Unbeknown to Heintzelman, the Yuma are preparing…
November 1851 CE
In October 1851, a letter had arrived at San Diego from Lieutenant Sweeny, which asked that Heintzelman immediately send aid to the fort.
Provisions were low, scurvy had broken out and dozens of Yuman warriors had surrounded the post.
Sweeny expects an attack but Heintzelman's only response is a letter of his own stating that there is no reason to believe the Yuma were hostile, but when news arrived that four of Sweeny's command had been killed by around eight hundred Yumans, Heintzelman sends sixteen men under Captain Delozier Davidson with a train of mules and wagons.