The Siege of Querétaro
On the tenth of February the Emperor told his physician to prepare for a
two weeks’ expedition to Querétaro. Prompted by the urgent
representations of his ministers, Lares and Marquez, that his presence
was needed there to counteract the demoralizing effect of Miramon’s
defeat, he determined to place himself at the head of the army. After
some delay, owing to the difficulty of obtaining funds for the campaign,
in spite of the ministry’s assurances as to the satisfactory condition
of the national finances, Maximilian set out upon this fateful journey
on the thirteenth of February, with a force of sixteen hundred Mexicans.
The matter had been arranged with so much secrecy that even Prince Salm
and Major Hammerstein had no suspicion of the plan, while the Austrian
hussars were dumbfounded when they found the Emperor starting for
Querétaro without them. Two men have been accused of persuading
Maximilian to this rash and fatal step—Father Fischer and the Prussian
ambassador, Baron Magnus. Dr. Basch, one of the few who were in the
secret, denies this, however, and places the blame entirely on the two
ministers, Lares and Marquez—the latter of whom had managed to win the
Emperor’s entire confidence by his eloquence and flattery. This seems
the more probable since it was to their interest to remove Maximilian to
a safe distance. Once already he had started for the coast. Why might he
not do so again and with the aid of his Austrians succeed in reaching it
and bidding adieu to the country forever? This must be prevented at all
cost. As for leaving these loyal troops behind and trusting himself to
the uncertain Mexicans, it must be remembered that Maximilian was
completely deceived as to the real state of affairs. From his order to
Dr. Basch it is evident he expected to return from Querétaro in a short
time. He wished also to give his Mexican subjects a proof of his
confidence in them, a noble and chivalrous idea, no doubt, but most
imprudent.
Marquez, on the other hand, was anxious to keep the Emperor under his
own influence and away from that of his German friends, whose advice
might seriously interfere with his plans. It was also important to leave
the capital in safe hands, and no one realized more than Marquez the
difference between the Austrian troops and his ragged Mexican soldiers,
many of them wearing a uniform for the first time.
It was doubtless for this reason that the plan was kept so secret. The
Emperor’s friends would surely have dissuaded him from taking such a
step or, at least, have insisted on accompanying him. Indeed, when
Kherenhüller and Hammerstein heard that he was about to leave for
Querétaro, they tried their best to induce him to take them with him. As
a last resort they even appealed to Father Fischer to use his influence
in their behalf, but all in vain. Having promised his friend, Marquez,
Maximilian felt he could not in honor retract his word.
Shortly before setting out he took leave of his Austrian officers,
assuring them that his reasons for taking this journey were purely
political ones, and promising that they should soon follow. Prince Salm
indeed did follow with a few trusted men, in spite of the Emperor’s
prohibition, overtaking the imperial party before they reached
Querétaro. Of the march thither Maximilian himself gives an interesting
account in a letter to Professor Bilimek who had returned to Miramar
some time before. In it he writes:
“As you will already have learned through the newspapers, our friends,
the French, have at last left Mexico, and, having once more obtained
liberty of action, we have exchanged the butterfly net for the sword.
Instead of bugs and beetles we now pursue other game. Bullets instead of
bees now buzz about our heads. Twice between Mexico and Querétaro we
were in action and had a number of our men killed and wounded. One of
the latter fell just in front of my horse and was immediately operated
on, under fire, by Dr. Basch, the only European who accompanied me. In
the second skirmish, where we were shot at like targets, our Hungarian
cook (you remember him?), who was riding behind us with our servant
Grill, was wounded on the lip. In every town where there were no
revolutionists we were welcomed most heartily by the people, whom we
found longing for peace and cursing the French.”
Maximilian reached Querétaro on the nineteenth and was received with the
enthusiasm to be expected from one of the strongest imperialist cities.
The streets were thronged with curious spectators who hailed the
Emperor’s appearance with shouts of joy, while from windows and
balconies, flags and gay hangings of all sorts waved a welcome. The
Spanish casino had been selected and prepared as a residence for the
Emperor, where he was received by the commandant of the city, General
Escobar, after which the whole party attended a solemn Te Deum at the
cathedral.
