New Mexico Mercury

Editor's note: We have a rare opportunity to read an historical appreciation of a bilingual historian writing in the roaring twenties about the American incursion into New Mexico. The impact of the Americanization of New Mexico and the deeply moral and philosophal resistance to it are felt even today.

In this article, you will be introduced to pioneer native New Mexican historian Benjamin Maurice Read (1853-1927).  In 1911, a year before New Mexico became the 47th sate of the Union, Read wrote in both Spanish and English his signature work Illustrated History of New Mexico.   In the prior year 1910, on the centennial year of Padre Hidalgo’s shout for Mexican Independence from Spain, Read wrote Guerra Mexico Americana from his particular and illuminating perspective as a bilingual-bicultural native, a “coyote” in New Mexican parlance.  He deals with “that transcendent epoch” (Illustrated History) that ushered in such tremendous transitions in New Mexico.  It had been the northern frontier of the Kingdom of Spain for almost two and a half centuries before becoming the Republic of Mexico for a quarter of a century, and finally part of the southwestern United States since 1846 when it became a U.S. Territory.  This article treats some of the personages involved in the occupation of New Mexico by the forces of the United States. With the help of a small and dedicated team (acknowledgments at the end of article), the full translation of Benjamin Read’s Guerra Mexico Americana will become available in English.

Since 1973, I have researched and written about Padre Antonio José Martinez, Cura de Taos (1793-1867), and published his biography, Reluctant Dawn, mostly based on the 1877 Biografía del Presbítero Antonio José Martínez, Cura de Taos by Santiago Valdez.  Benjamin M. Read translated the Valdez manuscript into English, and his younger brother Larkin copied it longhand, and the manuscript is in the Ritch Collection at Huntington Library. I invite you to keep abreast of progress on the English translation of Read’s The U.S.-Mexican War through my website: TheTaosConnection.com

CHAPTER 17
• Disparaging accusation against General Manuel Armijo • Armijo recognized his lack of Patriotism • Difficulties among Padre Martínez, Vigil, Workman and Bent • Correspondence from Bent

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As stated above (before Chapter 15), the brilliant military record of General Manuel Armijo in the Territory of New Mexico until the time of the Texan invasion (1841) shows actions and deeds not only praiseworthy but also sufficiently extraordinary to justify the honors that writers have lavished on him since that date.  However, other writers condemn him for what happened at the time of the American invasion of 1846: for his lack of moral courage and patriotism, characteristics that distinguish the true patriot, and those that should decorate with gold letters high-level officials.  It must be presumed, at least for the sake of courtesy, that these authors have been obliged to consign to history their viewpoints and conjectures about Armijo not because they have not wanted to tell the truth, but because they have not had knowledge of reliable and authentic documents.
This author, however, believes that mitigating circumstances mediate in favor of Armijo’s behavior, and that at least take away the stain of traitor to his flag.  (See the note at the end of this chapter.)

Armijo's conduct upon the arrival of American troops into the territory [of NM] have not left another alternative to historians preceding this author other than declaring him a coward. However, he cannot be condemned as a traitor, as does Bancroft and other authors, since there is no proof [of treason].  Nevertheless, he was cowardly as he himself and some of his contemporaries declare.  He left with his troops ostensibly to do battle with the invading army, but deserting the place of honor, he gave in to the pleas of his subordinates, and fled hours before the appearance of that army.  He fled, leaving their forces leaderless, disorganized and in utter disarray, as the proclamation we will read shortly states officially. The truth is that the people of the territory---already tired of so much oppression and arbitrariness they have been suffering for so many years---have longed to see the day when Providence would free them from so much injustice, so that when General Kearny presented himself, they received him without opposition.  Thus Governor William Carr Lane affirmed when speaking to the Territorial Legislature: "Gentlemen: In the last communication I sent from the War Department I said that New Mexico was not a conquered province, but a community that had voluntarily annexed itself to the United States.  I stated that you had surrendered to the invading forces without a shot having been fired from one side or the other, and that---had you not desired annexation---the (invading) forces were insufficient to conquer. "
[Message of Governor William Carr Lane to the Legislative Assembly of New Mexico, December 7, 1852, page 9]

Armijo, then following the advice of his subordinates, lacked courage for the defense of his flag.  At least, that is the logical conclusion of the preceding paragraph, as Bancroft affirms. Let's hear what Don Juan Bautista Vigil, interim governor of this realm says on this point, the flight of Armijo.  Here is his Proclamation:

