Leaf-verified 2026-09-22, previously UNCATALOGUED: this document sat INSIDE the declared span of ca8-d374 (a span-declaration slip), so no earlier check had seen it. VERBATIM HEADING: «1797. Marzo 28. Sta Barbara. / Felipe de Goycoechea a Borica. declaracion de Guerra». SUBSTANCE: replying to Borica's oficio of 13 March on the war declared by our court against the English nation, he reports «el deplorable estado en que se halla esta jurisdiccion que tengo á mi cargo para defenderla en caso de arrimar el enemigo a sus costas alguna armada y que intente hacer desembarcos». Of the eight cannon composing the artillery of this presidio and its escoltas, «para el grande no hay gente para gobernarlo», and for that one gun he has made 118 cartridges with their balls; for the second there is no ball of its calibre and he dare not make grapeshot; the more serviceable guns he is repairing and re-carriaging «con el temor de que no queden mui buenos; porque no hay errero». More than twenty escopetas want light repairs and others lack stocks, with which vecinos who have none could be armed. All sheet lead has been cast into balls and buckshot and cartridges are being made «donde me alcanse el papel». ⭐ On the Indians: «aunque hasta el dia cuento con los Indios que nos pueden ayudar bastante, pero mejor se deve reselar de ellos, y que con mucha facilidad sigan el partido contrario», and he is doing what he can to set them against that nation should they be needed. Closes «mis arbitrios en defensa del estado». ✅ RELATION TO ca8-d292/d293 SETTLED 2026-09-22 by reading n236–n238: they are TWO DISTINCT LETTERS OF ONE SERIES, not a duplicate copy. This one (28 March) answers Borica's order of 13 March; the other (10 April, pp.118–124) answers a further order of 27 March and covers different ground — sentinel posts kept «durante la actual guerra» at La Purísima, opposite José Ortega's rancho, at San Buenaventura and at the rancho de Domínguez near Los Ángeles; target practice suspended «para no inutilizar el armamento»; the refusal to build a beach battery; and the quiet withdrawal of child-burdened families from the pueblo. The 118 cartridges are the same stock in both: here they are for «el grande» of the eight guns, and the 10 April letter names its calibre — «para el cañon de á 6 no hay mas de 118 cartuchos con las balas que habia; para este no hay artillero». Cite the 10 April letter for the six-pounder, since it states the calibre explicitly.
| Date | 1797-03-28 (exact) |
|---|---|
| From | Felipe de Goycoechea |
| To | Diego de Borica |
| Place | Santa Bárbara |
| Series | Provincial State Papers |
| Tomo | XV |
| Original tomo page | pp.574–575 |
| Savage copy page | 383 / 188 |
| Scan leaf | n381–n383 |
| Document type | abstract |
| Source | Savage abstract |
Read this leaf on the Internet Archive ↗ · leaf n381–n383
Felipe de Goycoechea to Diego de Borica, Santa Bárbara, 1797-03-28, Provincial State Papers, XV, pp.574–575, Archives of California, C-A 8, Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.Cite the document by series, tomo and original tomo page, as the literature does; the C-A number locates it in the repository. To cite this catalogue entry itself, use https://archivesofcalifornia.com/record/ca8/ca8-d551.html