Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is situated in the city of
San Diego,
California, on the Fort Rosecrans Military Reservation. The cemetery is located approximately 10 miles west of downtown San Diego, overlooking the bay and the city. Fort Rosecrans is named after William Starke Rosecrans, a Union general in the American Civil War.
Many Fort Rosecrans interments date to the early years of the California Republic, including the remains of the casualties of the Battle of San Pasqual. Shortly after the
United States declared war on
Mexico in May 1846, Brigadier Stephen W. Kearny was tasked with conquering Mexico's northern provinces, New Mexico and California. While Kearny demonstrated his considerable gift for administrative command with his acquisition of the New Mexican territory, he faced a more difficult task in California. Expecting a show of force from the Mexican Californios, Kearny set out west from New Mexico. Upon reaching California,
Kit Carson intercepted him and his men, who informed him the territory had been taken by American settlers in the Bear Flag Revolt. Kearny sent 200 of his men back to New Mexico with the news and continued forward with one-third of his force. Unfortunately, the success of the revolt had been exaggerated and, before reaching their destination, Kearny and his men encountered a group of Californios intent on keeping more U.S. troops out of their homeland.
In the subsequent Battle of San Pasqual, 19 of Kearny's men and an untold number of Californios lost their lives. Initially, the dead were buried where they fell, but by 1874 the remains had been removed to the San Diego Military Reservation. Eight years later, the bodies were again reinterred at what is now Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. In 1922, the San Diego chapter of the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West had a large boulder brought from the battlefield and placed at the gravesite with a plaque affixed that lists the names of the dead.