Juan Bautista Vigil y Alarid, interim political and military governor of the Department of New Mexico to the inhabitants of the Capital of Santa Fe, know the following:
In spite of whatever precautions I tried to put in place, it was no longer possible for me to calm fears heaped upon your inhabitants from the flight of Don Manuel Armijo, the desertion of his soldiers, and moreover, the scare induced by the approach to the very capital itself of military forces of the government of the United States of North America. For this reason, many families left their homes to hide in the desert as if these forces were composed of cruel and bloodthirsty savages, believing they had no security, no protection of their lives and interests from the leader who commands them.  To allay these fears, I [Vigil] have thought it well to command the proclamation of the leader of these forces [Kearny] be read at public parks with its gist as follows: 

Proclamation of General Kearny, commander of the forces of the United States of America, to the citizens of New Mexico:

The undersigned [commander of the United States forces] comes to New Mexico with a large military force with the objective of searching for union, and for improving the condition of its inhabitants.  He has done all this under the instructions of his government that will be efficiently supported in effectively carrying out what it surveys. I therefore recommend to the inhabitants of New Mexico that they remain calm in their homes and follow their peaceful pursuits with the assurance they will not be bothered by the American army as long as they continue their tasks and daily work.  Moreover, to the contrary, they will be respected and protected in all their rights, both civil and religious. All those who bear arms, encourage or recommend resistance against the government of the United States, shall be regarded as enemies, and treated as such.
Camp Fort Bent, July 31, 1846
S. W. Kearny, Coronel of the Dragoons.  (See the Appendix)
This is a copy of the original, Santa Fe – August 17, 1846
[Signatures:]
Juan Bautista Vigil y Alarid, Nicolás Quintana Srio., Miguel Gorilla, Miguel Antonio
 

Now let us listen to him (Armijo) in a letter dated April 6, 1849, in which he writes to Alvares [U.S. Counsel in Santa Fe] and says, among other things, the following:
"By next May, I will withdraw to my country, the Mexican Republic. I do not wish to be counted among her ungrateful children, for after being cowards, we were at least grateful." (See No. 148 in the Appendix).

We will now occupy ourselves by reviewing what Mr. Bent said.

It is not our purpose to enter the sacred precincts of the home to make or find fault or stains on Bent's privacy, nor do we want even by imagination to impute such things to him because that would give this work, with regard to that point, the character of personal [attack]. Neither, moreover, would we bother to reproduce here the very words Bent would use towards Padre Martinez and other prominent figures, were it not for the fact that we believe some writers unknowingly made  attacks against Padre Martinez due to the enmity that existed between Bent and Padre Martinez.  Not that these attacks, in the least, overshadow the splendid reputation of the priest, but to expose the appalling and deeply rooted hatred that existed between Bent and Martinez. Martinez figures in history for his learning, for his most valiant services on behalf of his homeland and its countrymen, for his selfless altruism, for his philanthropic behavior, and finally for the great sacrifices he made to improve the sad plight of his countrymen. Men like Martinez are the ones who make history.

Bent was a man of little education, but of practical knowledge, highly experienced, audacious and with a single resolution to every test. In spite of all that, in those days he was still a foreigner while Martinez was in his own homeland.  As a foreigner, Bent was obliged to respect the laws of the government. Martinez was in full legal use of its prerogatives whenever he engaged in civic affairs while it did not pertain to Bent to mingle in public affairs since he was not a Mexican citizen. [Se colije?] It can be gathered, therefore, that the friction between Martinez and Bent originated from public affairs.

Martinez, Juan Bautista Vigil (who was secretary of the governance and, acting governor for a time under the Mexican government) and other prominent Mexicans opposed Bent for personal and civic reasons, as the reader will see. There will be found the motive for enmity between Bent and Martinez. In what follows, we will see that Martinez, Vigil, Alvares, Armijo and Bent were the protagonists in the drama of perpetual friction.

Let us then now remount to return to those times, and permit Bent to have the floor.  At that time in 1840 Padre Martinez went on a trip to Durango, Mexico, and when he returned to Taos, friends and parishioners received him with real joy.  As was natural, he informed them of everything that happened on the trip, and of the warm welcome he received, etc. This extremely disgusted Bent, and his displeasure was stated as follows:
On January 30, 1841, he [Bent] wrote to Alvares in these terms: (Translation by the author).  [Recommend use Bent’s ORIGINAL (authentic, very bad) English grammar and spelling.  B. Read’s Spanish translation of Bent’s poor written English, and my re-translation of it back into English, is much too clean!]

