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59-511: Padre Antonio José Martínez brought the first printing press west of the Mississippi River to Taos between 1834–1835 and published the first newspaper, El Crepusculo , which was the predecessor of The Taos News . The Taos New s has been published as Taos News and El Crepusculo de la Libertad . Archived newspapers are available from 1959 to the present day. The corporation was founded in 1978. The Taos News website states: "Our purpose

118-596: A Christmas uprising. When the plans were discovered by the US authorities, the dissenters postponed the uprising. They attracted numerous Native American allies, including Puebloan peoples , who also wanted to push the Americans from the territory. On the morning of January 19, 1847, the insurrectionists began the revolt in Don Fernando de Taos, present-day Taos, New Mexico and nearby Taos Pueblo . They were led by Pablo Montoya ,

177-435: A Hispano, and Tomás Romero , a Taos Puebloan also known as Tomasito (Little Thomas). Romero led a Native American force to the house of Governor Charles Bent , where they broke down the door, shot Bent with arrows, and scalped him in front of his family. After they moved on, Bent was still alive. With his wife Ignacia and children, and the wives of friends Kit Carson and Thomas Boggs , the group escaped by digging through

236-504: A New Mexican strategic victory and Hendley's death. The Americans attacked again, under Capt. Jesse I. Morin , in the Second Battle of Mora and destroyed the village, which ended the Mora campaign of the revolt. The next day, US officials ordered the execution of some of the captives in the plaza in a "drumhead court-martial ", including the leader "Montojo" Pablo Montoya . Price then set up

295-446: A letter explaining that he felt New Mexicans faced a sad future because they didn't have the intellectual liveliness of Americans and their morals were primitive. These comments outraged New Mexicans. The clergy of New Mexico wrote a letter directly to the Pope , expressing their concern about Lamy. Martínez was not involved in the letter but continued to write communiques criticizing Lamy for

354-447: A letter instituting mandatory tithing and decreeing that heads of families that failed to tithe be denied the sacraments . Martínez publicly protested the letter and openly contested it in the secular press. From then on, Lamy and Martínez clashed over many issues, such as the effects of frontier life on Catholic standards, and women's issues. The two also argued over interpretations of canon law . The situation culminated when Lamy wrote

413-602: A military court in Taos to try more of the captured insurgents under civil law . He appointed as judges Joab Houghton , a close friend of Charles Bent; and Charles H. Beaubien , the father of Narcisse Beaubien, who had been killed on January 19. Both men had previously been appointed as judges to the New Mexico Territory Superior Court by the late Gov. Bent in August of the previous year. George Bent, Charles' brother,

472-496: A people. Charles Bent's statement about the "greate literary Martinez" and similar comments are sarcastic. Bent felt a strong antipathy toward Padre Antonio José Martínez who opposed his ambition to acquire the Guadalupe-Miranda (Beaubien) Land Grant / Maxwell Land Grant . Padre Martinez insisted that the extremely large territory, over 1.7 million acres including what is today Philmont Scout Ranch, remain common grazing grounds

531-529: A priest, enrolling in the Tridentine Seminary of the Diocese of Durango. Martínez not only excelled at the seminary but also in understanding the ideals of liberal Mexican politicians and teachers of his day, including Miguel Hidalgo . After six years, Martínez was ordained , and he returned to New Mexico, where after a few years in other parishes, he became the parish priest of Taos , and from then on

590-501: A third of the parishioners in the two parishes. Finally, in April 1858, Lamy excommunicated Martínez. Martínez never recognized the validity of the excommunication, and continued to minister to his supporters until his death. Martínez also continued to write about Christianity , publishing his famous work, Religión , in which he called for small honoraria for priests in New Mexico, because of

649-459: Is a warrant for murdering those who defended to the last their country and their homes. On April 9, the US forces hanged six of the convicted insurgents in the Taos plaza; all but one were convicted of murder, and he of treason. This was the first execution by hanging in the Taos Valley . Two weeks later, the US forces executed five more. In all, the US hanged at least 28 men in Taos in response to

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708-522: Is to report the news of Taos County and the Moreno Valley in a fair and objective manner consistent with the highest journalist standards. It is our intention to serve the citizens of Taos County by taking specific positions on important issues and allowing reasonable space to those with differing views." The Taos News has won the following awards: Antonio Jos%C3%A9 Mart%C3%ADnez Antonio José Martínez (January 17, 1793 – July 27, 1867 )