In the evening there were great festivities, concluding with a
magnificent banquet, at which there was no lack of those fine speeches
wherein the Mexicans especially excel. Maximilian took no part in these
celebrations, pleading fatigue as an excuse. Marquez, however, improved
the occasion rudely to impress upon General Miramon the sense of their
altered positions, he now being commander-in-chief and Miramon his
inferior, at the same time openly displaying his satisfaction over the
latter’s recent defeat. Truly a noble soul! Although white with rage,
Miramon controlled himself, replying briefly with a toast to the army.
For a time after his arrival in Querétaro, Maximilian found the life
very pleasant. His simple, kindly ways soon won the hearts of the
people, with whom he mingled freely and fearlessly, joining in their
amusements and conversing familiarly with all classes. His coolness
under fire also roused the admiration of his soldiers, who cheered
wildly as he rode calmly past their ranks, the enemy’s bullets whistling
about his head.
In the capital, meanwhile, there was so little thought given to the
Emperor and his companions in Querétaro, and there was so little idea of
keeping any of the promises made to him, it would almost seem that
Marquez was not the only traitor. Soon after leaving Mexico, Maximilian
had sent back word for the Austrian troops remaining there to follow him
at once. Had this order been delivered, the expedition to Querétaro
might have had a different and less tragic ending. But, owing to
Marquez, it never reached its destination, and the Emperor’s loyal
friends, Kherenhüller and Hammerstein, were prevented from joining him
while there was still time.
The city of Querétaro had at this time a population of some forty
thousand inhabitants. It lay in a narrow valley on the southern bank of
a small stream, called the Rio Blanco, forming a quadrangle of about
eight thousand feet in length by four thousand in breadth. To the west
extended a wide plain, called from the mountains behind it the plain of
Guadalajara, while running from south to northeast was a range of hills,
afterward utilized by the republicans with great effect. Two places
which proved of special importance to the imperialists during the siege
were the Cerro de la Campaña, a hill lying just west of the city, and
the Convent de la Cruz, almost at the opposite end. This was a large
stone edifice of great strength, dating from the days of Cortez. The
convent grounds were enclosed by heavy stone walls, and had at the
eastern end a smaller but equally strong building known as the Pantheon
or burial-place of the convent.
Two weeks after the Emperor’s arrival (March fifth), the republican
forces, under General Escobedo, appeared before Querétaro and began to
invest the town. The garrison consisted of about four thousand infantry,
three thousand cavalry, and had forty-four cannon—a force so
insignificant, compared with the vast armies of the present day, that it
is remarkable it should have held out as long as it did against such
overwhelming superiority of numbers. General Mejia had arrived at
Querétaro shortly before this, with his troops from Potosi, among whom
were a number of German officers and soldiers, while serving under
Miramon were some six hundred Frenchmen. Immediately after the
appearance of the enemy, Maximilian held a council of war with his
generals. Miramon and Mejia were in favor of attacking the republicans
before their forces should have time to unite—an excellent plan which
was not carried out owing to the opposition of the all-influential
Marquez, who held that the defence of the city should be their first
consideration. Thus precious time was allowed to pass, and the
imperialists looked calmly on while the enemy gradually crowned the
surrounding heights with batteries. The Emperor had first established
his headquarters on the Cerro de la Campaña, but when the republicans
extended their lines eastward, they were moved to the Convent de la Cruz
(so called from a cross erected there in commemoration of the conquest).
General Miramon now occupied the former headquarters with a battery of
eight guns, while the chief defence of the town was entrusted to the
Mexican Castillo, an able general, but no longer young and almost
entirely deaf.
The enemy’s next move was to cut off the city’s supplies, both of water
and provisions, hoping to subdue it by starvation. The only water now
obtainable was that of the Rio Blanco, while meat soon grew so scarce
that many of the cavalry horses had to be sacrificed. Juarez himself
joined the republican camp for a time, but, being unable to endure the
smell of powder, soon returned to Potosi. On the fourteenth of March the
Juarists made their first general attack on the town, assaults being
made on three sides at once, under cover of the batteries. The main
struggle, however, took place at La Cruz. After a hot fight they
succeeded in capturing the Pantheon, but were afterward driven out by a
body of Austrians. During the attack Maximilian remained in the great
square before the convent, exposed to the hottest fire, yet quite calm
and apparently unconscious of the deadly hail of bullets all about him.
