Battle of Calderón Bridge
Calderón Bridge, near Zapotlanejo, Jalisco, Mexico
What happened
A large insurgent army led by Miguel Hidalgo and Ignacio Allende fought a smaller Spanish royal army under Félix María Calleja. Four months after Hidalgo's call for revolt, his insurgents held a bridge on the road to Guadalajara. The royal army was smaller but better trained and equipped. A shot hit an insurgent ammunition wagon, which exploded and scattered much of the army.
Why it matters
Why it matters: It was the last major battle of the first stage of Mexico's War of Independence. It badly weakened the insurgent army.
What came next
The insurgent leaders were captured in March 1811, and Hidalgo was executed that July. The defeat is said to have delayed independence by about ten years.
Did you know?
Hidalgo, a parish priest, is remembered in Mexico as the Father of the Nation.
Timeline
- 16 September 1810Hidalgo's Cry of Dolores starts the revolt.
- 17 January 1811Battle of Calderón Bridge.
- March 1811Insurgent leaders are captured.
- 30 July 1811Hidalgo is executed in Chihuahua.