Battle of Tacámbaro
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Tacámbaro took place on April 11, 1865 in the state of Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...

 in western Mexico during the French Intervention in Mexico
French intervention in Mexico
The French intervention in Mexico , also known as The Maximilian Affair, War of the French Intervention, and The Franco-Mexican War, was an invasion of Mexico by an expeditionary force sent by the Second French Empire, supported in the beginning by the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain...

. The engagement, named for the town in which it was fought, pitted 300 members of the Belgian Foreign Legion against approximately 3,000 Mexican Republicans
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...

.

Background

The Belgian Foreign Legion
Military of Belgium
The Belgian Army is the national military of Belgium. The Belgian Army was established after Belgium became independent in October 1830...

, under the command of Baron Alfred Van der Smissen, had been organized at the request of Maximilian's
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...

 wife, Empress Charlotte
Charlotte of Belgium
Charlotte of Belgium is remembered today as Carlota of Mexico as empress consort of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico, ex-Archduke of Austria.-Princess of Belgium:The only daughter of Leopold I, King of the Belgians by his second wife,...

, and arrived in Mexico on December 14, 1864 to act as her personal bodyguard. The Belgians were placed under the command of Colonel de Potier of France and deployed to Michoacán to assist Maximillian's forces in fighting Republican guerrillas known to be operating in that area.

The state of Michoacán lies within 100 miles of 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...

. Its proximity to the capital combined with its heavy forests, mountainous terrain and difficult weather made it ideal for guerilla operations. The state's population was largely sympathetic to the Republican cause and the region was laced with routes for smuggling arms and supplies for Republican forces operating in the area. Maximilian found it unacceptable to have Republican troops operating so close to the capital without opposition. He found it important both strategically and politically that his forces quell Republican activity in Michoacán to prevent the destabilization of his regime.

The battle

On April 3, 1865, 250 Belgians
Belgians
Belgians are people originating from the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe.-Etymology:Belgians are a relatively "new" people...

 occupied Tacámbaro. Shortly thereafter, Senora Regules, the wife of Republican General Nicolas Regules, was found rendering medical aid to two guerillas. She was arrested for aiding Republican troops and escorted with her two children by Major Tydgat and Dr. Lejeune, the Belgian detachments commander and doctor, to the Belgian headquarters. This action was intended to secure the cooperation of General Regules but instead enraged the local population.

On April 11, 1865, General Regules attacked the Belgians with between 3,000 and 3,500 Republican Soldiers. Surrounded from all sides, the Belgians held out for five hours, hoping for reinforcements which arrived four days too late. They were finally forced to surrender. While the number of casualties is disputed, it is believed that between fifty and one hundred Belgians were killed and around 200 were taken prisoner.

During the battle, eight of unit's officers were killed, including the badly wounded Major Tydgat and his adjutant Captain Ernest Chazal, son of the Belgian minister of defense. After the battle, it was reported that Dr. Lejeune was shot by a Republican Officer. The shooter, though perhaps motivated by drunkenness or orders to kill Dr. Lejeune in revenge for the arrest of Senora Regules, was never court martialed or disciplined for his actions.

Aftermath

The Belgian prisoners were held through October 1865. Despite threats to execute them if they did not sign a protest against Maximillian, the prisoners were well treated. On November 22, 1865 all of the prisoners were exchanged for Republican prisoners through the work of Republican General Riva Palacio.

While militarily the engagement could hardly be called a "battle", its effect on the Belgian Legion was considerable. The Battle of Tacámbaro was their first engagement against the Republicans and Empress Charlotte took the loss personally, perceiving it as a "disaster". Baron Van Der Smissen accused Colonel de Potier of "criminal negligence and gross incompetetence" for sending the inexperienced detachment into what he labeled a "dangerous and exposed position" unsupported, destroying any hopes of the Belgians obtaining an independent military command. On July 16, 1865 the Belgian Foreign Legion under Baron Alfred Van Der Smissen took revenge, winning the Battle of La Loma de Tacámbaro. After fighting in several other engagements the Belgian Foreign Legion was disbanded in December 1866.

Monuments

There are two Tacámbaro monuments in Belgium, one in Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Welden, Volkegem and a part of Ooike.From the 15th to the 18th...

 and one in Leopoldsburg
Leopoldsburg
Leopoldsburg is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006 Leopoldsburg had a total population of 14,403. The total area is 22.49 km² which gives a population density of 640 inhabitants per km².-External links:*...

.

Sources and further reading

  • Dabbs, Jack. The French Army in Mexico: 1861-1867. The Hague: Mouton and Company, 1963.
  • Haslip, Joan. Crown of Mexico: Maximilian and his Empress Carlota. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.
  • Ridley, Jasper. Maximilian and Juárez. New York: Ticknor & Fields, 1992.
  • Thompson, David. "Mexican Heritage Coupled to Lively History of Silver State." Nevada Observer, April 5, 2001
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