was not very difficult, for he commanded the reserve brigade, which occupied the Convento de la Cruz and adjoining fortifications, and held, therefore, the key to the town.[1] He had already removed certain troops, replacing them with men under control of a fellow-conspirator, and with incorporated prisoners of war; and on returning from Escobedo's camp he made further changes, ordering the horses to be unsaddled, cannon to be removed, and so forth. He thereupon introduced the republican soldiers under General Velez,[2] and favored by darkness, led them from one post to another, explaining that they were relief troops, whenever he deemed any explanation necessary. His presence as commander and recognized favorite of the emperor, and the mixture of uniforms among the imperialists preventing suspicion, many assumed at once that the movements were part of the evacuation plan.[3]
- ↑ He succeeded Mendez, as we have seen. He claims that only 1,100 covered these lines, extending over 1,400 yards, and gives a list of the main posts. Toma Quer., 18-19.
- ↑ Formerly serving under Miramon. The troops brought were mainly the reserve known as Supremos Poderes. They entered partly through a widened embrasure.
- ↑ Lopez' story is that Escobedo must have surmised enough from the message sent by Maximilian to attempt a surprise, for on returning to his men, after speaking to the emperor, he was pounced upon and arrested by the republicans. Then, intent only on saving the emperor, he led them away to the pantheon and other posts, while sending the conspirator Jablonski to warn him, and affording time for escape. He undoubtedly wished to save him, if none else. This admission that he found an early opportunity to send the
the story, by showing that Maximilian was busy till midnight that day, giving orders for the proposed breaking through the lines; that he had recently rejected a favorable offer of capitulation, and imprisoned certain officers who advocated it, etc.; but the knowledge we already possess of his brave spirit, high-minded conduct, and Hapsburg pride, serves to defend him at least against the intimation of private and selfish negotiations. Conclusive proofs of Lopez' treason and lies, besides self-contradictions and instances in later notes, appear in the fact that this man was the only superior imperial officer not arraigned by the victors; he was allowed to leave Queretaro, and move freely about. Further, the republican authorities have never alluded to any such advances on the part of Maximilian; and they would not have failed to expose so detested a personage had they been able. Lopez may have opened his negotiations with the story, so that Arias and others may have had some ground for the assertion. Among other excuses, Lopez ridicules the idea of bargaining for a comparatively small sum, when he had plenty of means. He stakes an estate against the proof of such bargain, and so forth. Toma Quer. 1-26, etc. He lived despised by all men, even by his wife, who abandoned him. Edward's Shelby's Exped., 131.
