The Battle of Lomas de Santa María was a battle of the

War of Mexican Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

that occurred from 23–24 December 1813 in the area around Lomas de Santa María, in the municipality of

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

(present day Morelia). The battle was fought between the royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown and the Mexican rebels fighting for independence from the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. The battle began when Mexican insurgents numbering around 5,600 men under the command of José María Morelos y Pavón, Mariano Matamoros y Guridi,

Nicolás Bravo Nicolás Bravo Rueda (10 September 1786 – 22 April 1854) was a Mexican soldier and politician who served as interim President of Mexico three times, in 1839, 1842, and 1846. Previously, he fought in the Mexican War of Independence, and ser ...

, and Hermenegildo Galeana attacked the city of Valladolid at midday on 23 December after the Spanish refused their demands to surrender the city. The Mexican insurgents, who numbered around 5,600 men, were commanded by José María Morelos y Pavón and the Spanish by Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu who would later go on to become the Mexican emperor. The battle which lasted the better part of two days, resulted in a victory for the Spanish royalists. The tide of the battle turned when reinforcements arrived from

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

sent by the

Viceroy of New Spain This article lists the viceroys who ruled the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1535 to 1821 in the name of the monarch of Spain. In addition to viceroys, this article lists the highest Spanish governors of the viceroyalty, before the appointment o ...

, Félix María Calleja under the command of Ciriaco del Llano. Around midnight, the royalist forces succeeded in penetrating the insurgent camp, obliging them to flee the battle in disorder. This battle was significant in that it marked the decline of Morelos' military campaign for independence.

Context

After the declaration of Mexican independence triggered war with the Spanish royalists, the priest of Carácuaro, José María Morelos y Pavón met with rebel leader

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Gallaga Mandarte y Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or simply Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican War ...

on 20 October 1810 at

Charo María Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza, professionally known by her stage name Charo, is a Spanish-born actress, singer, comedian, and flamenco guitarist who rose to international prominence in the 1960s on American television, as well ...

, Michoacán de Ocampo where he was commissioned to fight against the Spanish colonial government in the southern area of the

viceroyalty A viceroyalty was an entity headed by a viceroy. It dates back to the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the sixteenth century. British Empire India * British Raj, India was governed by the Governor-General of India, Governor-General and Vi ...

with the established goal of capturing Acapulco de Juárez. After the execution of Hidalgo on 30 July 1811, Morelos became the de facto leader of the insurrection. After the rebel forces failed to capture Acapulco at the

Battle of El Veladero The Battle of El Veladero was a battle of the War of Mexican Independence that occurred from 1810 to 30 April 1811 at Cerro El Veladero, Acapulco de Juárez. The battle was fought between royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown, commanded ...

, they fortified themselves in Cuautla where they successfully defeated Félix María Calleja at the

Siege of Cuautla The siege of Cuautla was a battle of the War of Mexican Independence that occurred from 19 February through 2 May 1812 at Cuautla de Morelos, Cuautla, Morelos. The Spanish Royalist (Spanish American Revolution), royalist forces loyal to the ...

. From there the rebels marched to

Tehuacán Tehuacán () is the second largest city in the Mexican state of Puebla, nestled in the southeast of the valley of Tehuacán, bordering the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. The 2010 census reported a population of 248,716 in the city and 274,906 i ...

, and later to Oaxaca de Juárez to take the city, something they succeeded in doing on 25 November 1812. In September 1813, the rebels convened the

Congress of Chilpancingo A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, where news reached them of their successful capture of Acapulco. It was there decided that they should attempt to capture the city of

(present day Morelia) so that the congress could install itself in that city. In November, the rebel army traveled to the provincial capital of Michoacán de Ocampo, arriving in December.

