l . I :i '
Our Catholic Heritage in Te:eas
34
prized captives in New Spain to turn them over officially to his friend, co- worker, and fellow-in-misfortune, Commandant Simon Herrera, now acting governor of Coahuila. Both men must have mused upon the fickle- ness of the fortunes of war. 10 Since the Insurgent leaders had been captured in the northeastern pro- vinces of New Spain, it fell to the lot of Commandant General Nemesio Salcedo to preside over their trial. Governor Herrera chose to remain in Coahuila, and in recognition of the role Governor Manuel Salcedo had played in the daring plot to capture all the leaders of the Revolution, Nemesio Salcedo commissioned Governor Manuel Salcedo to take charge of the caravan, which, sad to relate, conducted to Chihuahua the first martyrs in the cause of Mexican independence. Hidalgo, Allende, Abaso- lo, Jimenez and the other leaders of the Revolution were summarily tried and executed in Chihuahua during the months of May, June, and July. Father Hidalgo was the last to pay with his life for his dream of freedom. Role of the Governing Junta of Texas. Organized under the most try- ing circumstances on March 2, 1811, by Zambrano to assume the responsi- bilities of government, the Junta could well be proud of the brilliant record it set in its first twenty days. The prompt and determined action of the Junta restored order in Texas. It sent two deputies to the Commandant General in Chihuahua, who had been in~trumental in helping the former Governor of Texas and other lQyal.subjects of the King in Coahuila capture the leaders of the Revolu- tion. The Texas Junta formally approved the resolution of the Coahuila Junta to join the forces of the two provinces in defense of the King's cause and immediately thereafter sent Governor Salcedo with Captain Mufioz, one of the deputies, to Bajan to save the fruits of victory. President of this efficient Junta was Subdeacon Juan Manuel Zambrano, the leader of the counterrevolution, and the secretary was Jose Antonio Saucedo. The other ten members were Captain Antonio Saenz, Ignacio Perez, Miguel Eca y Musquiz, Luciano Garcia, Erasmo Seguin, Luis Galan, Manuel Barrera, Juan Josef Zambrano, Gavina Delgado, and Vicente Gortari. They had sworn a &olemn oath to defend their religion, country, and King with their property and their very lives. For this triple purpose they had labored incessantly. 21 But their work was far from completed. From Presidio de Rio Grande, 11 Alamin, 0-,. cu., II,· 178-185. 21 Nombramiento de la junta de Govno. que se ha formado de comun acuerdo en b. Villa de San Fernando Capital de la Prova. de Texas, March 2, 1811, Berat' Arcliiv11.
'1
Powered by FlippingBook