page_title: Timeline of Mexican War of Independence
section_title: 1811
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of Mexican War of Independence / 1811
context_page_description: The following is a timeline of the Mexican War of Independence, its antecedents and its aftermath. The war pitted the royalists, supporting the continued adherence of Mexico to Spain, versus the insurgents advocating Mexican independence from Spain. After of struggle of more than 10 years the insurgents prevailed.
context_section_description: January 8. A priest from Guadalajara and former supporter of Hidalgo published a manifesto in Mexico City stating that the insurgent army was "a growing mob of robbers and assassins encouraged...by the monstrous Hidalgo."
  January 8. Insurgent leader José Mariano Jiménez, operating independently of Hidalgo and Allende, entered the city of Saltillo with an army of 7,000 men.  Jimenéz and sent out military units to take control of other areas of northern Mexico.
  January 14. Aware that a royalist army under the command of Félix María Calleja del Rey was advancing on Guadalajara, Allende and Mariano Abasolo led the insurgent army out of the city at to a plain near Calderon Bridge where they planned to meet the oncoming royalists.
  January 17. In the Battle of Calderon Bridge, 6,000 well armed and disciplined royalist soldiers defeated the insurgent army of up to 100,000 poorly armed and untrained men.  This was a decisive battle; afterwards the insurgent leaders and their diminished number of loyal soldiers were on the run, pursued by the royalists. 
  January 21. The Casas Revolt in Texas overturned royalist rule and the insurgents ruled Texas for 39 days before a counter-coup upset them.
  January 24–25. In flight after the Battle of Calderon Bridge, insurgent leaders met at the Pabellon hacienda, near Aguascalientes.  Hidalgo was stripped of his command, and Allende was selected to replace him.  However, the decision was kept secret, with Hidalgo remaining the puppet leader.  Hidalgo became a virtual prisoner, warned that he would be executed if he attempted to leave the army.
  February 24. The main body of the insurgent army, led by Allende, arrived in Saltillo to join Jiménez who had taken control of many areas in northern Mexico. The objective of the insurgents was to continue their retreat to the United States where they hoped to find support for Mexican independence.
  March 17. Rebel leaders Allende, Jiménez, and Aldama, Hidalgo, and more than 1,000 soldiers of the insurgent army departed Saltillo to march north to Monclova to continue their flight toward the United States.  Not anticipating opposition, the caravan was strung out on the road over a distance of 24 kilometres (15 mi).
  March 21. The insurgent leaders and most of their men were taken captive at the Wells of Baján. The nearly-bloodless capture was engineered by Ignacio Elizondo who had feigned support for the rebels while working for the royalists.  He lured the insurgents into a trap.
  March 26. Ignacio López Rayón, left behind in Saltillo after the departure of Hidalgo and Allende, abandoned the city and led 3,500 men with 22 cannons southward, seeking a refuge from the advancing royalist armies. With the capture of the insurgent leaders at the Wells of Baján, he became the de facto leader of the independence movement.
  June 26. Ignacio Allende, Jose Mariano Jimenez, Juan Aldama, and Manuel Santamaria were executed in Chihuahua City.
  July 30. Miguel Hidalgo was executed in Chihuahua City. The heads of Hidalgo and other insurgent leaders were taken to Guanajuato and displayed at the granary as a warning to others contemplating revolution.
  August 15.  The end of Morelos' First Campaign.  After an unsuccessful siege of Acapulco, Morelos captured other cities such as Chilpancingo, Tixtla, and Chilapa and wrested control of much of the southern Pacific coast of Mexico from the royalists.
  August 19. After a long flight southward and many skirmishes with royalist forces, Rayón found a safe-haven in Zitacuaro, Michoacan and formed a revolutionary government, the "Junta of Zitacuaro," headed by himself. Among the members of the Junta was José Maria Morelos, the leader of the insurgent forces in the state of Guerrero. The junta never became effective because the insurgency had fragmented into four areas, each controlled by a different leader.
  November 15. José Maria Morelos began his "second campaign" to relieve Spanish military pressure on Zitacuaro and to threaten Mexico City and Puebla.
caption: The route of Miguel Hidalgo's military campaigns, 1810-1811.
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