Felipe Ángeles
Encyclopedia
Felipe Ángeles Ramirez was a Mexican
military officer, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution
of 1910 to 1920.
, Hidalgo, the son of Felipe Ángeles and Juana Ramírez. The elder Felipe Ángeles was a small farmer and participated in the war with the United States in 1847 and in the war to remove Emperor Maximilian
in 1862.
, Hidalgo. He went on to study in the Instituto Literario in Pachuca
, subsequently entering the Military Academy
in Mexico City
in 1883 at the age of 14. He obtained the rank of lieutenant of engineer
s in 1892. Concentrating on education, he took on various lectureships in the military academy. In 1896 he was promoted to captain of artillery
, and by 1901 he had obtained the rank of major. Three years later he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and to full colonel in 1908. That same year, he left for France to study contemporary artillery.
While Ángeles was teaching at the Military Academy he met and courted Clara Kraus, a California woman of German ancestry who was teaching school in Mexico City. They were married in November 1896.
Colonel Ángeles was in Paris when the Mexican Revolution broke out in late 1910. His request to return to Mexico was rejected, and consequently he did not participate in the Madero revolution. In May 1911, he was awarded the order of Knight of the Legion of Honor
by the French government.
. While he was director, he had much contact with President Madero, and developed a reputation as a cultured dignified officer and a man of honor. In June 1912, he was promoted to brigadier general.
The Madero government was under attack from many sides, and in August 1912, President Madero sent Ángeles to Morelos
to take charge of the seventh military zone, and battle the Emiliano Zapata
insurgency. Ángeles, with Madero's concurrence, changed the harsh military tactics and offered amnesty to all revolutionaries. While this did not end the rebellion, it did much to reduce the level of violence.
In February 1913, a reactionary
coup d’état known as La decena trágica
ended the Madero government when a conservative military faction attacked the National Palace
. The attack was turned back, and the conspirators barricaded themselves within the armory. President Madero appointed General Victoriano Huerta
to lead the loyal troops, and then traveled to Morelos to confer with Ángeles. Madero and Ángeles returned to Mexico City, with the understanding that Ángeles would be placed in charge of the forces loyal to Madero. However, the Army staff objected, stating that under army regulations, Ángeles was technically not yet a general, as Congress had not confirmed his appointment. After ten days of fighting, General Huerta, aided by U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson
, reached an accommodation with the rebels. Huerta, supported by the conservative rebel units, arrested President Madero, Vice-President Pino Suarez, and General Ángeles. The president and the vice-president were subsequently assassinated, and Ángeles was exiled to France.
in Sonora
. Carranza confirmed Ángeles' rank of brigadier general and appointed him Secretary of War in the Revolutionary Government. However, the powerful Sonoran faction considered Ángeles to be a holdover of the old Díaz regime, and treated him with suspicion and hostility. To placate the Sonorans, Carranza downgraded Ángeles’s position to sub-Secretary of War. While in this position, Ángeles formulated the rebel grand strategy of a three-prong attack south to Mexico City: General Álvaro Obregón
to advance south along the western railroad, General Pancho Villa
to advance south along the central railroad, and General Pablo González
to advance south along the eastern railroad.
In January 1914, Ángeles accompanied Carranza on a visit to Chihuahua
to confer with Pancho Villa. Ángeles, unhappy under Carranza, convinced Villa to ask Carranza to put him in charge of his artillery. Villa asked for Ángeles’ services, and Carranza willingly released him. He consequently joined Pancho Villa's Division of the North in March 1914.
, the Battles of San Pedro de las Colonias and Paredón, and the capture of Zacatecas
in May 1914. Just before the attack on Zacatecas, Ángeles played a major role in the so-called ‘disobedience of the generals' of the Division of the North, countermanding Carranza’s order to halt their advance on Zacatecas and Mexico City. The generals’ 'disobedience' ensured the defeat of Huerta’s army, but precipitated a split between Carranza and Villa.
After the defeat of Huerta, Ángeles participated in the October 1914 Convention of Aguascalientes
as Villa’s representative. The Convention of Aguascalientes, called to bring an end to hostilities, resulted in a complete break between Villa and Carranza. Ángeles remained with the Villa faction as civil war broke out again in early 1915. Ángeles, in his first independent command, captured the city of Monterrey
in January 1915. However, Villa's forces were decisively defeated in the spring of 1915 by Carranza’s General Obregón, and Ángeles was forced to flee Mexico and settle in exile in Texas. There he attempted to make a living as a dairy farmer.
