Rocha to Citizen General Alejander Garcia, October 2, 1871

Report of General Rocha on the storming of the Citadel.

Column of operations against the citadel, General-in-Chief:

In fulfillment of your orders, I placed myself, at 4 p.m. on the 1st instant, at the head of an attacking column, composed of two hundred and seventy men of the battalion of sappers and three hundred of the first of the line, and marched against the citadel, then held by the insurgents.

On my arrival at the Acordada, three hundred horse of the municipal guard were placed under my orders. I immediately proceeded, under the artillery and musketry fire of the citadel, and protected by that of two companies of sappers and of another of the first of the line, which I placed in suitable positions to make a reconnaissance, very well executed by General Bucel, for the establishment of my line of attack. At this time General Francisco Loaeza arrived with two hundred men of the seventeenth battalion, under the orders of their colonel, Vivancio Leyoa, and a section of field artillery, The said general placed himself under my orders with that force, which from this time I denominated the corps of reserve, including its artillery, as my intention was not to make use of this arm except in an emergency, for fear that the hollow projectiles might explode the immense stores of ammunition deposited in the citadel.

I placed a part of the cavalry brigade of the first division under General Loera, in the square of the “Salto de Agua,” as a corps of observation of the part of the insurgents who occcupied the Bel en prison, and to cover the rear of the citadel; the said force being supported by two companies of the thirteenth battalion of infantry, and by another of the twenty-fourth. Another cavalry brigade of the fourth division, commanded by the brave General Donald Guerra, which placed itself under my orders, was placed in such a manner as to cover Chapultepec on the right, resting its center on the hacienda of La Teja, and its left reaching to San Cosme, so as to cut off the enemy’s entire line of retreat.

At 6 p.m. the reconnaissance was completed, and I proceeded to arrange my lines in the following manner: the first line, being that of attack, was extended along the streets of La Providencia; its right was composed of the battalion of sappers under the orders of its officers, Colonel Vincente Mariscal and Lieutenant-Colonel Pablo Rocha. The center and left were covered by the first battalion of the line, under the orders of Colonel Pedro Yepez; this line remained under my immediate command, and General Fernando Bucel remained in it constantly, aiding me very efficiently and valiantly in everything. The second line, being that of reserve, was based upon the edifice of the Acordada, covering its flanks with the Hospicio and the Paseo Nuevo, under the orders of General Francisco Loaeza, and with Colonel Vivancio Ley va as second in command, was formed of two hundred men of battalion 17, a section of field artillery and two hundred horse of the corps of municipal guard; from the latter I took a squadron, which I placed upon the Paseo Nuevo to support the right flank of the line of attack.

After the reconnaissance I ordered floating-bridges and a raft to be constructed, in order to cross the wide ditches around the citadel. Colonel Joaquin Rivero, Lieutenant-Colonel Ygnacio Revultas, Lieutenant-Colonel Manuel Mariscal and the other engineer officers worked with great activity and intelligence in this operation, and in widening the perforations for the easier passage of troops.

Lieutenant-Colonel Revultas also served me with much serenity and bravery as aidde-camp, and accompanied me in the assault. The bridges and preliminary operations were to be terminated at 11 o’clock that night. I therefore prepared to make the assault between midnight and 1 a.m., but at 10 o’clock the enemy made a blundering sally with about 300 men and a piece of artillery. This sally was promptly driven back and the cannon seized by a squad of little more than 20 men, which attacked them under Captain Espiridion Elizondo, at my immediate orders. This movement, combined with the close firing of a squad from the first of the line, which I had placed in ambush, in a convenient house, produced a sudden panic in the enemy, which I improved to seize upon the entrance-gate, holding it until the arrival of the entire first line, which I ordered to come as quickly as possible. This circumstance led me to hasten the assault, as we no longer needed either bridges or rafts; consequently the valiant General Poucel and myself, seconded by the brave Colonels Mariscal and Yepez, placing ourselves at the head of the sappers and the first battalion of the line, the several bands playing and keeping up the call to “make ready arms,” assaulted the enemy’s position. At this moment I ordered the line of reserve to advance and occupy the posts previously held by the attacking column. The assault was energetic; the defense obstinate and prolonged; more than seven hundred men and six field-cannon were firing upon us. After a fire of half an hour the field was covered with killed and wounded, and the attack neutralized by the defense, but without a single soldier retreating a step. The moment was a solemn one, but the victory was mine, inasmuch as the enemy had all their force in the field, while I had as yet made no use of my reserve. I now did, however, causing the brave General Loaeza to advance quickly with his force, which promptly formed in line, invigorating the attack and enabling us to gain a few meters more of ground. Finally I ordered forward half of battalion 17, which had remained to protect the section of artillery, and also the squadron which supported my right flank. This last re-enforcement decided the battle; with a soldierly shout all our force sprang forward at the point of the bayonet to the doors of the citadel; the enemy, who was outside, fled in disorder in all directions; the squadron of municipal guards bayoneted many of the fugitives; and the infantry precipitated itself within the citadel, where the insurgents still defended themselves. As they fired upon us from the roofs I detached against them the valiant Colonel Yepez, who, with a part of his battalion, quickly occupied them, after a hand-to-hand battle which terminated the engagement, by the victory of the intrepid troops of the supreme government.

All the valiant officers and soldiers have performed their duty, for which reason I do not make particular mention of any of them, and will barely state that Colonels Leon Ugalde and Lenar Chavez, and the citizen Antonio Rodrigues, presented themselves at 4 p.m., and were at my side throughout the operations.

Lieutenant-Colonel Ygnacio A. Bravo and Captain Cano served as aids to General Poucel with great intelligence and bravery, as well as the captain of gens d’armes, José M. Garcia, charged with the detail. I ought also to mention the members of the medico-military corps, whose activity afforded prompt aid to the wounded. The enthusiasm with which some students of the military college who were at large presented themselves to me, asking to be armed, was also worthy of note; but I ordered them to present themselves at the palace, not thinking it advisable that the blood of these precious young men should be shed so early.

When the enemy’s position was occupied, in the manner already mentioned, it was found that the greater part of those who had held out to the last were the criminals of Belen prison, whom the insurgents had violently extracted therefrom to increase their force, and who did not cease to make resistance to our forces, prompted by their ferocious instincts.

Among the insurgents who most distinguished themselves by their obstinacy were three officers of the corps of gens d’armes and the ex-Lieutenant Colonel Echeagaray, who were those who commenced the mutiny, and whom I found it necessary to order executed, because the special circumstances of the situation demanded it, and also the fulfillment of my duty as charged with reducing the insurgents to order, and to avoid greater evils to society. I inclose the various reports of my subordinates as to the killed and wounded, the ammunition consumed, and the list of prisoners.

Be pleased, citizen-general, to congratulate, in my name and in that of my brave subalterns, the supreme government for this important victory.