tempting in vain to retaliate for their failure on some of the minor settlements.[1]
This reverse gave no little impulse to the preparations of Conde de Castro Terreño, the new commander in Puebla, to whom had been assigned, among other tasks, the subjugation of Osorno's strongholds. The importance of the undertaking was measured not alone by the opposing forces, but by their dangerous proximity to the Vera Cruz highway; and taught by the failure of Célis, the conde resolved to lead in person the carefully fitted out expedition. On presenting himself before Zacatlan,[2] May 19th, he found the place abandoned by Osorno, who, preferring prudence to glory, had buried his artillery, and retired to a safe distance. Pursuit seemed useless, and after sending out detachments to destroy the fortifications and factories at San Miguel, Tenango, Huamantla, and other places, Terreño returned to Puebla three days later, taking away the discovered guns.
The only resistance met during this military promenade was offered by Arroyo at Huamantla and by the cura Ortega Moro, who with greater rashness than sense bore down upon the advancing expedition with
- ↑ Such as Tlatlanquitepec, Tenextepec, Huatepec, and Chignauta. The attack on Zacapoaxtla began on April 27th, the main assault and retreat occurring on the 28th. Royalist accounts estimate the assailants at 5,000, and claim the capture of four cannon with a sacrifice of only two killed. The officer whose death influenced the defeat was Lieut.-col Epitacio García. Gaz. de Mex., 1813, iv. 552-8. Bustamante places Osorno's force at over 1,000 men, four cannon, and two companies of infantry, but this may not include the troops added on the way under Arroyo, Espinosa, and others.
- ↑ He proposed to be guided in the campaign by Col J. de Dios Ramirez, lately an officer of Osorno, who had found it prudent to escape from the ill feeling roused by his excesses. At the last moment came letters from Osorno, enclosing notes by Ramirez on Terreño's projects, and charging the latter with secret adhesion to the insurgent cause. The charge, whether true or not, could not fail to incense the conde, and he had the double-faced colonel arraigned before a court-martial and executed, to stop further disclosures, according to some. Bustamante declares, however, that the only ground for suspicion was the courteous treatment of insurgents by Terreño. Correspondence on the subject is given in Bustamante's journal Correo del Sur, July 1, 1813. Terreño had additional trouble with the ayuntamiento of Puebla, which neglected to promptly furnish certain beasts for transport. The alcalde, Marqués de Monserrat, was actually placed under arrest for protesting against a curt summons to appear before the general. Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., ii. 285, 287-9.
