sonoran frontier were composed almost entirely of Indian soldiers by 1785. The California presidios did not quite achieve the two-thirds ratio, although Monterey came closest in the 1782 list with sixty-six percent. San Diego followed with sixty percent, while San Francisco had fifty-one percent. The castes for Santa Barbara in 1782 are not given, but a 1785 list is extant. Although it is more properly a census rather than a garrison list, the Santa Barbara Company had fifty-eight percent espaoles.28

The phenomenon of caste drift is by no means confined to San Diego. At Monterey between 1782 and 1790 only one person became lighter in caste while nine became darker. At San Diego during the same period two became lighter, seven became darker, and one is uncertain, depending on whether color quebrado is darker or lighter than coyote. The difference between mulato and color quebrado is not certain-both are used to denote persons with some African ancestry.

The role played by veterans of the San Diego Company in the development of the Pueblo of Los Angeles was significant. The first three rancheros in the Los Angeles area (and in California, for that matter) were Juan Jos Domnguez, Manuel Nieto, and Jos Mara Verdugo, who were granted ranchos in 1784.29 Nieto and Verdugo remained in the army, stationed nearby at San Gabriel, while Domnguez retired to the pueblo after serving the required eighteen years for the little pension of eight pesos per month. It was barely enough for the survival of even a small family. Augmented by some subsistence farming and stockraising, however, a comfortable retirement was possible. A milpa or two of corn, a patch of wheat to sell to the presidios, a few beans, garbanzos, pumpkins, melons, squashes, tomatoes, cabbage and other vegetables were grown for personal consumption.

A few retired soldiers chose to stay near the presidio and grow vegetables, raise some chickens and herd two or three milk-cows, since the soldiers for many years were restricted in the number of cattle they might keep in the vicinity of the presidio.30 At the Pueblo de Los Angeles they could raise many more cattle and horses.

Others of the San Diego Company who settled around Los Angeles to become rancheros were Po Quinto Ziga, who received a land grant near the pueblo south of what is now Santa Monica; Pablo Grijalva, who received the Santa Ana rancho around 1801, which was inherited by his sons-in-law Antonio Vorba and Juan Peralta; and Vicente Fliz, who received Fliz rancho later known as Griffith Park in Los Angeles and was for thirteen years the man in charge of Los Angeles. Although only a private, Fliz was made comisionado of the pueblo, a position which was something of an Indian agent, military attach, police chief, militia head and city manager. He was a sort of burgermeister, who had authority over the elected heads of the pueblo, the alcalde and regidores-the mayor and his two councilmen. Fliz reported directly to the commander of Santa Barbara, although he was a member of the San Diego Company, since Los Angeles was just inside the jurisdiction of Santa Barbara Presidio. Vicente Fliz was probably the most powerful private in the army stationed in California. He held his post in Los Angeles until the end of 1794 and then returned to San Diego where he was later sent on some explorations of the San Diego back-country, such as the 1795 reconnaissance of Warner's Hot Springs and Santa Isabel regions. Fliz received his discharge in 1798 and returned to Los Angeles. He received his land grant not long after settling in the pueblo once more.31

By 1794 a few changes had been made in the San Diego Company roster, although there was some stability observable in the early part, between 1784 and 1790. There were now two officers, a sergeant, five corporals and fifty-one soldiers. All of the corporals and the sergeant had been members of the San Diego Company in 1790, as well as thirty-three of the soldiers. To retain thirty-three out of forty-seven soldiers, even for such a short period as four years, was not a great turnover. A garrison list dated December 31, 1794, gives these names:Lieutenant Antonio Grajera Corporal Jos VerdugoAlfrez Pablo Grijalva Corporal Francisco SerranoSergeant Ignacio Alvarado Corporal Francisco AcebedoCorporal Antonio Yorba Corporal Juan OliveraSoldiers:Manuel Nieto Jos SilvaFrancisco Lpez Pedro AlvarezVicente Fliz Juan SeplvedaFrancisco Bruno [Garca] Lorenzo Esparza (carpenter)Pedro Lisalde Joaqun OsunaAntonio Sandoval Jos de HerreraJuan Valenzuela Felipe Romero (armorer)Antonio Ibarra Juan AlvaradoMximo Alans Vicente RodrguezManuel Bustamente Leandro DuarteFrancisco Sotelo Jos MonroyCrispn Prez Feliciano RosJuan Verdugo Ignacio RizDoroteo Fliz Patricio OntiverosJos Pico Claudio LpezLuis Manrques Jos FlizJoaqun Verdugo Francisco de AcostaPedro Pollorena Ignacio ValenciaRafael Seplveda Francisco YorbaJos Miguel Soto Francisco SeplvedaJuan Garca Juan HigueraJos Lobo Mariano DomnguezAnastacio Leyva Ignacio LpezIgnacio Ortega Alvino CanedoVicente Ortega Manuel Figueroa 32

