CHAPTER XXI.
OPERATIONS AGAINST RAYON, VILLAGRAN, AND OSORNO.
1813.
Siege of Cerro del Gallo — The Poisoned Well — Insurgent Forces and their Tactics — Movements in Guanajuato — Sway of the Villagranes — Their Sudden Fall — Huasteca Campaign — Osorno and his Territory — Terreño's Military Promenade — Osorno Irrepressible — Administration of Cruz in New Galicia — Frontier Operations — Chapala Lake and its Rovers — Division of Provincias Internas — Lara's Exploits in Texas — A Flicker in the Orient.
The viceroy had just completed his dispositions for the campaign in the central provinces when news came of the several disasters to the arms of Rayon's colleagues, who were likewise torn by discord, and almost ruined by their imprudence and inefficiency. The purposes of Calleja were thus already half accomplished by his enemies, and he resolved to complete the work by demolishing their centre of operations at Tlalpujahua before it could recover from the recent blows, directing at the same time a force against the Villagranes, and keeping close watch on Osorno, in order to prevent coöperation.
The movement against the Rayon brothers was intrusted to Castillo y Bustamante, who set out from Toluca toward the end of April with somewhat over a thousand men, leaving Colonel Angulo y Guardamino in charge of this section.[1] On May 3d he camped
- ↑ Assisted notably by Captain Concha, former subdelegado for Jacualpan, who, after serving under Trujillo at Valladolid, confined himself to campaigning in the Toluca Valley, gaining the rank of lieutenant-general. Alaman, Hist. Méj., iii. 455.