767-673: The Battle of Cienega Creek : the last engagement of the Taos Revolt during the Mexican–American War . The battle occurred on July 9, 1847 and was fought between New Mexican insurgents , Pueblo natives and United States Army troops. On July 9, 1847 a detachment of thirty-one men, belonging to Captain Morin's company of American infantry were stationed close to Cienega Creek about eighteen miles from Taos, New Mexico . On this early morning

826-552: The Battle of Red River Canyon , the Battle of Las Vegas, and the Battle of Cienega Creek . After the US forces won each battle, the New Mexicans and Native Americans ended open warfare. The Red River Canyon affair , or the Battle of Red River Canyon : on May 26, 1847, United States Army Major Edmondson, with a company of two hundred infantry and cavalry under Captains Holaway and Robinson, were marching at almost sunset along

885-612: The Battle of Santa Fe without firing a shot. When Kearny departed with his forces for California , he left Colonel Sterling Price in command of U.S. forces in New Mexico. He appointed Charles Bent as New Mexico's first territorial governor. Many New Mexicans were unreconciled to Armijo's surrender; they also resented their treatment by U.S. soldiers, which Governor Bent described: As other occupation troops have done at other times and places have done, they undertook to act like conquerors." Gov. Bent implored Price's superior, Col. Alexander Doniphan , "to interpose your authority to compel

944-694: The Franciscan , Dominican and Jesuit missionaries from its provinces. In 1832, the last of the Franciscan regional authorities authorized Padre Martínez to supervise the Penitente brotherhood, a type of folk Catholicism that had developed among the Hispano New Mexicans. In addition to offering spiritual and social aid to the community, the Penitentes engaged in such ascetic practices as flagellation and

1003-518: The Santa Fe Gazette . In early 1856, Martínez offered his conditional resignation, but admitted his parishioners in Taos, New Mexico to his private chapel in his home and ministered to them from there. On October 27, 1856, Lamy suspended Martínez. In response, Martínez antagonized the pastor that Lamy sent in his place, persuaded a neighboring priest of his goals and gained the allegiance of approximately

1062-618: The American Flag. Because of their convictions, and in order to attempt avoiding bloodshed in the civil transfer of power, they willingly complied, thus becoming the first inhabitants of New Mexico to become citizens of the United States. Moreover, Colonel Kearny asked Padre Martinez to borrow his Ramage printing press on which the Padre had published New Mexico's first book, a newspaper, as well as religious and educational materials. The Padre lent

1121-573: The Americans pushed forward and began to break up the ambush. The Mexicans and natives were repulsed but soon regrouped and assaulted the American position. The Americans slowly made an organized retreat, the withdrawal being covered by a Lieutenant Elliot and his Laclede rangers. At sunrise, the Americans reformed and reentered the canyon, where they discovered that the Mexicans and natives had retreated just before their arrival. The Cienega affair , or

1180-521: The Departamento de Nuevo Mexico, and six times for the Territory of New Mexico under the United States. He was married before he became a priest; his wife died in childbirth, and his daughter died at the young age of 12. Even after ordination, Martínez had other children that he recognized as heirs in his Last Will and Testament. His eldest was Santiago Valdez (b. 1830) who wrote his 1877 biography, and

1239-462: The Holy Communion "according to the reformed rite" with Bishop Talbot. However, he remained staunchly Roman Catholic as his Last Will and Testament testifies. In his Last Will, Martínez expressed a desire not to have a public ceremony, nevertheless there was a large funeral ceremony for him. Martínez requested to be buried in his Oratorio, dedicated to La Purísima Concepción, contiguous to and on

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1298-527: The Mexican government. Santa Anna also began to impose harsher taxes in New Mexico, which sparked a rebellion in the northern part of the province. In 1837, the rebels, mostly poorer ranchers and farmers, captured Santa Fe, killed governor Albino Pérez , and installed their own governor, José María González . The leaders of the rebellion were divided on their goals and soon factionalized. American merchants and traders within New Mexico were uncomfortable about

1357-527: The Red (Canadian) River. They had just entered Red River Canyon when ambushed by an estimated 500 Mexicans and natives, according to reports given to Colonel Alexander Doniphan , a commander during the New Mexican Campaign. Red River Canyon being very narrow and full of thick, deep mud, Major Edmundson was forced to dismount his cavalry and proceed in the attack on foot with the infantry. Now all on foot,

1416-630: The Ritch Collection housed at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, near Los Angeles: Biografia del Presbítero Antonio José Martínez, Cura de Taos. Padre Martinez made the statement in September 1846, a few weeks after General Stephen Watts Kearny had, on August 18 in the name of the United States of America, occupied Santa Fe and all of New Mexico. Taos Revolt The Taos Revolt

