Taos Revolt

History

Troops were dispatched to Texas to ward off a Mexican invasion. Meanwhile, a federally commissioned explorer, John Frémont, took a group of armed men to California, where he assisted with a revolt in Sonoma by American immigrants seeking to declare California's independence from Mexico. This, combined with the wars that Mexico was simultaneously fighting with Native Americans, did not put Mexico in a diplomatic mood. Mexican forces killed an American patrol in the contested Texas-Mexican border region, and Congress approved a declaration of war.

Over the course of the war, in April 1846, the territory of New Mexico fell to American forces after the governor surrendered at the Battle of Santa Fe. New Mexicans worried that their land titles would not be honored by the American government, and resented their governor's capitulation. Insurrectionists and their local Pueblo Indian allies broke into the home of the occupying governor, scalped him, and killed and scalped several other officials. An army of about 500 made further attacks. The American military was quick to respond, dispatching 300 troops, who, with less than 100 volunteers, were able to subdue a force of about 1,500 Mexicans and Pueblos.

A total of 19 Americans and at least 100 Mexicans and Pueblos were killed. The insurrectionists were tried, and 28 of them were hanged for treason. This was perceived as an incredible presumption on the part of the American government—to conquer a territory and consider resistance to its occupation as treason. A subsequent federal investigation found that one of the 28 had been wrongfully convicted, but the Supreme Court upheld the [Page 2047]remaining 27 verdicts. Resistance to the American occupation continued through several more battles in New Mexico, including the Battle of Red River Canyon, Battle of Las Vegas, and Battle of Cienega Creek, each of which resulted in an American victory.

The San Geronimo Church at Taos Pueblo. It was built in 1850 after the original church was destroyed in 1847 by the U.S. Army during the Taos revolt, during which the Pueblo Indians fought America forces during the Mexican-American War.

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