William Tecumseh Sherman & the Battle of San Pasqual

Author: George Hruby


One of the most remarkable discoveries by the SPBSLP was a connection between William Tecumseh Sherman and the Battle of San Pasqual. This American icon from the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman, was found to have had one unique connection to the Battle of San Pasqual.

I was conducting research through the National Archives in Washington, D.C. when a most extraordinary letter was discovered. Dated April 13, 1848, the letter was directed from Colonel Mason of Monterey, California to a Colonel Stevenson in Los Angeles. The letter instructed Colonel Stevenson to send a burial detail to the San Pasqual Battlefield and retrieve the bodies of the American soldiers buried there. Their remains were to be taken to San Diego and reburied there in a proper cemetery.

The letter was hand written by his adjutant at the time, who was a young lieutenant. That young lieutenant was none other than Lieutenant William Tecumseh Sherman. Little could he have imagined in 1848 that the United States would one day split and engage in one of the bloodiest civil wars the world has ever seen. Nor could he have ever imagined where his destiny would eventually lead him in that great and tragic event.

So indeed, there is a connection, no matter how slight or indirect, between the great General William Tecumseh Sherman and the Battle of San Pasqual.


Original Letter signed by Lt. William Tecumseh Sherman


Signature Enlarged


Printed Version of Original Letter from Lt. W.T. Sherman