Independence War part 2. 1810-1813

Uprisings by Hidalgo, Morelos and others

Last modified: 2009-01-17 by juan manuel gabino villascán
Keywords: mexico | guadalupe | hidalgo y costilla (miguel) | virgin mary | independence | war | insurrect | morelos (josé marí) | matamoros (mariano) | grito | dolores (grito de) |
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• Standard of the Virgen de Guadalupe
• Morelos' hosts flags
  • Erroneous reported flags
• Mariano Matamoros - Battalion of San Pedro
• Other flags of the same period
• Fictional flag related to the Mexican independence war

• Independence War. Part 1. Independist movements during the XVIII-XIX centuries
• Independence War. Part 3. 1813-1815/1821: Establishment of the América mexicana
• Mexico - General index
• Mexico

by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, January 2009.

This banner was used by priest don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in the revolution of 1810. It was taken from the sacristy of the town of Atotonilco el Grande (Guanajuato), where it represented the Virgin of Guadalupe. Adopted 16 of September of 1810. Abolished in November of 1810. (Source: [bas])
Jaume Ollé, 04 Aug 1995

It was an oil painting with the Virgin of Guadalupe, adopted as the flag of the Insurrects. The royalist forces, learning of this deed of Hidalgo, adopted the Virgin of the Remedios, that is worshiped in the Sanctuary of the same name in Mexico City, and gave it the rank of Field Marshall [above General].
Jorge Candeias, 27 Oct 1997, translating from La Bandera Mexicana website

General Hidalgo’s flag shows in the current official coat of arms of the state of Hidalgo, in a rectangular variant.
António Martins, 22 Jun 1999

by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán,
August 2005.

Morelos' flags actually were not the first ones in featuring the Mexican eagle either crowned or crownless. Before Morelos, Spain-led troops formed by mestizos, natives and Spaniards, depicted the eagle and nopal in their standards during the Florida campaign (ca. 1550's) ¹.

Through all the Colonial age, during civic celebrations Mexico City inhabitants, both criollos (creoles) and mestizos, flown standards and banners featuring all the eagle, snake and the nopal ².

In the Independence war, considering it from 1808 to 1821, the first to use the eagle with military purposes was not Morelos' but Hidalgo's hosts ³.

There are lots of standards and flags preserved in the Museo Nacional de Historia (Chapultepec Castle) who belonged either to Morelos or any of his generals. Such flags and standards, according its design, could be classified in two:

a) Those mostly with a white field whether blue-bordered, charged with a depiction of the Virgin de Guadalupe alone or surrounded by the motto: NON FECIT TALITER OMNI NATIONI, and;
b) Those blue-bordered or white-blue squares-bordered depicting the eagle with or without the motto: OCULIS ET UNGUIBUS AEQUE VICTRIX.

All of them date from ca. 1811-1812. "Banderas" (SG 1990) shows only five flags and standards out of all those preserved it the Museum ⁴. The flag above is a reproduction of one of them:

"José María Morelos' flag, took part in the attack of the Insurgent hosts to Valladolid [present-day Morelia], on 13 Dec, 1813, and captured by Royalist troops on 5 Jan, 1814 in Tacámbaro." Banderas (1990).

The original flag measures 145 w x 189 h cm. The blue squares in the border are hardly visible. In addition to the arms and motto, there appears the word, UNUM, meaning for "one" ⁴.

OCULIS ET UNGUIBUS AEQUE VICTRIX: "By her eyes and claws equally victorious": The motto is first attributed to Morelos, when in Tehuacán on Aug. 19 1812, he granted her army a flag ⁵. Alamán (1985) says that:

"...By then [Morelos] did not try to occupy Oaxaca, he led all his forces towards Tehuacán instead, where he entered on August 10 [1812]... Once there, Morelos... focused in regularizing and disciplining his troops." ⁶

Another motto specifically identified to Virgin Mary and also written on flags was taken from Psalm 147, 20: NON FECIT TALITER OMNI NATIONI, whose translation is: "[She, -i.e. Virgin Mary-] has not done thus for any other nation" ⁷.

Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán,
August 2005.

An erroneous depiction of Morelos hosts flag

by Jaume Ollé, 04 Aug 1995

The Hidalgo revolt was continued by the Generalisimo don José María Morelos y Pavón who adopted a flag on 19th August 1812 with a bridge of three arches and after each arch a letter: V.V.M. (Viva la Virgen Maria, Long Live the Virgin Mary); in this flag appears for the first time an eagle resting on a nopal, and over the aqueduct, with an imperial crown and a legend in latin. On 6th September, 1813, the flag was used to proclaim independence under the name Kingdom of Anahuac. Abolished 5 of November of 1815 when the Morelos revolt ran out of steam. (Source: [bas])
Jaume Ollé, 04 Aug 1995, and Jorge Candeias, 27 Oct 1997, translating from La Bandera Mexicana website

by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán,
August, 2005.

"...known about the the Vicerroy's edict of June 25 [1812] by means of which the clergy took part in the revolution would be illegal, Matamoros, a priest who cosidered such an edict as an outrage, first in the hacienda of Santa Clara, then in Izúcar, raised up a regiment whom he named "San Pedro". He granted it a black flag featuring a red cross like those worn by priests at Ash Wednesday celebrations, and bearing the text: "Inmunidad eclesiástica" (Ecclesiastic immunity)." Bustamante (1985), Alamán's source, says the text read: "Morir por la inmunidad eclesiá stica" (to the death for ecclesiastic immunity). He also adds the flag "bore the Church arms".
"Both Morelos and Matamoros formed several companies until reach a remarkable number of disciplined troops, all regiments were baptized after the saints, such as that of Santiago de Galicia, capitained by Father Sánchez."

Lucas Alamán. Historia de Méjico. Jus. México. 1985. Vol. III. pp 149-150.
Carlos María de Bustamante. Cuadro Histórico de la Revolución Mexicana. FCE. México. 1985. Vol. II. pp 148-149.
Posted by Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán, August, 2005.

Other revolutionary leaders created their own flags. Between 1812 and 1817, the troops of Nicolas Bravo and Guadalupe Victoria used a green-white-red one.
Santiago Dotor, 29 Dec 1998, summarizing from http://dyred.sureste.com/club/6febrero/24feb.htm

I am currently reading a novel about a British warship, some time around 1800. Part of that ship's mission was to assist revolutionaries in Acapulco, Mexico, to gain independence from Spain, since Britain and Spain were at war at the time. I have no idea whether there was a revolution in Acapulco at that time, but it mentions a flag being flown by a rebel ship. This flag is described as «blue with a yellow star in the centre». Does anybody know if this flag (or the revolution) actualy existed?
Thomas Robinson, 31 Jan 1999

• Part 1. Independist movements during the XVIII-XIX centuries
• Part 3. 1813-1815/1821: Establishment of the América mexicana