1475-480: The adobe walls of their house into the one next door. When the insurgents discovered the party, they killed Bent, but left the women and children unharmed. The rebel force killed and scalped several other government officials, along with others seen as related to the new US territorial government. Among those killed were Stephen Lee, acting county sheriff; Cornelio Vigil, prefect and probate judge; and J.W. Leal, circuit attorney. "It appeared," wrote Colonel Price, "to be

1534-513: The carrying of heavy crosses. Bishop Lamy unsuccessfully attempted to suppress the brotherhood as a part of the "Americanization" of the Church in New Mexico. Padre Martínez championed the Penitente cause, putting him squarely at odds with Lamy. His greate name deserves to be written in letters of gold in all high places that this gaping and ignorant multitude might fall down and worship it, that he has and done condisend to remain amongst and instrkut such

1593-497: The early 1840s, he eventually came to believe that New Mexico would be better off under the flag of the United States. Before coming into Santa Fe, Kearny was aware that Padre Martinez was the main religious and political leader in northern New Mexico and throughout the whole region. Kearny, ironically, dispatched Captain Bent with a dozen soldiers to escort Padre Martinez and his brothers from Taos to Santa Fe in order to pledge allegiance to

1652-467: The following year published the first book printed in New Mexico, a bilingual ritual—Latin and Spanish. He published only six issues of the newspaper called El Crepúsculo de Libertad ; published religious/devotional tracts and texts for his elementary school, seminary, and law school. Martínez was a licensed attorney turned politician, and served five times under the Republic of Mexico on the legislature of

1711-443: The government revoke. In 1826, he established a coed elementary school; in 1833 a seminary from which 16 men were ordained to the priesthood; and in 1846 a law school that graduated many of the earliest lawyers and politicians of the Territory of New Mexico. He produced a speller for the children of his family members, and later obtained the first printing press in New Mexico. In 1838, he published his autobiography on his press, and

1770-415: The halls. Verily, a strange mixture of violence and justice-a strange middle ground between martial and common law. After an absence of a few minutes the jury returned with a verdict, "Guilty in the first degree". Five for murder, one for treason. Treason, indeed! What did the poor devil know about his new allegiance? ... I left the room, sick at heart. Justice! Out upon the word when its distorted meaning

1829-528: The heavy demands associated with New Mexico's isolation. He also explained the problem of denying sacraments to individuals because of their financial status. Lastly, he condemned the Spanish Inquisition and all the actions associated with it, including the many excommunications. Father Antonio José Martínez died on July 27, 1867. Infirm and aged beyond his years, Martínez lived the last ten years of his life estranged from Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy . By

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1888-590: The importance of ranching and farming at the Hacienda Martínez in Northern New Mexico . In 1811, Martínez married María de la Luz, who died giving birth to their daughter less than a year later, when he was 19. Their child was named in honor of María de la Luz. Six years later Martínez moved south after much thought and correspondence with the Bishop of Durango . He decided to travel there in 1817, and become

1947-698: The inhabitants of New Mexico since time immemorial used for their cattle. In the early 1830s Charles Bent, together with his brother William, founded a fort on the Arkansas River (the Spanish called it Rio Napiste) in what is today's southern Colorado. The river marked the southern boundary between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain since the Otis-Anin Treaty of 1819. A couple of years later—after Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821—the river became

2006-512: The invasion, Martínez had witnessed the animosity towards Native Americans and Mexicans displayed by the Anglos living in New Mexico. He encouraged his students to study law and it was to them he delivered his famous quote, "The American government resembles a burro; but on this burro lawyers will ride, not priests." Within a year of the American occupation, the Taos Revolt occurred. Charles Bent ,

2065-402: The new US rule), and the judges sentenced them to death. An eyewitness, Lewis Hector Garrard , described the trial and events: It certainly did appear to be a great assumption of the part of the Americans to conquer a country and then arraign the revolting inhabitants for treason. American judges sat on the bench, New Mexicans and Americans filled the jury box, and an American soldiery guarded

2124-409: The new government and funded a Mexican army led by Manuel Armijo to put down the uprising. The Martínez family had grown wealthy through trade and would have become a critical subject had the rebellion survived. Martínez not only helped fund the Mexican army, but also offered his services to Armijo as chaplain of the army until the termination of the revolt in early 1838, when the old administration