The presidio buildings, although completed some years before and kept in a moderate state of repair, did not impress San Diego's early foreign visitor of note, Captain George Vancouver. He did not think the presidio should be placed on the uneven hills, but in a position to dominate the bay. When Vancouver arrived in 1793 some repairs were in progress on a few of the presidio's weakened walls. Its state of disrepair may have inspired him to regard San Diego as the least of California's forts. He considered the bay to be unprotected and in need of more than the three cannons placed on Presidio Hill, some five miles from the landing.33 The relative lack of defense at San Diego, when viewed in terms of internation rivalries in the Pacific, was well known to Spanish authorities. California defenses would have to be strengthened to make some effort to repel invasion.

NOTES

1. Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of California, 7 Vols. (San Francisco: The History Company, 1884), Vol. I, pp. 130-131 and p. 131, fn. 10; Junpero Serra, O.F.M., "Nota Previa", a preface to the first book of death records at San Diego Mission, a microfilm copy in the Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Anthony J. Lorenz, "The Conquest of Scurvy," Journal of the American Dietetic Association, XXX (July, 1945), p. 668.

2. Thomas Workman Temple II, "Three Early California Letters," Historical Society of Southern California Quarterly, Los Angeles, Vol. XV supplement, 1933, p. 63.

3. Bancroft, History of California, Vol. I, p. 137.

4. Ibid., vol. I, p. 181.

5. Archivo General de la Nacin, Papeles de Californias, Vol. LXVI, n.p., Microfilm copy in the Bancroft Library, Berkeley.

6. San Gabriel Mission, First Book of Baptisms, San Gabriel, California. These soldiers' names appear as godfathers for Indian converts to Christianity between August, 1772, and January, 1773. Lieutenant Fages evidently took the Catalonian Volunteers with him from the San Diego district to Monterey in December, 1772, as their names appeared as god-fathers in Monterey district mission baptisms early in 1773.

7. Bancroft, History of California, Vol. I, pp. 181-182.

8. Archives of California, MS transcripts in Bancroft Library, Berkeley, Vol. XXII, p. 71, Monterey, June 3, 1777, Governor Felipe de Neve to Commandant General Teodoro de Croix, in Arizpe, Sonora. [California Archives, hereinafter cited as C-A.]

9. C-A 22, p. 72, Monterey, Neve to the Viceroy, Mexico City, June 3, 1777. Neve estimated between 8000 and 10,000 Indians in 21 villages between Point Concepcin and Ventura.

10. Diary of Fernando de Rivera y Moncado, 1773-1775, Ms in California Historical Society Library, San Francisco. A transcript is in the T. W. Temple Collection, History Archives, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

11. C-A 1, p. 150, Santa Ana, Baja California, Lieutenant Jos Francisco de Ortega to Captain Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, Monterey, Mar. 24, 1774.


13. C-A 15, pp. 2-8, San Diego, Ortega to Rivera y Moncada, Monterey, abstract of letter, November 30, 1775; Antonine Tibesar, O.F.M., Writings of Junpero Serra, 4 Vols. (Washington: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1956) Vol. II, pp. 449-458. This is a translation of a letter from Father Vicente Fuster to Father President Junpero Serra, written at San Diego, November 28, 1775.

14. C-A 22, p. 81-82, Monterey, unsigned, no address, (probably Gov. Neve) Feb. 18, 1777: 68 men in the San Diego district; pp. 68-71, Gov. Neve to the Viceroy, June 4, 1777: twelve men at San Diego Mission, eleven men at San Juan Capistrano Mission, nine at San Gabriel Mission, nineteen free for service at the presidio, others on mail runs, etc.; p. 85, Monterey, unsigned, no address, Aug., 1777: 69 men in San Diego district, 45 men in Monterey district; p. 84, Monterey, unsigned, no address, Dec. 31, 1778: San Diego Company: one sergeant, five corporals, 69 soldiers, 75 men total; p. 197: Governor to Joaqun Fernndez de la Vega (dated in Arizpe on Feb. 9, 1780): San Diego Company has one lieutenant, one sergeant, five corporals, 46 soldiers, 53 men total.

15. C-A 15, pp. 34-39, San Diego, Supply Officer Rafael de Pedro y Gil, January 10, 1778.

16. C-A 22, p. 20, Monterey, Gov. Neve to Gen. Croix, Sept. 19, 1777; p. 90, Monterey, Gov. Neve to Gen. Croix, August 10, 1778.

