Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/190

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174
HIDALGO'S MARCH TOWARD THE CAPITAL.

ernment,[1] Hidalgo, who had already decided to march against the capital without delay, left Valladolid on the 20th of October,[2] taking with him nearly all the church funds, and those of private individuals deposited for security in the coffers of the cathedral. Besides these funds, which amounted to $200,000, he obtained other large sums from the residents of Valladolid. Aware that Calleja's preparations would soon be completed, Hidalgo hurried forward. At Acámbaro he held a review of his forces, now numbering 80,000, an unwieldy, disorderly mass, which

Hidalgo's March Against Mexico.

he divided into regiments of infantry and cavalry, each 1,000 strong. Here he was proclaimed generalisimo[3] at a council of the chiefs, and he conferred

  1. Anzorena, as the sequel will show, proved himself a stanch partisan of the revolutionists.
  2. This is the date given positively by Betancourt. Bustamante gives the 19th of Oct. as the day of Hidalgo's departure.
  3. Garcia Conde, Informe, in Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., ii. 270-1. Hidalgo's uniform was a blue coat with red cuffs and collar bordered with gold and silver galloon, his shoulder belt being of black velvet similarly bordered. Suspended from his neck he wore a large gold medal bearing the image of the virgin of Guadalupe. The uniform of Allende consisted of a jacket of blue cloth with red cuffs and collar, the seams being covered with silver galloon. Around each shoulder was a silver cord with pendent button. The lieutenant-general's uniforms were distinguished from his by having only