by Bartee Haile
“Immortality! God! The soul! What does all this mean?” Don Manuel de Mier y Teran asked a friend in a letter on Jul. 2, 1832. The presidency of Mexico was within his reach, but the tortured general was preoccupied with thoughts of suicide.
Gen. Mier y Teran stood head and shoulders above his corrupt contemporaries. Respected by the majority of his countrymen as the only honest leader in their troubled land, he was also the only Mexican official the Texas colonists trusted.
Starting in 1811, when the 22-year-old mineralogist fought heroically for independence from Spain, until the tragic events of 1832, Mier y Teran consistently rose above the petty politics and treachery of the Mexican Revolution. But the man-eating whirlpool of intrigue and his own private demons would not leave him alone.
In an attempt to break the vicious cycle of violence, Mexicans tried picking a new president in 1828 with ballots instead of bullets. But old habits die hard, and the loser, Vincente Guerrero, took up arms against the winner, Gomez Pedrazo, in a futile effort to reverse the results. Pedrazo, however, failed to watch his back and within the year was overthrown by his vice-president, Anastasio Bustamante.
Sick and tired of the bloody bickering, Mier y Teran refused to take sides in the senseless squabble. Despite his neutrality, Bustamante appointed him commandant general of four northern provinces because he was clearly the best man for the job.
Heeding his presidential instructions, Mier y Teran took a grand tour of Texas. His comprehensive report confirmed fears in Mexico City that the sparsely populated province was being overrun by Anglo-Americans.
To turn this alarming tide, Mier y Teran recommended the massive infusion of Mexican nationals at government expense. Ignoring this logical solution, Bustamante opted for the cheaper alternative of completely curtailing immigration from the United States with the Law of Apr. 6, 1830.
To his credit, Mier y Teran worked tirelessly behind the scenes to frustrate enforcement of the short-sighted decree. His eventual success won the admiration of grateful Texans. “If Genl Teran issues any orders, obey them,” Stephen F. Austin told his secretary. “He is our mainstay. You may rely upon it, and he is worthy of our confidence and support.”
Meanwhile, more and more Mexicans were looking to Mier y Teran to save them from a revolution gone mad. But the modest scholar turned down the part of national savior. “I am not a politician and I care naught for a political career which brings one nothing but cares and enmities. My profession is that of a soldier, and my pleasures are in the sciences.”
After a brief calm, another storm swept across weary Mexico and diverted Mier y Teran’s attention from Texas. By January 1832, the resilient Santa Anna was again center-stage at the head of a fresh revolt.
Motivated by a desire for stability rather than concern for Bustamante, Mier y Teran marched in April from his headquarters at Matamoros to put down an insurrection at Tampico. Intent on avoiding bloodshed, he put off attacking to first negotiate. The peace talks netted nothing, and his compassion cost him the opening battle of the siege.
President Bustamante’s frightened cabinet resigned on May 20 making his fall from power inevitable. Once more speculation over his likely successor focused on Mier y Teran as a secret poll of state legislatures indicated he was preferred by a decisive dozen.
Mier y Teran managed to crush the Tampico rebels in early June but gained no satisfaction from the victory. Prone to prolonged periods of depression, pessimism over the future of Mexico plunged him into the depths of despair.
Bad tidings from Texas two weeks later seemed to push the melancholy general over the edge. A reckless subordinate had provoked the colonists into a confrontation at Anahuac, an incident which could serve as a convenient excuse for purging the province of Anglo settlers.
Concluding his Jul. 2 letter, Mier y Teran wrote, “The spirit is uncomfortable. It commands me to set it free. Here is the end of human glory and the termination of ambition.”
The next day he put on his special dress uniform dotted with the decorations of a distinguished military career, buckled on his ceremonial sword and strolled around the plaza.
Encountering a corporal, he asked, “If your general should die, what would you do?” The soldier’s simple reply answered the unspoken question. “Someone would replace you.”
Selecting a secluded site behind the ruins of an ancient mission, Mier y Teran placed the handle of his sword against a rock and the point on his heart. He lunged forward and the razor-sharp blade did the rest.
Bartee welcomes your comments and questions at [email protected] or P.O. Box 130011, Spring, TX 77393 and invites you to visit his web site barteehaile.com.
