Lying some 140 miles south of valladolid on Lake Bacalar near the mouth of the Rio Hondo the town of Bacalar and its 5000 inhabitants were remote from the outbreak of violence on the frontier and spared its destruction and atrocities. The Ladinos of Bacalar actually maintained relatively good relations with the local Mayan population. However situated some ten miles from Rio Hondo border with British controlled Belize the town and its small fortress sat directly astride the Indians supply line.
Belize was important to the Indians because of its large population of southern Mayans, a potential pool of Indio recruits and because it was their only outside source of modem arms, powder, and ammunition. As the war dragged on the arms trade became a lucrative business for the British merchants along the Rio Hondo.
Bacalar was guarded by the moated fortress of San Filipe, typical of the period with four bastion comers, a surrounding ditch and a causeway covered by a redan. The garrison was comprised of Captain Pieria and his militia company supported by an adequate supply of cannon and powder. At first the isolated locale was unaffected by hostilities and the lackadasical garrison did not interfere with the contraband trade with Belize.
As news of Mayan victories, and loot laden Mayan rebels began to trickle south the local Indians became bolder. Led and incited by Venancio Pec, a veteran of the northern fighting, the local Indians demanded the garrison hand over some weapons and 625 pounds of powder. Captain Pieria promptly evacuated the noncombatants to a safer place on the Yucatan side of the Rio Hondo, prepared his defences, and refused the demand.
The initial attack led by the inexperienced locals was repulsed by grapeshot but Pec adopted the tactics he used at Tekax. Using the cover of boulders rolled forward with their feet the Maya soon invested the fort with line of barricades close enough to the Ladino defences to make a final assault practical.
After much of the town was overrun Pierra realized his fort had no supplies to withstand a long siege and he was able to negotiate surrender terms with the magnanomous Verancio Pec who allowed the garrison to evacuate the fort unharmed.
The coming of the caste war to the Rio Hondo posed a problem for Colonel Charles Fancourt, the British Crown superintendent of Belize, who accepted the refugees from Bacalar. At the same time he sent a letter to Verancio Pec that requested proctection for British subjects and in effect recognized Pec as the "Principal Magistrate of Bacalar". Farcourt's concems were real, there were only about 1000 whitemen scattered throughout Belize along with 5000 Mulatoes and negroes.
They were greatly outnumbered by the Mayan population and an uprising was a possiblity if hostilities spread over the border. In March 1848, some hot headed Huits had harrassed the British settlement at Hill Bank (reported shooting bows and arrows).
Farcourt could only send some 30 policemen for protction though later he was reinforced by 100 troops of the First West Indian Regiment. Farcourt relied on diplomacy and appeasement. Officially he declared a strict neutrality in the Yucatan War. In practice this meant denying the Yucatecan request to supply guns to Merida while allowing the arms trade with the Maya to continue.
With the passing of the crisis on the frontier in 1849 the Barbachano government decided to cut the supply of arms and materials to maya from Belize. The newly designated 7th Division of 800 troops including a company of American volunteers were dispatched in April by steamship to the mouth of the Rio Hondo. The expedition was commanded by Colonel Jose Delores Centina (the same officer whose Coup of the previous year had discombobulated the defence of the frontier was back in favour!).
The troops were landed and organized on an Island near the mouth of the Rio Hondo before being ferried in canoes to the mainland. 500 of them marched upstream on foot while the rest proceed northward in 20 canoes supported by an armed schooner and guided by Belize refugees. Some three miles upstream the canoe party was suddenly ambushed from the wooded banks. A heavy musket volley killed or hit everyone in the leading canoe and a disaster was in the making when the land party came up just in time to save the day.
Better coordinating their movements the two columns made their way upstream to the Chaak Creek and the swampy ground south of Bacalar. Slowly dragging their canoes across the too shallow Chaak Creek Cetina's force came within striking distance of Bacalar. After a daring and swampy night march the party made its way undectected to a position behind Bacalar and the Mayan lines. A sudden surprise attack delivered the town and fortress of Bacalar to the Ladinos.
Having established himself at Bacalar Cetina, proceeded to cut the Mayan supply lines by blockading some 50 miles of waterway. He established a chain of 16 outposts along the lake shore along with a patrol of cannon launches to stop canoe traffic. An armed schooner patrolled the Rio Hondo, another the bay shore. A well manned post controlled the Chaak entrance to the Lake.
Jacinto Pat was sufficiently alarmed to dispatch some 4,000 men from the main fighting around Tihosuco to recapture Bacalar and break the Blockade. Throughout May and June the Maya reinforcements arrived and began a loose siege of Bacalar and the surrounding outposts. In the early morning of June 29,1849 the Maya launched a general night assault on all the Ladino positions. Several outposts were wiped out and the town of Bacalar overrun, but the fortress barely held out until dawn when the forts guns drove the Maya from the fort and town.
After this Cetina recieved a reinforcement of 100 native Hidalgoes (friendly Maya) and the situation around Bacalar stalemated as the Maya continued their loose siege. As the stalemate continued the garrisons morale plumeted and desertions began. Cetina ever the martinet assembled his men and announced those who wanted to leave would be granted passes. The few who stepped forward were immediatly arrested and shot.
Cetina dealt likewise with the local Ladinos who resorted to furtive gunrunning on the side. Those suspected of gunrunning were sumarily executed. Cetina was overzealous in the hunt for gunrunners. After one too many incidents with British traders on the Rio Hondo (who ran their guns under the guise of British protection) he was relieved of command to avoid an incident with the British. In retrospect Cetina's efforts did force the Maya to seek other avenues of supply but it was impossible to totally cutoff the British connection even after the British authorities put a halt to the gun trade.
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© Copyright 1992 by Milton Soong.
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