Leonardo Bravo (general officer)

War of Independence

When the Mexican War of Independence broke out in 1810, Leonardo Bravo, his son Nicolás, and his brothers Miguel, Víctor, Máximo, and Casimiro all refused to side with the Spanish royalists. Hermenegildo Galeana, sent by José María Morelos y Pavón, asked the Bravos for supplies. As they started gathering them, royalist forces approached their hacienda, triggering the batalla de los encuerados on May 3, 1811, when Nicolás jumped into the fight straight from a river bath.

Casimiro stayed behind to run the family estate, while the other Bravo men joined Morelos. They saw action at Chilpancingo, Tixtla, and Chilapa. Leonardo searched caves for saltpeter to produce gunpowder, managed paperwork, and handled other logistics. In November 1811 he took part in the Izúcar campaign and captured several prisoners on December 17.

The Siege of Cuautla started on December 25, and Leonardo set up defenses around the San Diego church. After the insurgents broke the siege on May 2, 1812, he, Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Sosa, José Mariano de la Piedra, and twenty poorly armed soldiers moved to the San Gabriel hacienda, which belonged to royalist Gabriel J. de Yermo. Spanish troops captured Leonardo on May 6.

Execution

When Leonardo Bravo was captured at the Hacienda of San Gabriel Las Palmas, the government told his five sons they could save their father if they gave themselves up. But such promises from the Viceroy could not be trusted, since other rebels who had taken similar deals, like the Orduña family, were later killed by royalists. Morelos did not want to pressure Nicolás Bravo, so he offered the Viceroy 800 Spanish prisoners in exchange for Leonardo. Viceroy Francisco Javier Venegas refused.

Leonardo Bravo, along with Mariano Piedras and Manuel Pérez, was sentenced to death by garrote, a method seen as especially dishonorable. They were killed on November 13, 1812, in Mexico City.

In response, Morelos ordered Nicolás Bravo to execute 300 royalist prisoners. Instead, Nicolás told them what happened to his father and the order he had received, then said, "Quedais en Libertad" ("You are now free"). Most of those prisoners then joined his army.

Legacy

Leonardo Bravo was survived by his wife Gertrudis Rueda, his son Nicolás, his brothers Miguel, Víctor, Máximo, Casimiro, his sister-in-law Gertrudis Villaso, and his nephew Calixto. The municipality Leonardo Bravo in Guerrero, where the Bravos had their hacienda, was named after him.

There is an Instituto Leonardo Bravo in Tlalnepantla de Baz, State of Mexico. The capital of Guerrero state is officially called Chilpancingo de los Bravo in honor of the family. A statue of Leonardo Bravo stands on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City.

Did You Know?

• Leonardo Bravo was the eldest son of a wealthy Spanish family devoted to agriculture and mining, owner of the Hacienda of Chichihualco.
• The Bravos were known for supporting local festivities surrounding the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi.
• On June 19, 1823, Nicolás Bravo was declared Benemerito of Mexico by the Congress.