The exact date of the battle is unknown but happened on one day in mid June, 1788, in the Pinal Mountains of east central Arizona.

Beginning on May 31, 1788, to June 24, Captain Pablo Romero of the Spanish Army led a 208-man force of Sonoran troops that killed eleven Apache warriors and four women and children.

Ensign José Moraga with about ten men from their pack-train escort decided to scout ahead of the wagon train.

After Moraga slayed one Apache himself in hand-to-hand combat, Captain Romero, commanding the main force, heard the firing and raced to the scene, arriving just before the battle ended where his men were skirmishing a bit.

Captain Romero evidently left straightaway after the expedition ended to report to the commandant of arms in Arizpe how well he had succeeded in his sweep across Apacheria, so the King of Spain granted him a commission.