17. C-A 1, p. 14, La Paz, Baja California, Vicente Vila, Jan. 5, 1769. Vila states that the almud of corn used here is thirteen pounds, nine ounces. This is larger than most almudes locally, which would seem to be about ten pounds on the average, if we assume twelve almudes to the fanega. C-A 1, p. 239, Monterey, Commander Rivera y Moncada to Pedro Gil, July, 1774.

18. C-A 21, p. 56, San Diego, Rafael de Pedro y Gil's Accounts, December 31, 1778.

19. C-A 22, pp. 81-82, Monterey (Neve?), Supplies Ordered, Feb. 18, 1777. A description of the uniform is included with the request.

20. C-A 21, pp. 67-70, San Diego, Lieut. Ortega and Pedro y Gil, January 1, 1780.

21. Bancroft, History of California Vol. I, Chap. XVII.

22. Zoeth Skinner Eldridge Papers, MSS in Bancroft Library, Garrison List of San Diego Presidio, May 20, 1782, signed by Lieut. Jos de Ziga, Typescript in T. W. Temple Collection, History Archives, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. The asterisks after some of the names are not in the original record, but have been added to indicate married men. The baptismal records, marriage records, and death records of San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, and San Gabriel Missions usually indicated such status whenever soldiers were mentioned as godfathers or witnesses to marriages, as well as marriage and death records of the soldiers themselves.

23. To explain the caste system and the racial terms as they evolved in northwest Mexico would require a lengthy article in itself. In Alta California a variety of terms was used; at least a dozen are known to have been employed between 1781 and 1790. By far the most common used in California, however, were indio, espaol, mulato, mestizo and coyote. According to present prevailing theories, mestizos are half Spanish and half Indian; coyotes are three-quarters Indian and one-quarter Spanish; mulato, half Spanish and half Negro; indio, Indian; and espaol, Spanish. Such precise amounts as the above classifications were uncommon after the middle of the sixteenth century in Mexico. For example, persons classified as mulatos in Sinaloa could be as much as three-quarters Negro, or as little as three-sixteenths, if they are traced two or three generations. It is probable that most California soldiers were to a greater or lesser degree tri-racial in the late eighteenth century, and their castes added in these lists had only approximate value, varying from decade to decade, place to place, and enumerator to enumerator.

24. There was a disparity in the ratio of adult males and adult females in California even as late as 1790, with males still in the majority. The ratio was nearly equal, however, within twenty years, when there were 588 men and 555 women in the province among the gente de razn, or non-Indian, population, which would have been a ratio of about 106:100. Among children for the same year (Dec. 31, 1811) there were 416 boys and 410 girls, C-A 17, p. 51, List of Inhabitants in the province of Alta California, written at Monterey, March 1, 1812, unsigned.

25. C-A 54, pp. 67-69, San Diego, Jos de Ziga, Commander, December 1, 1784.

26. Zoeth Skinner Eldridge Papers, Bancroft Library, MSS, Padrn of San Diego, 1790, signed by Jos de Ziga. Transcript in T. W. Temple Collection, History Archives, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Children's names have been added from baptismal and confirmation records of San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, and San Gabriel Missions. The original has only age and sex.

27. Hubert Howe Bancroft, History of Mexico, 5 Vols. (San Francisco: The History Company, 1886-89), Vol. III, p. 404. This was also the case for militia units in the rest of-Mexico.

28. The garrison lists for Monterey and San Francisco of 1782, as well as the Santa Barbara Padrn of 1785 are also in the Eldridge Papers of the Bancroft Library.


30. Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif., Alexander Taylor Collection, Doc. No. 523, San Diego, Fr. Jos Snchez to Governor Pablo Vicente Sol, October 12, 1816. Father Snchez lamented the increase in livestock the soldiers were permitted to keep, formerly there had been a limit of two or three milk-cows permitted each soldier.

31. William M. Mason, "Fages' Code of Conduct Toward Indians," Journal of California Anthropology, Vol. II (Summer, 1975), pp. 90-100. A short biography of Vicente Fliz is found in footnote 1, p. 99.

32. C-A 54, pp. 16-18, San Diego, Antonio Grajera, Habilitado, List of San Diego Company, December 31, 1794.

33. Captain George Vancouver, A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific and Round the World (London: G.G. & J. Robinson, 1798) Vol II, pp. 495, 501.Facebook Pinterest TwitterSan Diego History Center, 1649 El Prado, Suite 3, San Diego, California 92101 - Phone: (619) 232-6203Produced by Balboa Park Online Collaborative

Presidio Garrisons

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