SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 36

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008

INTRODUCED BY

Richard C. Martinez

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THAT THE SITE OF THE BATTLE OF PUERTECITO DE POJOAQUE THAT OCCURRED ON JANUARY 27, 1838 BE COMMEMORATED BY AN OFFICIAL HISTORIC MARKER AS AN EVENT AND LOCATION OF HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE.

     WHEREAS, the Rebellion of Rio Arriba has been the subject of pundits and historians since its occurrence in 1837, and its causes have been analyzed by citizens and authors in several publications, the most concise being Rebellion in Rio Arriba, 1837 by Janet Lecompt; and

     WHEREAS, several governors of the department of New Mexico, including Manuel Armijo, Santiago Abreu, Francisco Sarracino, Albino Perez and Donaciano Vigil, were involved in the rebellion, either as protagonists or antagonists; and

     WHEREAS, Donaciano Vigil, who served as the civil governor of New Mexico during 1847 and 1848, addressed the departmental assembly of New Mexico, before New Mexico had become either a territory or a state of the United States, and provided narratives recorded in A Statement Concerning Historical Events Between 1801-1851 to the historian and collector William G. Ritch, in which the governor presented the Rebellion of Rio Arriba as one of the major events of New Mexico history; and

     WHEREAS, family folklore in the rio arriba, or the "upper river" country from Chimayo to El Rancho, kept story fragments of the Rebellion of Rio Arriba in their oral tradition and songs; and

     WHEREAS, history has failed to memorialize leaders of the Rebellion of Rio Arriba, including Governor Jose Gonzales, Rafael Garcia, Desiderio Montoya, Antonio Abad Montoya, Alcalde Juan Jose Esquibel, Antonio "El Coyote" Vigil and Baltazar of Ohkay Owingeh, because they lost the battle of Puertecito de Pojoaque in the face of better-armed and better-organized Mexican forces and local militias; and

     WHEREAS, many citizens in what was then the Mexican department of New Mexico sought to oppose the constitutional reforms of 1835, reforms in which Mexico sought to impose taxes, centralize authority in Mexico City and restrict some liberties that had been guaranteed by the 1824 Mexican constitution; and

     WHEREAS, neglect by the Mexican national government due to internal political turmoil promoted economic and military insecurity in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, Juan Jose Esquibel, the alcalde of Santa Cruz de la Canada, and factions from throughout New Mexico arose in open defiance of the Mexican government, its authorities and its constitution during the summer of 1837 and formed a revolutionary council called the "Canton"; and

     WHEREAS, fiscal irresponsibility, embezzlement and political intrigue had reached a level that destroyed the credibility of the Santa Fe government under the administration of Governor Albino Perez and led to the assassination on August 9, 1837 of Perez and several other high-ranking officials; and

     WHEREAS, during September of 1837, men who were community leaders from the rio abajo, or the "lower river" country of Albuquerque, Belen and Tome, issued the "Pronouncement of Tome", which sought to bring order to the chaos that ensued because of the Rebellion of Rio Arriba and to counter the aims of the Canton and which installed Manuel Armijo as political chief; and

     WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Justiniani of El Paso del Norte arrived with a section of two hundred ninety-six men of the Mexican army and an official appointment that made Armijo the new governor of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, on January 27, 1838, the forces under Governor Armijo and Lieutenant Colonel Justiniani, numbering five hundred eighty-two men, marched upon more than one thousand three hundred revolutionaries at the Puertecito de Pojoaque, located about eighteen miles north of Santa Fe, and in the action, commander of the revolutionaries Antonio "El Coyote" Vigil was killed, dozens died, many were taken prisoner, others were seriously wounded and the dead were said to have filled five wagons; and

     WHEREAS, the famous Padre Jose Martinez of Taos served as chaplain under Governor Manuel Armijo during the battle of Puertecito de Pojoaque, and he performed last rites for the dying; and

     WHEREAS, Manuel Armijo entered the villa of Santa Cruz de la Canada and found no opposition, bringing an end to the Rebellion of Rio Arriba; and

     WHEREAS, Manuel Armijo summarily executed the remaining leaders of the rebellion, Jose Gonzales, the Montoyas and Alcalde Juan Jose Esquibel; and

     WHEREAS, the location of the battlefield is associated with the place of Puertecito de Pojoaque, the location of which is used as a reference point in Section 4-21-1 NMSA 1978 dating to 1851, where the section identifies that "The boundaries of the county of Rio Arriba are as follows: on the south from the Puertecito of Pojuaque, drawing a direct line toward the west in the direction of the mesilla of San Yldefonso; from the mesilla crossing the Rio del Norte toward the west and continuing until it reaches the boundaries of the territory; drawing a direct line from said Puertecito de Pojuaque toward the east until it reaches the last house of the town of Cundiyo, toward the south, continuing the same line until it reaches the highest point of the mountain of Nambe; from thence, following the summit of the mountain toward the north, until it reaches the southern boundary of the county of Taos; this shall constitute the eastern boundary, and on the north the boundary of the county of Taos, and on the west the boundary line of the territory."; and

     WHEREAS, the location of the Puertecito de Pojoaque as a landmark and continued knowledge of the Rebellion of Rio Arriba are important to the identity of Rio Arribenos and Rio Arriba history; and

     WHEREAS, the Rebellion of Rio Arriba and the site of the battle of Puertecito de Pojoaque, and the importance of these events to New Mexico's history, have nearly become lost and forgotten, and a project to improve United States highway 84-285 between Pojoaque and the Espanola valley has failed to preserve this site or deem it worthy of commemoration;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that from this day forward the site of the battle of Puertecito de Pojoaque will be preserved for posterity and will be marked by an official historic marker; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following text be sent to the historic preservation division of the cultural affairs department for the consideration of the cultural properties review committee, the statutory commission charged with approving official historic marker text:

"Battle of Puertecito de Pojoaque 27 January 1838

Puertecito means "little pass". The area extending one mile to the south and to the north of this site was the scene of a battle when the citizens of the Rio Arriba country, in New Mexico, then a department of Mexico, rebelled against the Mexican government over taxes and liberty. Governor Manuel Armijo and the Mexican army defeated factions of Tewa and Hispano revolutionaries led by Antonio "El Coyote" Vigil and interim Governor Jose Gonzales."; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the historic preservation division of the cultural affairs department, the state historian and the governor.

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