Prior to his death, the senior Anza wanted to establish an overland route for settlers from the interior of Mexico to Alta California. The assembly and jumping off point would be Tubac, (located south of Tucson, Arizona). Young Juan followed in his late father’s footsteps, became a soldier, and worked his way up through the ranks. When he was about 42, he took up his father’s dream of establishing a trail to settle California. Until this time, it was populated with Native Americans, priests at the missions, and soldiers at the presidios.

Anza petitioned the Viceroy for permission to establish an overland route to Alta California. He even offered to finance the expedition himself, which must have made his offer all the more appealing. His request was granted.

He made two round trips along what would come to be known as The Anza Trail. First, he explored it with a small group of soldiers. Then he assembled and led a full expedition of settlers from Tubac to Monterey. Once he had explored the trail, it then took months to ride deep into what is now Mexico to gather volunteers to come with him to Tubac to form the expedition. When settled in Monterey, and after Anza had returned to his home post, they then launched the settlement of what we now know as San Francisco. Upon Anza’s return home, after the expedition had successfully concluded, he was promoted to Governor of the Spanish territory now known as New Mexico.

Anza was married, but had no children of his own. He raised 2 nephews. He lived only 12 years after the expedition, and died in his early 50s. Juan Bautista de Anza’s legacy is that he brought the first Spanish civilian families to settle Alta California, and that he brought them via the route that he explored and established, now known as The Anza Trail.  

The expedition brought 1,000 livestock, including 165 pack mules, 340 horses, some brood mares with colts, a few burros, over 300 beef cattle (200 for the new herd in California and 100 for butchering along the way). They brought about 9 tons of supplies and implements. They carried 6 tons of flour, beans, pinole or cornmeal, sugar, and chocolate. Cooking kettles and frying pans, hand tools, and munitions made up another ton. Extra clothing and blankets, another ton. They also brought riding saddles, bridles, pack saddles and equipment, saddle blankets, shoeing tools and nails, and several hundred pounds of dressed iron for making horse and mule shoes.

There was a tent for the commander and his servants, 2 more tents for 3 padres and their assistants, and another 10 tents for the families. Many soldados and the arrieros (mule packers) and vaqueros slept outside.

When the caravan was on the move, first came the people, walking and on horseback. Then the mule train, then the caballada or horse herd, and last were the cattle herd and vaqueros. Every evening the mules were unpacked and every morning the muleteers repacked the supplies on the backs of the mules. When they initially set out, they were accompanied by an extra escort of soldiers from the Tubac presidio to get them safely through Apache territory.

The expedition embarked on their journey after a morning mass and with all joining the padre in singing the Alabado. The Alabado is a religious song praising God. A version of this song can be found on YouTube as ‘Alabado sea el Santisimo Himno Eucaristico Español’. Padre Pedro Font would start the song and it was picked up and sung by the soldiers, cowboys, mule drivers, men, women and children in the expedition. Their strong voices echoed across the valleys and hills. This is the way they started each morning of the trip.

They trekked northwest through dry hot desert and crossed the swollen Colorado River following a route that would today almost parallel the Mexican border in Southern Arizona as it enters California. (The story of the trip is fascinating but space prohibits its telling here.)