There was considerable native resistance to the Spanish mission program, which continued after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. Most escaped Native Americans fled to the Central Valley, which was difficult for heavily armed Spanish soldiers to traverse due to its swampy terrain. Around November 1828, a Yokuts man named Estanislao (christened after Saint Stanislaus; his native name is believed to have been "Cucunichi") led a revolt at Mission San Jose and fled to the Laquisimes River country with many other natives. There he raised an army of Yokuts, Miwok and Chumash, who raided the missions and large "ranchos", stealing horses and cattle and freeing Native American laborers. The Mexican army, led by Mariano Vallejo, moved to crush the resistance, but was initially defeated by natives on the Laquisimes River, in a place believed to be near present-day Caswell Memorial State Park.