2183-555: The newly appointed American governor of New Mexico, was assassinated in the uprising. American forces quickly regained power, instituted martial law , and executed the rebels involved. Many, including Kit Carson , believed Martínez himself took part in some way in instigating the rebellion, but nothing has been proven. In a letter to a friend in Santa Fe, Martínez stated that the American reprisals were too harsh and would hinder future relations between New Mexico and its new rulers. Despite

2242-503: The northern boundary of the Republic of Mexico with the United States. Bent's Fort was, therefore, located at a very strategic place for international commerce. It became a headquarters for French Canadian and American fur trappers and traders who—through the American Fur Company—successfully exported beaver pelts, in the form of top hats, to the salons of Paris and London. In the spring or early summer of 1846, during

2301-489: The object of the insurrectionists to put to death every American and every Mexican who had accepted office under the American government." The next day a large armed force of approximately 500 Hispanos and Puebloans attacked and laid siege to Simeon Turley's mill and distillery in Arroyo Hondo , several miles north of Taos. Charles Autobees , an employee at the mill, saw the men coming. He rode to Santa Fe for help from

2360-535: The occupying American army combined with the oft-exercised rebelliousness of Taos residents against authority imposed on them from elsewhere were causes of the revolt. In the aftermath of the revolt the Americans executed at least 28 rebels. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 guaranteed the property rights of New Mexico's Hispanic and Native American residents. In August 1846, the territory of New Mexico, then under Mexican rule, fell to U.S. forces under Stephen Watts Kearny . Governor Manuel Armijo surrendered at

2419-498: The occupying US forces. Eight to ten mountain men were left at the mill for defense. After a day-long battle, only two of the mountain men, John David Albert and Thomas Tate Tobin , survived. Both escaped separately on foot during the night. The same day Hispano insurgents killed seven or eight American traders who were passing through the village of Mora on their way to Missouri. At most 16 Americans were killed in both actions on January 20. The US military moved quickly to quash

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2478-588: The press to the Colonel soon-to-be promoted to Brigadier General, and Kearny used it to publish his Code of Laws. You can say that the teachings of the American Government represent a burro, and this burro can only be mounted by lawyers and not the Clergy. The quote attributed to Padre Martinez about the clergyman/attorney riding the burro is from an 1877 unpublished manuscript by Santiago Valdez in Spanish belonging to

2537-600: The priest of Taos, had been a Mexican nationalist. He had been ordained a priest in Durango, Mexico a year after Mexican Independence, and considered Padre Miguel Hidalgo (Father of Mexican Independence) a hero and mentor. At the same time, he considered George Washington as another of his hero-mentors. Padre Martinez appreciated the ideals spelled out in the American Constitution and Bill of Rights. Although Padre Martinez had resisted U.S. encroachment into New Mexico since

2596-436: The problems, Martínez was able to adjust to the administration and for seven years played a dominant role in the conventions and legislative sessions of the new Territory . With the new government came new leadership, both political and religious. Jean Baptiste Lamy , a Frenchman nearly 21 years younger than Martínez, became the vicar apostolic of Santa Fe in 1851. Martínez supported Lamy until January 1854 when Lamy issued

2655-544: The revolt. A year later, the United States Secretary of War reviewed the case. He said that the one man hanged for treason, Hipolito "Polo" Salazar, might have been wrongfully convicted. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed. All other convictions were affirmed. The revolt did not end after the Siege of Taos. New Mexican rebels engaged U.S. forces three more times in the following months. The actions are known as

2714-434: The revolt; Col. Price led more than 300 US troops from Santa Fe to Taos, together with 65 volunteers, including a few New Mexicans, organized by Ceran St. Vrain , the business partner of the brothers William and Charles Bent. Along the way, the combined forces beat back a force of some 1,500 Hispanos and Puebloans at Santa Cruz de la Cañada and Embudo Pass . The insurgents retreated to Taos Pueblo , where they took refuge in

2773-562: The second to the youngest was Vicente Ferrer Romero (b. 1844) who became an effective evangelizer for the Presbyterian Church. Martínez has been accused of instigating the Chimayó Rebellion of 1837 and the Taos Revolt of 1847 with its concomitant assassination of Governor Charles Bent , but this is unlikely. After his tension and controversies with Bishop Lamy, in 1863 it seems he flirted with becoming an Anglican, observing

2832-593: The soldiers to respect the rights of the inhabitants. These outrages are becoming so frequent that I apprehend serious consequences must result sooner or later if measures are not taken to prevent them. An issue more significant than the galling daily insults was that many New Mexican citizens feared that their land titles, issued by the Mexican government, would not be recognized by the United States. They worried that American sympathizers would prosper at their expense. Following Kearny's departure, dissenters in Santa Fe plotted