While in Texas, he joined the Liberal Mexican Alliance, which sought to bring together exiles of various ideological persuasions linked by the common aim to stop the war and form a coalition government. When World War I
ended in November 1918, Mexico under Carranza was still engaged in civil war. Ángeles became convinced that the United States would invade and occupy Mexico if the combatants could not reach a peace accord. In December 1918, Ángeles returned to Chihuahua clandestinely and joined up again with Pancho Villa. Villa at this time no longer commanded an army, but instead was only able to conduct guerrilla raids. He was then being pursued by both the Mexican and American military. Ángeles, a conciliator, pacifist, and philanthropic socialist wanted peace, but he was unable to convince Villa to cease hostilities.
in June 1919 (in which Ángeles did not participate), Ángeles became despondent that there was no solution to the long and bloody civil war. Tired, ill, and very disillusioned, he departed Villa’s camp. Wandering for a time without funds or support, he was betrayed and arrested by the Carranza government. He was court-martial
ed in a show-trial in Ciudad Chihuahua
. Knowing that Carranza would never pardon him, Ángeles made an heroic and impassioned defense in response to his enemies’ case for the prosecution. The court-martial condemned him to death, and on November 26, 1919, in front of the state penitentiary in Chihuahua, he was executed.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
military officer, noteworthy for his participation in the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
of 1910 to 1920.
Early life
Felipe Ángeles was born on June 13, 1868 in ZacualtipánZacualtipan
Zacualtipan is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 241.6 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 25,987....
, Hidalgo, the son of Felipe Ángeles and Juana Ramírez. The elder Felipe Ángeles was a small farmer and participated in the war with the United States in 1847 and in the war to remove Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
in 1862.
Education and Early Military Career
Ángeles was educated at the primary level in MolangoMolango
Molango is a town and one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, in central-eastern Mexico. The municipality covers an area of 246.7 km².As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 10,385....
, Hidalgo. He went on to study in the Instituto Literario in Pachuca
Pachuca
Pachuca, formally Pachuca de Soto is the capital of the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca de Soto is also the name of the municipality of which the city serves as municipal seat...
, subsequently entering the Military Academy
Heroic Military Academy (Mexico)
The Heroic Military College is a military educational institution founded in Mexico in 1823 in the former Palace of the Inquisition, under the name Cadet Academy taken in 1823 the name of Colegio Militar, settling in Perote, Veracruz, to return to Mexico City and occupied the Betlemitas monastery...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1883 at the age of 14. He obtained the rank of lieutenant of engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s in 1892. Concentrating on education, he took on various lectureships in the military academy. In 1896 he was promoted to captain of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, and by 1901 he had obtained the rank of major. Three years later he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and to full colonel in 1908. That same year, he left for France to study contemporary artillery.
While Ángeles was teaching at the Military Academy he met and courted Clara Kraus, a California woman of German ancestry who was teaching school in Mexico City. They were married in November 1896.
Colonel Ángeles was in Paris when the Mexican Revolution broke out in late 1910. His request to return to Mexico was rejected, and consequently he did not participate in the Madero revolution. In May 1911, he was awarded the order of Knight of the Legion of Honor
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
by the French government.
Revolutionary Activities
Colonel Ángeles returned to Mexico in January 1912. Shortly thereafter, he met with new President Francisco Madero, and Madero appointed Ángeles director of the Military Academy at ChapultepecChapultepec
Chapultepec Park, more commonly called the "Bosque de Chapultepec" in Mexico City, is the largest city park in Latin America, measuring in total just over 686 hectares. Centered on a rock formation called Chapultepec Hill, one of the park's main functions is to be an ecological space in the vast...
. While he was director, he had much contact with President Madero, and developed a reputation as a cultured dignified officer and a man of honor. In June 1912, he was promoted to brigadier general.
The Madero government was under attack from many sides, and in August 1912, President Madero sent Ángeles to Morelos
Morelos
Morelos officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 33 municipalities and its capital city is Cuernavaca....
to take charge of the seventh military zone, and battle the Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata
Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...
insurgency. Ángeles, with Madero's concurrence, changed the harsh military tactics and offered amnesty to all revolutionaries. While this did not end the rebellion, it did much to reduce the level of violence.
In February 1913, a reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
coup d’état known as La decena trágica
La decena trágica
The Ten Tragic Days was a series of events that took place in Mexico City between February 9 and February 19, 1913, during the Mexican Revolution. They culminated in a coup d'état and the assassination of President Francisco I...
ended the Madero government when a conservative military faction attacked the National Palace
National Palace (Mexico)
The National Palace, or Palacio Nacional in Spanish), was the seat of the federal executive in Mexico. It is located on Mexico City's main square, the Plaza de la Constitución...
. The attack was turned back, and the conspirators barricaded themselves within the armory. President Madero appointed General Victoriano Huerta
Victoriano Huerta
José Victoriano Huerta Márquez was a Mexican military officer and president of Mexico. Huerta's supporters were known as Huertistas during the Mexican Revolution...
to lead the loyal troops, and then traveled to Morelos to confer with Ángeles. Madero and Ángeles returned to Mexico City, with the understanding that Ángeles would be placed in charge of the forces loyal to Madero. However, the Army staff objected, stating that under army regulations, Ángeles was technically not yet a general, as Congress had not confirmed his appointment. After ten days of fighting, General Huerta, aided by U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson
Henry Lane Wilson
Henry Lane Wilson was an American diplomat.-Biography:He was born in Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana to Indiana congressman James Wilson and his wife, Emma Wilson; he was the younger brother of John L. Wilson, and had been named for Henry Smith Lane...
