Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/232



Allende arrived at Celaya he found there a body of two thousand insurgent horsemen under Toribio Huidrobo, and about thirty dragoons of the regiment of la Reina. These troops were almost destitute of arms; but the importance of defending Guanajuato was so great that, uniting them with his other forces, he hastened thither. He took with him eight pieces of artillery; and as a number of cannon had been cast in the mean time, he hoped, by erecting batteries in commanding positions, to frustrate any attempt upon the city by Calleja, who would doubtless make its capture his first object. Allende, with all the forces he could muster, entered Guanajuato on the evening of the 13th of November, accompanied by the principal leaders, who preferred to follow his fortunes rather than cast their lot with Hidalgo, whose popularity with them was diminishing daily. His