You ask me for news around here and I elaborate on it in accordance with what I have received. The great literary man Martínez, since his return, is the only topic of conversation. Since his arrival, he has been constantly busy telling his fans about the great respect with which he was received in Durango. He says that he was considered by all who conversed with him as one of the greatest churchman of the epoch: first as a literary person, then a philanthropist, now as lawyer.  For him to gain knowledge so immense is all the more remarkable since he resided in one of the one of the most remote corners of the province that depends on its own resources. It is something incredible that a man can be so eminent in all branches of human knowledge that only men in the most enlightened nations of the world who have more than ordinary intelligence can achieve.  However, since he has extraordinary talent, he has been able to master all such knowledge by studies of nature in the raw.  He is a prodigy, and his name should have been written on high places in letters of gold so that this ignorant crowd could kneel down and render him adulation.”......... "If the age of miracles has not passed, it is to be expected that God might send many blessings to these peoples through the conduit of this great man. And maybe the magistrates of this country, when they come to know how great a man he is, will do something for these peoples in consideration of the good treatment they have given this man who is wiser than Salomon.''...."I had almost forgotten to say that the great Martinez has said that the Texans having been defeated in Coahuila and California. It is a wonderful thing that Texans came to those particular places, and, what would they do there?  He merits that they make him pope for his geographical knowledge. (See engraving No. 40 in the Appendix.)

In a letter from [Manuel] Alvares [U.S. Counsul in Santa Fe] on March 15, 1841, dealing with Mr. Juan Bautista Vigil, among other things is said [by Alvares to Bent] the following: (Translation by the author [B. Read from original English to Spanish]; I [Juan Romero] translated from Read’s Spanish back to English, but not Alvares’ original.)

If you knew what that powerful man Juan Vigil is up to, would you please do us the favor of telling us.  We are quite apprehensive about seeing his face among us again. Before leaving, he supposedly said that he would not be satisfied until he saw me publicly flogged. I have been told (I am not sure how much truth there is to it) that before he departed from here, he obtained a knife and armed himself with a pair of pistols for the purpose, according to what was said, of throwing me--a heretic--into hell. I have encountered him twice, and he seemed to be as gentle as a lamb, but at the time I knew nothing of his threats.  Now I am ready to face him if he so desires, and assure you that if he lies about me again, and I come to know about it, I will make him pay dearly for it, in spite of his knife and pistols. Before leaving from here, he made efforts, as I was informed, for some Indians to help him do what he dare not do—and what they would do---assassinate us. Perhaps that is not necessary, given that he was satisfied with what Workman did for him.”...."In any case, if Juan Vigil is not satisfied, I am ready to give him due satisfaction, the satisfaction due to a gentleman.  In saying this, I do not want to insult him by calling him gentleman, because he does not deserve that name. Perhaps he will again have to answer for his misdeeds without seeking the alluded satisfaction. In the future, his behavior will be my guide, everyone should get what he deserves. (See engraving No. 39 in the Appendix.)

From the tenor of the preceding letter it can clearly be seen that the enmity between Bent and Vigil was mortal.  In the letter that we are going to reproduce, the reader will see Bent in the home of the elderly Vigil accompanied by the same Workman having a premonition of the commission of a horrible crime: the assault and flogging of Vigil, in the very home of Vigil. In a letter to Alvares, dated February 19, 1841, Bent says:

Today about noon, Workman and I went to where Juan B. Vigil was, and I showed him a copy of the complaint he [Vigil] had made against me, and I asked him if it was a copy of what he had presented to the governor against me, and he said yes. I asked him how could he dare make such false accusations against us, and he replied that they were not false. I had not yet finished with the final word and he was already striking Workman with cowhide. After beating him for awhile, he let go of the leather whip and struck him with his hand until I considered he had already been punished enough.  I took it away from him, and he left fleeing with every haste. (See the engraving No. 41 in Appendix).

From the above it is established that Bent and his partner not only did not respect the gray hair of a helpless old man, but they abused the laws of a friendly nation under whose banner they were welcomed.  If Vigil denounced transgressions of Bent and others, he did so, in the words of Bent himself, within the jurisdiction of the law, in a proper legal manner and well-ordered form.  Bent ought to have stuck to the law, through the American consul [Alvarez], demanding that he prove the charges or to punish the one making them. Bent was required to do that and only that, nothing else.

It seems that in the year 1845, Padre Martinez lent his printing press to Alvares, and that he had taken it to Santa Fe. From the letter of Bent that we have reproduced, we gather that Padre Martinez placed the condition that whatever was printed on the press and the printing press itself not be used to attack him or his people. This time also, Bent broke out in curses and insults. Let us listen to him.  He states the following in his letter of March 30, 1845.  ([From] Alvares’ [Spanish] Translation [of Bent’s poorly written English] inot my re-translation into good contemporary English.  It would be more authentic to have Bent’s bad English.)