2891-615: The spring of 1858, Bishop Lamy felt compelled to excommunicate Martínez not for moral failings, but for his "scandalous writings." Bishop Lamy wrote his denunciation of Martínez in the marginal notes of the Baptism and Funeral Register of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church where he had served since 1826. The writings in La Gaceta of Santa Fe were a critique of the Bishop's re-introduction of the system of tithing that Martínez since 1829 successfully advocated

2950-489: The thick-walled adobe church. During the ensuing battle , the US breached a wall of the church and directed cannon fire into the interior, inflicting many casualties and killing about 150 rebels. They captured 400 more men after close hand-to-hand fighting. Seven US troops died in the battle. A separate force of US troops campaigned against the rebels in Mora. The First Battle of Mora , under Captain Israel R. Hendley , ended in

3009-556: The time of US-Mexican War, Charles Bent visited Colonel Stephen W. Kearny, leader of the Army of the West at Forth Leavenworth, Kansas. Together with a large contingent of his army, Kearny gathered at Bent's Fort by the end of June in preparation to march on Santa Fe on behalf of the Government of the United States to take possession of New Mexico that belonged to the Republic of Mexico. Padre Martinez,

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3068-586: The west-side of his residence. This request was honored, and so he was buried in his own Oratorio that he had built on his property. A quarter century later in 1891, his body was moved about two miles east the American Cemetery. The land, originally owned by Martínez, was deeded to Theodora Romero , and then came into possession of the Kit Carson park and cemetery in Taos. Inscribed on the Martínez tombstone are

3127-558: The words La Honra de su País ("The Honor of his Homeland"). Martínez's peers in the Territorial Legislature pronounced this encomium in 1867, the year of his death. Sculptor Huberto Maestas of San Luis, Colorado sculpted the larger than life-sized bronze memorial of Martínez unveiled at Taos Plaza on July 16, 2006. When Santa Anna became the President of Mexico in 1833, he intentionally began to centralize and departmentalize

3186-669: Was a New Mexican priest , educator , publisher , rancher , farmer , community leader , and politician . He lived through and influenced three distinct periods of New Mexico's history: the Spanish period, the Mexican period, and the American occupation and subsequent territorial period. Martínez appears as a character in Willa Cather 's novel, Death Comes for the Archbishop . Martínez

3245-726: Was a popular insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States ' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War . Provisional governor Charles Bent and several other Americans were killed by the rebels. In two short campaigns, United States troops and militia crushed the rebellion of the Hispano and Pueblo people. The New Mexicans, seeking better representation, regrouped and fought three more engagements, but after being defeated, they abandoned open warfare. Hatred of New Mexicans for

3304-605: Was born Antonio Jose Martinez in Abiquiu on January 17, 1793, when New Mexico was a very isolated and desolate territory of the Spanish Empire . In 1804, the Martinez family, including his father Severino and five siblings, moved to Taos , a prosperous outpost , where they came to be known as Martínez. His mother was María del Carmel Santistévan of La Plaza de Santa Rosa de Abiquiú. During his upbringing, Martínez's father taught him

3363-505: Was elected foreman of the jury. The jury included Lucien Maxwell , a brother-in-law of Beaubien; and several friends of the Bents. Ceran St. Vrain served as court interpreter. Since the Anglo community in Taos was small, and several men had been killed by the rebels, the jury pool was extremely limited. The court was in session for fifteen days. The jury found 15 men guilty of murder and treason (under

3422-676: Was known as Padre Martínez . In 1841, the newly formed Republic of Texas recognized the difficulties New Mexico was facing and decided to take advantage of them by sending an expedition to invade New Mexico and possibly annex the territory. The invasion failed, and the Texans were captured by Manuel Armijo . This event, in addition to the numerous Americans already living in New Mexico, led many to believe that New Mexico had weakened and become ready for invasion. The Mexican–American War began in 1846. Stephen W. Kearny led 1,700 American troops into Santa Fe without encountering any resistance. Before

3481-532: Was restored with Armijo as governor. Upon suppression of the rebellion, Armijo ordered the execution of José Gonzales, but not before directing Martínez: " Padre Martĺnez, confiese á este genĺzaro para que le dén cinco balazos " ("Father Martĺnez, hear this genizaro 's confession so that he may be shot five times"). Martínez heard Gonzales's confession and then handed him over to Armijo. Following Mexican independence from Spain , Church authorities in Mexico withdrew

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