José María Tranquilino Almada

Biography

Almada was born in Álamos in 1822 to José María Almada, governor of the Estado de Occidente. He served as an Álamos city councilor and in 1860 took up arms supporting General Ignacio Pesqueira's government against Don Remigio Rivera's rebellion. Commanding a National Guard section, he defeated Mayo rebels in Navojoa and pacified the Mayo River. The following year he distanced himself from the local government after his brothers Vicente and Toribio died participating in Estévez's conservative rebellion.

The Second French intervention and Second Mexican Empire did not affect Almada until August 1865, when French auxiliary troops under Imperial Prefect Fortino Vizcaíno occupied Álamos. Almada then swore allegiance to Santiago Campillo and General Isidoro Teódulo Garnier, began his military career at Guaymas, and exerted his influence across Sonora for the Empire. He moved to Navojoa to sway the Mayo people, then retreated to Álamos, which Republican General Antonio Rosales had recovered.

In the ensuing Battle of Álamos, Rosales was defeated and killed by Almada's forces; one of Almada's sons was wrongly identified as responsible for the union with Vizcaíno. Almada kept regional control, was promoted to colonel by Maximilian I, appointed prefect of the department of Álamos, and awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the Mexican Eagle.