Page:Mexico (1829) Volumes 1 and 2.djvu/186

 160 MEXICO. I have given in some detail, because it may fairly be consi- dered as the most important military occurrence in the whole Revolution, The resources displayed by Morelos, in the course of it, gave him a degree of celebrity and influence, which none of the Insurgent chiefs attained after him. His authority was recognised every where ; and continued to be respected until his death, in spite of the singular 'change of fortune, which marked the latter part of his career. Morelos was detained some time at Izucar, by an injury which he received, by a fall from his horse, on the retreat from Cuautla. On his recovery, he put himself again at the head of his troops, whom Matamaros had brought into ad- mirable order, and soon convinced Venegas that " the mon- ster of the South," as he was termed in the Gazette of Mexico, far from " seeking a hiding-place in caves and forests," was about to carry on the contest with his usual activity. After defeating three Spanish divisions, Morelos made a triumphal entry into Tehiiacan, (in La Puebla,) on the 16th of September, 1812. From thence he undertook a success- ful expedition against the town of Orizava, where he found nine pieces of artillery, and an immense booty in money and tobacco. Obliged to evacuate the place, by the approach of a superior force, he returned to Tehuacan, and, after refresh- ing his troops there, commenced in the beginning of Novem- ber, his famous expedition against Oaxaca. After sustaining- incredible hardships upon the march, the army at last arrived before the town, situated in the finest part of one of the most lovely provinces of Mexico. It was garrisoned by the Roy- alists, under Brigadier Regules, who attempted to defend the town ; but nothing could withstand the impetuosity of the Insurgent troops. Their artillery, under the command of Don Manuel Mier y Teran, having silenced that of their opponents, Regules made a last stand on the edge of a deep moat which surrounds Oaxaca, and over which there was no passage but by a single drawbridge, which was drawn up.