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Rh were never taken from their sections, the effective force remaining was 22,211, which, added to 6,000 of the regular force, formed a total of 28,000 men whom the viceroy could place in the field. There were, besides, in Yucatan, one battalion of regular troops, a few regiments of provincials, and the necessary artillerymen. The disciplined militia and the coast divisions formed ten brigrades, each having the military commandant at the head town of the district for its brigadier, excepting those of Mexico, Oajaca, Querétaro, and San Luis Potosí which had their regular commanders.

The organization of troops for defence against internal and external foes, however important, was not all that was needed. The defences of the ports and of the whole coast-line on both seas demanded attention, and constantly engaged that of the supreme national government as well as of the local authorities from the earliest days. The port of Vera Cruz with