Battle of Monte de las Cruces

Monuments to the insurgents

Date	October 30, 1810
Location	Ocoyoacac, Mexico State, Mexico
Result	Victory for insurgents

Belligerents

Mexican Insurgents

Royal Spanish Army

Commanders and leaders

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla
Ignacio Allende

Gen. Torcuato Trujillo

Strength

80,000

2,780

Casualties and losses

3,500

2,000

The Battle of Monte de las Cruces was one of the pivotal battles of the early Mexican War of Independence, in October 1810.

It was fought between the insurgent troops of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Ignacio Allende against the New Spain royalist troops of General Torcuato Trujillo, in the Sierra de las Cruces mountains between Mexico City and Toluca. The battle marks the furthest advance of the first rebel campaign, before Hidalgo decided to retreat towards Guadalajara, and not attack Mexico City, despite the fact that he won the battle. The battlefield is now located in the La Marquesa National Park, which is officially called the Miguel Hidalgo National Park in honor of the event.

The battle marks the end of the first offensive in the Mexican War of Independence, which began with the Grito de Dolores. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was the parish priest of Dolores, Guanajuato, involved with one of a number of conspiracies against the colonial government in the early 19th century. A particular conspiracy was called the Conspiracy of Querétaro. The plot, which was supposed to be launched in December 1810, was discovered. Fearing his arrest, Hidalgo decided to begin the insurrection early by calling upon parishioners to rise up against the colonial government. The Grito was a call to arms to better the lives of Mexicans, and it immediately attracted the support of the lower classes in the town of Dolores and the Bajío region. One reason for this was that Hidalgo had credibility among the lower classes, despite being an upper class Creole, due to his work to give the poor and indigenous peoples more economic opportunities.

This made Hidalgo leader of the insurgent movement instead of follow conspirator Ignacio Allende, despite Allende's training as a military commander. The insurgent army was really an untrained mob with little or no discipline. This army passed through the Bajio region of what is now state of Guanajuato, capturing cities such as San Miguel el Grande, Celaya and Irapuato with little resistance. All the while, more people joined the ranks of the insurgents, until upon leaving Celaya, Hidalgo had about 80,000 men. The response to Hidalgo’s call was so quick that royal authorities could not react at first. Hidalgo’s army then passed through Querétaro and into what is now the state of Mexico, heading south and east towards Mexico City, with still more volunteers joining along the way. Despite the early success, there were serious problems with the army. Many were armed only with primitive weapons such as bows and arrows but the bigger concern for Ignacio Allende was the pillaging, looting and wanton violence that followed the taking of the Bajio cities.

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