, reached an accommodation with the rebels. Huerta, supported by the conservative rebel units, arrested President Madero, Vice-President Pino Suarez, and General Ángeles. The president and the vice-president were subsequently assassinated, and Ángeles was exiled to France.
Return to Mexico
While in Paris, Ángeles made contact with individuals opposed to the new Huerta government. He was persuaded to return to Mexico in October 1913, and join the anti-Huerta forces under Venustiano CarranzaVenustiano Carranza
Venustiano Carranza de la Garza, was one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution. He ultimately became President of Mexico following the overthrow of the dictatorial Huerta regime in the summer of 1914 and during his administration the current constitution of Mexico was drafted...
in Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
. Carranza confirmed Ángeles' rank of brigadier general and appointed him Secretary of War in the Revolutionary Government. However, the powerful Sonoran faction considered Ángeles to be a holdover of the old Díaz regime, and treated him with suspicion and hostility. To placate the Sonorans, Carranza downgraded Ángeles’s position to sub-Secretary of War. While in this position, Ángeles formulated the rebel grand strategy of a three-prong attack south to Mexico City: General Álvaro Obregón
Álvaro Obregón
General Álvaro Obregón Salido was the President of Mexico from 1920 to 1924. He was assassinated in 1928, shortly after winning election to another presidential term....
to advance south along the western railroad, General Pancho Villa
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
to advance south along the central railroad, and General Pablo González
Pablo González Garza
Pablo González Garza was a Mexican General during the Mexican Revolution. He is considered to be the main organizer of the assassination of Emiliano Zapata....
to advance south along the eastern railroad.
In January 1914, Ángeles accompanied Carranza on a visit to Chihuahua
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.-History:It has been said that the...
to confer with Pancho Villa. Ángeles, unhappy under Carranza, convinced Villa to ask Carranza to put him in charge of his artillery. Villa asked for Ángeles’ services, and Carranza willingly released him. He consequently joined Pancho Villa's Division of the North in March 1914.
Service with Villa
Ángeles became one of Villa’s principal military and intellectual advisers. He participated as Chief of Artillery in the great military triumphs of 1914: the capture of TorreónTorreón
Torreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango,...
, the Battles of San Pedro de las Colonias and Paredón, and the capture of Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
in May 1914. Just before the attack on Zacatecas, Ángeles played a major role in the so-called ‘disobedience of the generals' of the Division of the North, countermanding Carranza’s order to halt their advance on Zacatecas and Mexico City. The generals’ 'disobedience' ensured the defeat of Huerta’s army, but precipitated a split between Carranza and Villa.
After the defeat of Huerta, Ángeles participated in the October 1914 Convention of Aguascalientes
Convention of Aguascalientes
The Convention of Aguascalientes was a major meeting that took place during the Mexican Revolution.The call for the Convention was issued on 1 October 1914 by Venustiano Carranza, head of the Constitutional Army, who described it as the Gran Convención de Jefes militares con mando de fuerzas y...
as Villa’s representative. The Convention of Aguascalientes, called to bring an end to hostilities, resulted in a complete break between Villa and Carranza. Ángeles remained with the Villa faction as civil war broke out again in early 1915. Ángeles, in his first independent command, captured the city of Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
in January 1915. However, Villa's forces were decisively defeated in the spring of 1915 by Carranza’s General Obregón, and Ángeles was forced to flee Mexico and settle in exile in Texas. There he attempted to make a living as a dairy farmer.
While in Texas, he joined the Liberal Mexican Alliance, which sought to bring together exiles of various ideological persuasions linked by the common aim to stop the war and form a coalition government. When World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
ended in November 1918, Mexico under Carranza was still engaged in civil war. Ángeles became convinced that the United States would invade and occupy Mexico if the combatants could not reach a peace accord. In December 1918, Ángeles returned to Chihuahua clandestinely and joined up again with Pancho Villa. Villa at this time no longer commanded an army, but instead was only able to conduct guerrilla raids. He was then being pursued by both the Mexican and American military. Ángeles, a conciliator, pacifist, and philanthropic socialist wanted peace, but he was unable to convince Villa to cease hostilities.
Final Year, Trial and Execution
After Villa’s raid on Ciudad JuárezCiudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
in June 1919 (in which Ángeles did not participate), Ángeles became despondent that there was no solution to the long and bloody civil war. Tired, ill, and very disillusioned, he departed Villa’s camp. Wandering for a time without funds or support, he was betrayed and arrested by the Carranza government. He was court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
ed in a show-trial in Ciudad Chihuahua
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.-History:It has been said that the...
. Knowing that Carranza would never pardon him, Ángeles made an heroic and impassioned defense in response to his enemies’ case for the prosecution. The court-martial condemned him to death, and on November 26, 1919, in front of the state penitentiary in Chihuahua, he was executed.
Books
- Slattery, Matthew: Felipe Ángeles and the Mexican Revolution, 1982
- Katz, Friedrich: The Life and Times of Pancho Villa, 1998
- Jackson, Byron: THE POLITICAL AND MILITARY ROLE OF GENERAL FELIPE ÁNGELES IN THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION, 1914-1915 (1976, an unpublished dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of Georgetown University, 1976)