TROPICAL TRAIL REGION
Guided Tour of the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum.
Between September, 1839 and January, 1840, Guerrero, Mier, Laredo and other villas were taken by the Federalists. On January 7, 1840, the Republic of the Río Grande was pro- claimed by constitutional convention and Laredo was named its capital. A small structure across the square from San Agustín Church became its headquarters. That structure now houses the Republic of the Río Grande Museum. On the 17th of that same month, officers and a general council were elected to lead the new republic. Jesús Cárdenas, a lawyer from Reynosa, was chosen to be president. Antonio Canales was named commander-in-chief of the army; Juan Nepomuceno Molano was selected as delegate for Tamaulipas; Francisco Vidaurri y Villaseñor, delegate for Coahuila; Manuel María de Llano, delegate for Nuevo León; and Juan Francisco Farias was chosen to be secretary to the council. Colonel Antonio Zapata served as commander of the cavalry.
eventually adopted the republican constitution of 1824 which favored a federalist form of govern- ment. Almost immediately, the young nation was set upon with attempts at re-conquest by Spain, as well as by an independence movement in its north- ern province of Texas. Indeed, the Texan separatist factions based their secession on the change from the federalist form of government to one dictated and funded from the capital in Mexico City. This led to numerous revolts in Yucatán, Zacatecas and eventually, the northern states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila. Seeing an opening for its own expansion, France also embarked on a blockade of Mexican seaports.
On November 5, 1838, Antonio Canales, a prominent lawyer born in Monterrey, issued a proclamation in Ciudad Guerrero calling for the re-adoption of the federalist constitution of 1824 and opposition to the centralist government. By February of 1839, the citizens of Laredo had joined the cause. Helped by the French blockade of the Mexican ports, the Federalists were able to capture several towns. By March of 1839, howev- er, the French had lifted their blockade and made peace with Mexico, allowing the Centralists to devote more resources to fight the Federalists. Between May and September of 1839, Centralists captured Saltillo, Tampico, Monclova,
and Laredo. Antonio Canales and his chief lieu- tenant, Antonio Zapata (for whom the South Texas county was named in 1858), retreated to the Nueces River and sought the support of Mirabeau B. Lamar, president of the Republic of Texas. Counting on a buffer state between the newly inde- pendent Texas republic and its former government, Lamar officially remained neutral, hoping for Mexico’s eventual official recognition of Texas as a sovereign nation. President Lamar, however, did allow the recruitment of Texians into the Federalist armies. The partici- pation of the Texians, who had themselves chosen to separate from Mexico, caused outrage on
The Republic of the Rio Grande Museum
ADDRESS:
1005 Zaragoza Street Laredo, Texas, 78040 (956) 727-3480
HOURS:
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VISIT LAREDO
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Almost immediately, the Republic’s forces embarked on a series of battles with Centralist forces taking, losing, and re-taking various vil- las along the Río Grande and farther into Mexico.
After a disastrous defeat at Santa Rita de Morelos in Coahuila, in which Canales’ role is ambiguously described as either cowardly and militarily inept or as cautiously prudent, depend- ing on the historian, Federalist survivors of the battle were court- martialed, found guilty and shot. Antonio Zapata’s head was cut off and preserved in a cask of brandy until it was returned to his hometown of Guerrero where it was displayed on a pike for three days as a warning to others.
the part of some Federalists who, still consider- ing themselves loyal Mexicans, believed their rebellion to be one of a temporary nature, to last only until the official government returned to its former constitution. These serious phil- osophical differences eventually led to insur- mountable and tragic military disarray for the Federalists.
The armed struggle for the border villas continued through the summer months and by the fall it was clear that the Federalists could not prevail. On November 6, 1840, Canales surren- dered his troops on the north bank of the river at Camargo, and President Cárdenas and his forces stacked their rifles and arms in Laredo. The Republic of the Río Grande was no more.
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