Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/645

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DEFEAT OF ROSAINS.
629

suspicious of the intrigues, and kept aloof. Meanwhile Donallo got wind of the project, and turned the tables by falling unexpectedly upon Rosains at Soltepec, near Huamantla, on January 22, 1815, and inflicting a crushing defeat.[1] The disaster carried rejoicing to the others, and Osorno, Arroyo, and Calzada not only declared their independence, but joined in picking up stragglers from the defeated army, and in taking

Operations in the East.

possession of several of Rosains' towns. Sesma abandoned him and retired to Mizteca, and a number of chiefs in Vera Cruz withdrew their allegiance,

  1. The royalists numbered about 1,000, and claimed that the insurgents lost 200 in killed on the battle-field alone, out of a force of 1,300. Gaz. de Mex., 1815, vi. 123-9, 99-100. Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., iii. 300-2, and Rosains, Rel. Hist., 13-14, belittle the affair; but Teran speaks more plainly. For Lobera's share in the victory, see Barrera, Elogio Lobera, 1-12.