The battle

Félix María Calleja quickly uncovered the rebel plans to take the city of

through his extensive spy network inside Morelos' camp, also learning where Morelos was moving his forces and which forces were more concentrated than others. On 8 December, by order of the viceroy, Colonel Domingo Landázuri left

at the head of 1,000 soldiers. The Colonel

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...

joined him at

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

with the general Ciriaco del Llano, incorporating Landázuri's forces into their own on 23 December at Indaparapeo. Landázuri marched with one third of the troops directly to the city of Valladolid where he began preparations to resist a siege. Ramón López Rayón informed Morelos of the Spanish royalist troop movements who then ordered Rayón to attack the combined forces of Iturbide and Llano to gain time for his own troops to reach and capture Valladolid. Morelos further understood the need for expediency as he needed to capture the city before the arrival of further reinforcements sent from Mexico City. Rayón and gathered his forces in pursuit of Llano. Various skirmishes took place on 21 December at Jerécuaro where the rebels were repulsed by Iturbide. After the royalists defeated Rayón, they proceeded to chase his army through the campo de Santiaguito where Rafael López Rayón, the only son of the insurgent commander was killed in action. On the morning of 23 December, Morelos wrote Landázuri asking him to surrender the city of Valladolid, promising to respect the lives of the commander and the royalist defenders. Landázuri ignored Morelos' offer and awaited the arrival of the attack. At midday, an insurgent division under the command of Hermenegildo Galeana began its assault on Valladolid. With just over 1,000 soldiers, Galeana entered the city from the north and routed the battalions placed there by Landázuri who for a time appeared to have been surrounded. About two hours later, the reinforcements under Iturbide and Llano arrived at the city who immediately clashed with the attacking forces under Galeana. Galeana decided to retire from the battle after he assessed his situation as hopeless in taking the city. Ciriaco del Llano had initially wanted to pursue the retreating Galeana, but was ordered not to do so by Iturbide who cited a tactical blunder which would be made in pursuit of the retreating forces. Galeana entered Morelos' camp and asked for reinforcements.

decided to attempt to attack the city again with his own division but was stopped by Llano and his troops at the center of the city, repulsing Bravo.

Mariano Matamoros Mariano Matamoros y Guridi (August 14, 1770 – February 3, 1814) was a Mexican Roman Catholic priest and revolutionary rebel soldier of the Mexican War of Independence, who fought for independence against Spain in the early 19th century. ...

commanded the third and final attempt to take the city which failed similarly to the previous two attempts. After being informed of Matamoros' defeat by the Spanish Royalists, Morelos sent an emissary to Matamoros ordering him to return to camp so that they could again attempt to take the city the following day. The rebels camped in a heavily forested area on the outskirts of the Valladolid

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

s known as the Lomas de Santa María. Around midnight, the morning of 24 December, Iturbide had discovered the location of the rebel camp and was convinced by Llano to attack with expediency less the rebels be able to attack the city again the following day. Around 2 am,Time used in this article refers to Hora Central de México (UTC−6). Llano and Iturbide attacked the rebel camp, killing about one fourth of the troops under Morelos' command. Due to the confusion and darkness, the rebel soldiers continued to fire at each other after royalist troops had already withdrawn. They fled the field in panic. This defeat marked the end of the fourth campaign initiated by Morelos and initiated the fifth where this southern noble would eventually meet his downfall and be executed by firing squad in 1815.

Aftermath

Due to concessions granted by members of the ''Supremo Poder Legislativo'', installed by the

, Morelos decided to retreat with his forces from Valladolid and abandon all attempts to capture the city. He withdrew to

and made plans to continue the fight at Puruarán. On 4 January 1814, Matamoros commanded a force of insurgents at the

Battle of Puruarán The Battle of Puruarán took place during the War of Mexican Independence on 5 January 1814 in the area around Puruarán, Michoacán. The battle was fought between the royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown and the Mexican rebels fighti ...

against an army commanded by Iturbide alone as Llano had been by that time recalled to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and named the military commander of

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

Andalucía Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

. Matamoros' forces were utterly defeated at Puruarán and Matamoros himself was captured by a loyalist cadet named Leoncio Rodríguez. He was taken prisoner by the Spanish forces and sentences to death on 23 January. Morelos attempted to save his life by offering the exchange of 200 Spanish royalist captured soldiers for Matamoros. The viceroy refused this offer and Matamoros was executed at the Portal del Ecce Homo on 3 February 1814. Upon discovering Matamoros' execution, Morelos ordered the massacre of all 200 Spanish prisoners. Morelos would meet his own death by execution at Spanish hands a year later in 1815.

References

Bibliography

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External links