Battle Of Puruarán
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The Battle of Puruarán took place during the War of Mexican Independence on 5 January 1814 in the area around Puruarán,
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo, is one of the 31 states which, together with Mexico City, compose the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The stat ...
. 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 Mexican insurgents were commanded by Mariano Matamoros y Guridi and the Spanish by Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu who would later go on to become the Mexican emperor, and by Ciriaco del Llano. The battle lasted approximately one hour and resulted in a victory for the Spanish Royalists.


The battle

This short battle was a complete loss for the Mexican rebels. After a battle lasting about an hour, the smaller royalist army soundly defeated the Mexican rebels inflicting heavy casualties. The Mexican commander,
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. ...
was captured whilst attempting to flee the field of battle by a loyalist cadet named Eusebio Rodríguez. In addition to losing a majority of their army, the Mexicans also lost 23 artillery pieces and around 1,000 muskets to the Spanish.


Aftermath

After taking stock of their tremendous losses, the Mexican rebels attempted to bargain for the life of General Matamoros who had been the second in command of
José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming it ...
' forces. They petitioned the government of the
Spanish Viceroyalty A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman_language, Anglo-Nor ...
for a
prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoner of war, prisoners of war, spy, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, cadaver, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conven ...
where they would return 200 captured royalist soldiers for Matamoros. The Spanish refused the offer and ordered the execution by
firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...
of Matamoros on 3 February 1814. After the death of Matamoros,
José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming it ...
ordered the execution of all 200 Spanish royalist prisoners.


See also

*
Mexican War of 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 ...
* Mariano Matamoros y Guridi *
José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming it ...


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of Puruaran Puruaran Puruaran Puruaran Puruaran Conflicts in 1814 1814 in New Spain January 1814