At the end of the Mexican War of Independence

Mexican War of Independence

The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...

, the Army of the Three Guarantees (Ejército Trigarante or Ejército de las Tres Garantías) was the name given to the army after the unification of the Spanish troops led by Agustín de Iturbide

Agustín de Iturbide

Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu , also known as Augustine I of Mexico, was a Mexican army general who built a successful political and military coalition that was able to march into Mexico City on 27 September 1821, decisively ending the Mexican War of Independence...

 and the Mexican insurgent troops of Vicente Guerrero

Vicente Guerrero

Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence, who fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and served briefly as President of Mexico...

, consolidating Mexico's independence from Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. The decree creating this army appeared in the Plan de Iguala, which stated the three guarantees which it was meant to defend: religion, independence, and unity. Mexico was to be a Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 country, independent from Spain, and united against its enemies.

The Army of the Three Guarantees was created on February 24, 1821, and continued battling Spanish royalist forces which refused to accept Mexican independence. These battles continued until August 1821, when Iturbide and Spanish Viceroy Juan de O'Donojú signed the Treaty of Córdoba

Treaty of Córdoba

The Treaty of Córdova established Mexican independence from Spain at the conclusion of the Mexican War of Independence. It was signed on August 24, 1821 in Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. The signatories were the head of the Army of the Three Guarantees, Agustín de Iturbide, and acting on behalf of the...

, virtually ratifying Mexico's independence. On September 27, 1821, the Army of the Three Guarantees triumphantly entered Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

, led by Iturbide. The following day Mexico was declared independent

Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire

The Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire is the foundational document of the empire, and therefore, of the Mexican nation. The morning after the Army of the Three Guarantees entered Mexico City on September 28, 1821, Agustín de Iturbide ordered the Supreme Provisional Governmental...

.

By that time, the Army of the Three Guarantees was composed of 7,616 infantrymen, 7,755 cavalry, 763 artillery with 68 cannons.