Once a shell burst only a few paces in front of him, but fortunately no
one was injured, though an adjutant had his sword bent and his clothes
burned by a flying splinter. Prince Salm, always conspicuous for
bravery, made a brilliant sortie and succeeded in capturing the first
guns from the enemy.
By evening the Juarists had been repulsed at all points and driven back,
but the victory proved barren in results. Lopez, for some reason, took
no part in the action, while Marquez either would not or did not know
how to follow up the advantage he had gained. As for Miramon, he
distinguished himself a few days later. It had been planned to surprise
the Juarists early on the morning of the sixteenth, and Miramon was
chosen to lead the attack, from which great things were hoped. But the
whole scheme fell through because—that general overslept!—a neglect of
duty difficult to understand in these days. When he did at last awake it
was broad daylight, and all thought of a surprise had to be abandoned.
On the twenty-first of March another council was held and an important
decision arrived at. This was to send one of the generals back to the
city of Mexico with full authority from the Emperor to act as he thought
best. He was to dismiss the present ministry and form a new one, to
obtain more funds, and, in any case, to return with aid to Querétaro
without delay. Marquez, for whom the place was getting much too warm by
this time, had no difficulty in obtaining the appointment—a simple means
of escaping the trap into which he had led his sovereign. Still trusting
the traitor implicitly, Maximilian left it entirely to him whether to
bring only a part of the troops from Mexico or the whole garrison. It
was arranged that Marquez, with one thousand horsemen, was to make his
way through the hills to the south, while Miramon, to divert the enemy’s
attention, made a sortie in the opposite direction. The plan was kept so
secret that even Miramon had no suspicion of the real purpose of his
expedition. This time he did not oversleep but successfully surprised
the enemy at four in the morning, returning with twenty-two carts full
of provisions and war material, sixty oxen, and some two hundred sheep
and goats. Meanwhile Marquez and his troopers had passed through the
enemy’s lines unnoticed, leaving the imperialists the poorer by one
thousand of their best men—no small loss to a garrison already so
reduced.
The Juarists, now swelled by reinforcements to about forty thousand men,
continued to harass the city by daily attacks from without, while their
spies kept them accurately informed of all that passed within. The
Emperor, unconscious of the treachery by which he was surrounded, still
looked confidently for relief from Marquez. Days passed in
ever-increasing suspense, while the situation of the besieged grew more
and more critical. Marquez’ enemies began openly to hint at treachery,
and at length even Maximilian lost faith. Now that it was too late his
eyes were opened to the real nature of his “friend,” and, realizing that
he had been betrayed, he determined to send Prince Salm on another
mission to the capital—to arrest Marquez, if necessary, and return at
once with reinforcements. An attempt was accordingly made on the
twenty-second of April to break through the enemy’s lines, but the city
was by this time so closely invested that it was found to be useless.
Meanwhile the republicans, fearing that the Emperor with his whole force
might succeed in escaping from the city, caused reports of Marquez’
approach to be circulated by their spies, while false despatches,
purporting to arrive from the capital, were smuggled through the lines
in order to soothe the imperialists with vain hopes.
But what of Marquez while all Querétaro watched so anxiously for his
return? Where was he and what was he doing? He had arrived safely at the
capital on the twenty-seventh of March with few losses, and, finding the
city of Puebla hard pressed by the Juarist, Porfirio Diaz, determined to
go to its relief. Though well aware of the urgency of the situation in
Querétaro, and the need of haste in executing his mission, he seems to
have troubled himself little concerning it, and to have taken no steps
toward sending the promised aid. The relief of Puebla he did indeed
undertake, but here as in Querétaro he made so many blunders that the
attempt ended in utter failure and involved the needless sacrifice of
many of Maximilian’s brave Austrians.