I have seen your letter to Beaubien and notice he tells you that our padre has agreed to leave his press in Santa Fe, but under the condition that he not be attacked.  That is a mere and weak subterfuge after he stated here, when he lent it for the first time, to take advantage of it for more effectively censuring the conduct of officials in the hope they desist from continuing to do wrong, but it seems that he never expected they would dare attack him.  (See engraving No. 63 in the Appendix.)

We could reprint many more letters of Bent, but with the ones already shown, it seems enough to come to the necessary conclusion that without Bent’s having gotten involved in matters that had nothing to do with him, there never would have existed reason for the continuing disagreements that engendered enmity with Martinez and the other native Mexicans. Some of the foreigners, like Quinn, Beaubien, Blumner, Conklin, St. Vrain, Ledoux, Kit Carson, and many other contemporaries of Bent---neighbors and residents of Taos---never had difficulty with the people or with government officials.  No, they lived in peace and focused exclusively on their own business; they knew that as American citizens, they are not to interfere in matters that belong to the Mexican government. They knew well that whenever their prerogatives as citizens of another government been run over or ignored, their appeal was not by mocking the government that would protect them, but their choice [for recourse] was at the American consulate. The American consulate had been established in Santa precisely for the settlement of matters of this nature.

Almost all of them were from Taos, and they never had difficulty with the inhabitants or with government officials.  No, they lived in peace and occupied themselves exclusively with their particular businesses.  They knew that as American citizens it was not up to them to interfere in matters of the Mexican government. They knew well that whenever their prerogatives as citizens of another government been trampled on or ignored, their recourse was not in insulting the government that would protect them, but its remedy was the American Consulate, since it had been established in Santa Fe precisely for the settlement of such matters.

One cannot then conceive what motive might have inspired Bent to act as he did. Moreover, when the people of New Mexico---so tired from such prolonged neglect because of the very great distance that separated el Nuevo Mexico from the capital of the Mexican Republic, as well as because of the eternal revolutions daily taking place on the ground and the subsequent pronouncements since the establishment of the Republic's independence in 1821 [p. 229 - Read text]--- became citizens [of the USA], they did not receive either necessary assistance to permanently subjugate the wild Indian, nor resources for the intellectual and material development of the people. 

They longed for the realization of the dream, held onto by a large portion of the people, of a change of flags for which circumstances gradually predisposed [New Mexico] over many years. Bent, more than anyone, was necessarily very familiar with all of this.  The people of New Mexico, a portion of it if not all, wanted a change not because they lacked true patriotism towards their motherland.  However, since neither the Spanish government nor the Mexican government had ever given ear to their pleas and entreaties, an indifference regarding their love of country took hold of them because of this isolation and neglect to the degree that they almost desired the intervention of the American government.  Bent, then having cleverly acted with good judjment as circumstances required, after the political transition, would then undoubtedly have come to be the darling of the native people.

Authorities: Letters, original autograph, cited in this chapter in the possession of the author and are photographed in the appendix of this work.

Note: The author of this work saw himself bound in honor of the truth to alter this chapter at that part referring to General Armijo that treats him as a traitor.  This is something the Author had done, following the observations of historians to whom some reference is made in this chapter. After the chapter was written, the Author had occasion to consult with the respectable elder Abeyta Aniceto of this capital city, a contemporary of Armijo, and to receive information that the flight of Armijo and his officers was a decision made after mature discussion because their soldiers lacked weapons and ammunition, thus avoiding unnecessary bloodshed. Mr. Abeyta was present at the discussion.

1) [Translator of this chapter: Rev. Juan Romero, ordained a Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1964, now retired from administration and serving in the Diocese of San Bernardino.  In 1996, a century and a half after the occupation of New Mexico by the American Forces, I translated into English the first several chapters of Benjamin M. Read’s Guerra Mexico Americano with the help of my uncle Tomás Romero of Taos---a recipient of Distinguished Flying Cross in World War II and professor of Spanish.  I intend to finish the project with the wonderful help of New Mexico native Vicente M. Martinez of Taos currently residing Florida, his lawyer-son Antonio J. Martinez working out of Seattle, Washington, and Elena Goldfeder of Rochester, New York.  I invite your comments on this document and its translation, and request your response to these questions at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

2) Would you like to read the completed English translation of Benjamin M. Read’s Guerra Mexicano in a printed edition, or in e-book format? 
3) Would you be interested in a bilingual edition (Spanish-English)?