Battle of Saltillo

The Battle of Saltillo (October 25, 1840) was fought between insurgents under the command of Colonel Samuel Jordan fighting for the Republic of the Rio Grande and the Centralists under the command of General Ráfael Vásquez fighting for the First Mexican Republic. The result was a victory for the Centralists.

Battle of Saltillo
Part of Rio Grande rebellion
Date 25 October 1840 Location Saltillo, Coahuila Result Mexican victory
Belligerents
Mexico	Republic of the Rio Grande
Commanders and leaders
Ráfael Vásquez	Samuel Jordan
Strength
Unknown	90
Casualties and losses
Unknown	5 dead

Prelude

General Antonio Canales and the remaining insurgents that survived the Battle of Morales (25 March) sought refuge in San Antonio, Texas.

While official recognition from the Republic of Texas was not obtained, General Canales' tour was met with some success. On the 1 June he arrived in San Patricio, where the rebellion forces had been reorganising. In addition to 300 volunteers, the army had grown to include 140 Texan and 80 Native American volunteers. The Texan volunteers were led by Colonel Samuel Jordan.

Battle

General Canales sent Colonel Jordan and approximately 90 Texan volunteers south into disputed territory in late June; they crossed the Rio Grande, and took Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, without any resistance. A few of those who were guiding Jordan were still loyal to the Central government of Mexico and were trying to lead the Texans towards San Luis Potosí, where a Mexican ambush awaited. Jordan suspected such and diverted his troops to Saltillo, Coahuila, where, on the 25 October he was attacked by Mexican General Ráfael Vásquez. Some of Jordan's soldiers deserted and he was heavily outnumbered, but he was able to defend himself and return to Texas.

Aftermath

Soon after this defeat Canales capitulated to the Centralists.

References

• Anonymous (January 11, 2014), The Republic of the Rio Grande, Webb County Heritage Foundation, archived from the original on 2014-05-12, retrieved 2014-08-21
• Anonymous (June 15, 2010), "Jordan, Samuel W.", Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association, retrieved August 21, 2014
• Jaques, Tony, ed. (2007), "Saltillo", Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z, Greenwood Publishing Group, pp. 890, 907, ISBN 9780313335396