Restoration of Royal A,~tlzority •
29
formerly an artillery officer, now in command of a troop of volunteers in Monclova. Because of his previous association with Generalissimo Al- lende and Marshal Abasolo he was told to seek a pardon for the prisoners. If all efforts to save the prisoners failed, Don Melchor had in reserve horses, mules, arms, munitions, and supplies to enable Governor Salcedo and his friends to make good their escape north over the mountains into Chihuahua to join the Royalist forces at Parras. Captain Rodriguez, who followed Baron de Bastrop to Saltillo a few days later, was also to find out all he could about the plans of the Revolu- tionists. By this time rumor insisted that the leaders were about to march north. If such proved the case, Captain Rodriguez was to advise against removing all the troops from Saltillo and in favor of having a competent detachment meet the leaders at a convenient place, such as Baj.in, to escort them to Monclova.• Insurgent plans. While Manuel Salcedo, his fellow prisoners, and their Loyalist friends plotted the defeat of the rebels, others at Saltillo were making preparations. Ever since early February Allende had been in Saltillo. He had been made commander in chief of the Army of America after the removal of Hidalgo from this post. Here, too, were Hidalgo, Abasolo, Jimenez, and all the principal leaders of the Revolution. A motley crowd of approximately five thousand men, poorly clothed and armed, con- stituted the remains of the tattered forces of the cause of independence. The Royalists had relentlessly driven them north. General Calleja had oc- cupied San Luis Potosi and Royalist troops had marched triumphantly into Zacatecas. The forces of Viceroy Venegas were being rapidly re- organized before hurling them against the shattered army of Allende and Hidalgo to crush the bold defenders of liberty and independence. Anxiously the Insurgents surveyed their waning resources. Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Nuevo Santander, and Texas, the four northeastern provinces of New Spain, were still in their undisputed possession-they thought. If Saltillo could join forces with the four provinces, an effective check could be offered to any further advance by Calleja. In the meantime, Allende, Hidalgo, Jimenez, Abasolo, and the other leaders could proceed safely to the United States. They were to be escorted to the frontier by a thousand men, who were to protect them and the not inconsiderable loot-over two million dollars in gold and silver bars-with which they intended to purchase arms, munitions, equipment, and supplies so greatly needed by their wretched troops. 8Testimo11io .•. Sanchez Navarro, pp. :2-10.
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