Fort Romualdo Pacheco

The fort was built by Lieutenant Alfrez Jose Antonio Romualdo Pacheco Sr. in response to attacks on travelers on the route made by Juan Bautista de Anza's expedition in 1774 from Sonora to Alta California.

The fort was built after Fernando Rivera y Moncada, many of his soldiers, Francisco Garcés and his local missionaries, were killed at Mission San Pedro y San Pablo de Bicuñer in that is called the Yuma Revolt or Yuma Massacre on July 18, 1781.

The Yuma Massacre closed the overland transportation between northern Mexico and Alta California for 50 years.

Lieutenant Pacheco with soldiers and cavalry from the Presidio de San Diego built the fort in later 1825 and early 1826.

The fort was built just north of the New River and south of the Bull Head Slough in what is now Imperial, California.

The trail made by Juan Bautista de Anza's expedition in 1774 from Mexico to South California was called the El Camino del Diablo, or the Road of the Devil.

But, General Teodoro de Croix broke the peace by building two pueblos towns on the Yumas land.

Yuma Revolt at the crossing and the pueblos resulted in the death of about 100 Spanish: about 60 men, 20 women, and 20 children.

[4] Captain José Antonio Roméu was put in charge of a retaliatory force to attack the Yumas for the massacre.

He and Governor Felipe de Neve led attacked the elusive warriors from September to October in 1782.

In December 1851 US Major Samuel P. Heintzelman and sixty US troops came to the Yuma Crossing from San Diego.