Our Catlwlic Heritage in Texas
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escape if they were allowed to remain in their homes under guard Their request was granted by Casas, and the distinguished prisoners were escorted by the troops to the Governor's Palace, where they were confined. As Salcedo and Herrera were led into the palace, the troops instinctively presented arms-a fitting tribute to the two loyal and gallant officers, who for years had exerted themselves to the utmost in defending the remote Province of Texas.11 The principal collaborators in the successful co"p d'etat were Sergeants Miguel de Reyna, Blas Jose Perales, Patricio Rodriguez, and Trinidad Perez, whose close association with the soldiers proved invaluable in winning them to the cause. Equally significant was the cooperation of Corporal Tomas Pinedo (Penedo?) of the Nuevo Santander Company stationed in Bexar. Among the commissioned officers were Captains Pedro Falcon and Vicente Tarin, and Lieutenant Vicente Flores. Two civilians, Alcalde Francisco Travieso and Gabino Delgado, a city councilor, both descendants of the first Canary Islands settlers, gave the Casas revolt the weight of their prestige and the seal of approval of the citizens of Bexar. It must not be thought that these men were planning independence. Captain Casas was motivated by his personal desire for power; his principal supporters were, likewise, eager to wrest authority from the constituted officials. In seizing the Governor and the Commandant, and in declaring themselves for the King, the preservation of their faith, and against bad government by European-born Spaniards, they followed the pattern set by Father Hidalgo and his group. Theirs was a movement, not for independence from Spain, but against corrupt colonial administration and for a larger measure of participation in local self-government. Their knowledge of the aims and purposes of the Insurgents and of the leaders in Nuevo Santander, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila was scant. So true was this that Casas himself did not know that Father Hidalgo had been deposed from command by Allende, one of his subordinates, or that Lieutenant General Jose Mariano Jimenez had been given juris- diction by Allende over the northern provinces. The first report of the successful overthrow of the Government in Texas, sent on January 23, was addressed, therefore, to Hidalgo. Not until February 3 did Captain Casas apologize to Jimenez, when he frankly admitted that he had been
11 Chabot, o;. cit., 24-25, 36-67; Garrett, o;. cit., 40-42.
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