The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican-American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community of the city of San Diego, California. On December 6 and December 7, 1846, General Stephen W. Kearny's US Army column, along with a smaller force of Marines, engaged a small contingent of Californios and their Presidial Lancers, led by Capt. Leonardo Cota; eventually joined by Major Andrés Pico. After US reinforcements arrived, Kearny's troops were able to reach San Diego.