The Republic of the Rio Grande (Spanish: República del Río Grande) was one of a series of political movements in Mexico which sought to become independent from the unitary government dominated by Antonio López de Santa Anna; the Republic of Texas and the second Republic of Yucatán were created by political movements that pursued the same goal. Insurgents fighting against the Centralist Republic of Mexico sought to establish the Republic of the Rio Grande as an independent nation in Northern Mexico. The rebellion lasted from 17 January to 6 November 1840.
After a decade of strife, Mexico won its independence from the Kingdom of Spain in 1821. After a failed attempt at a monarchy, Mexico adopted a new constitution, the 1824 Constitution. This new constitution established los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, or "the United Mexican States," as a federal republic. During the war for independence, many rebels were driven to Coahuila and Nuevo León, where this revolutionary mentality won the hearts and minds of the people.[1]
In 1833, General Santa Anna was elected to his first term as president and was, at the time of his election, in support of the federal republic. However, after some members of government angered Santa Anna's political allies, Santa Anna decided to start a centralized government.[2] Santa Anna suspended the constitution, disbanded Congress and made himself the center of power in Mexico.[citation needed] States were converted into departments without political or fiscal autonomy; this was done by replacing elected governors with appointees and replacing state assemblies with juntas which enforced Santa Anna's policies. Dismayed by these policies and the perception that the government was deaf to the complaints and plight of the residents in the north, Republic leaders aimed to expel the officials appointed by the central government and restore the Constitution of 1824.[3] On November 3, 1838, one of the republic leaders, Antonio Canales Rosillo, issued a pronunciamiento against the government and in favor of federalism.
In January 1839, Antonio Canales summoned a convention at the office of the Justice of the Peace in Laredo, where the Constitution of 1824 was unanimously approved. Canales immediately began building an army and scoured the countryside looking for recruits; among those recruits were Texan Colonels Reuben Ross and Samuel Jordan.[4] Intending to use the property of the church and convents to pay volunteers,[5] in 1839 and 1840, Canales was able to freely travel both sides of the Rio Grande, and recruited a small army of both Tejano and Mexican vaqueros and Caddo Indians, as well as receiving the assistance of the Texian Auxiliary Corps.
On 3 October Canales and his army marched to the town of Mier, where they faced the Mexican army. During the battle, Colonels Reuben Ross and Samuel Jordan charged at the centralist forces and encircled them in a hacienda, where the Mexican army was forced to surrender. Three hundred and fifty centralist soldiers who were taken prisoner ultimately defected and enlisted in Canales’ army.[6] After the battle, Canales was seen as a hero throughout Northern Mexico and many towns began to support his cause. Within a few days, recruits, supplies, and cash were being sent to him.[4]
Canales lingered in Mier for forty days before heading to Matamoros, a port town where another Centrist force was residing. In twenty-eight days, his one thousand man army reached the town only to find Mexican General Valentín Canalizo there with fifteen-hundred troops. Outmanned, Canales decided to withdraw and attack General Mariano Arista at Monterrey instead. Colonel Ross, appalled by this withdrawal, left Canales’ army, taking fifty Texans with him. At Monterrey, General Canales sent three hundred cavalry under the command of Colonel José Antonio Zapata to lure Arista out of town. While Arista left the town unguarded to engage with Zapata, General Canales’ army took a convent on the outskirts of town. However, on December 27, General Arista sent spies to Canales’ army and bribed seven hundred Mexicans to abandon their army. Upon discovering this the next morning, Canales and the remnants of his army fled the battle.[6]
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On 17 January 1840 a meeting was held at the Oreveña Ranch near Laredo.[7] A group of notables from the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas advocated for a rebellion seeking secession from Mexico and formation of their own federal republic with Laredo as the capital. However, those states' own congresses and governments never took any action to support the insurgents, and requested the help of the Central government in Mexico City to aid the local state armies.[8] Despite the lack of support from the state governments, the Republic of the Rio Grande was formed. The new Republic had an official newspaper: “Correo del Rio Bravo del Norte” and their state motto was Dios, Libertad y Convención (God, Liberty, and Convention).[1]
The insurgents designated their own officials for the new republic. They were:
Shortly after the formation of the Republic of the Rio Grande, word arrived that General Arista was in the Rio Grande valley. Texan Samuel Jordan urged Canales to retreat to Texas to recruit more Texans but Canales refused. Consequently, Samuel Jordan and 60 of his men left General Canales’ army. While Canales and the army decided to fight, President Cardenas and the new government fled to Victoria, Texas.[6]
Canales and his army met Arista outside the town of Santa Rita de Morelos. Needing provisions, Antonio Zapata and 30 men rode into town where Arista's men soon surrounded them. Outnumbered by 1,800 men, Zapata surrendered. General Arista offered to pardon Antonio Zapata under the condition that he swore allegiance to Mexico, but he refused. On 29 March 1840, Antonio Zapata was executed and his head placed on a spike in the town of Guerrero as a reminder to his wife, children, and federalists. While Zapata was being held prisoner, General Canales engaged Arista at San Fernando, losing 250 of his four hundred men in the process. After this defeat, Antonio Canales had no other option except to flee to Texas.[6]
From the beginning, President Cardenas realized that the success of the Republic of the Rio Grande depended on Texan support.[4] Texas also had conflicting interests on whether to support the new Republic or not. On one hand, the formation of the Republic of t