Dateline>City of Angels

The famed Porciuncula isn’t the only river to make a dramatic impact on Los Angeles. Believe it or not, on January 8, 1847, this otherwise unremarkable stretch of San Gabriel Riverbed in present-day Montebello was the most important site in all California, let alone for the City of Angels.

Here Gen. Jose Maria Flores’ Mexican militia engaged U.S. forces led by Gen. Stephen Kearny and Comm. Robert Stockton in what turned out to be a pivotal battle in the Mexican-American War. The prize was Los Angeles, Alta California’s provincial capital and last holdout against the American Conquest. After completely routing Flores over a two-day period, the U.S. contingent finally marched unopposed into the City of Angels on January 10.

Californios in general are said to have welcomed American rule, but Los Angeles’ inhabitants had been staunch Mexican loyalists. The sight of the Stars and Stripes being hoisted over their plaza augured a turbulent new chapter in their pueblo’s history–one filled with profound social and economic upheaval. A year later the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the war, ceding California to the United States. Waves of Yankee newcomers followed, and Los Angeles’ explosive journey from sleepy provincial outpost to sprawling American metropolis was underway.

In little more than a decade, many formerly wealthy dons and donas of the pueblo’s Ranching Era found themselves struggling in the face of the new reality. A smaller number, exemplified by personalities like Antonio Coronel, managed on the other hand not only to survive the transition, but thrive. Those who did not were left further and further behind in the notorious “Sonoratown” barrio as the city’s social and commercial gravity shifted south of the Old Plaza.

While the Battle of Rio San Gabriel may have receded from the Southland’s consciousness, its haunting imprint remains — figuratively and literally. Some locals swear the sounds of ghostly gunfire, cavalry charges and battle shouts still occasionally ring out along the riverbed. Others claim to have actually glimpsed phantom Mexican militiamen wandering about, apparently still dazed and demoralized at their defeat and its longterm consequences.

This section of river is inaccessible, but a modest monument featuring a plaque and two replica canons overlooks the site near the intersection of Washington Blvd. and Bluff Road in Montebello.