The Battle of Silao took place on 10 August 1860 in the vicinity of

Silao Silao (), officially Silao de la Victoria, is a city in the west-central part of the state of Guanajuato in Mexico. It is the seat of the municipality with the same name. As of the 2005 census, the city had a population of 147,123, making it th ...

in Guanajuato state,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, between elements of the liberal army, under the command of General Jesús González Ortega and

Ignacio Zaragoza Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (; March 24, 1829September 8, 1862) was a Mexican general and politician. He led the Mexican army of 600 men that defeated 6,500 invading French forces, including the elite French legionnaires at the Battle of Puebla ...

with a force of 8,000 men and elements of the conservative army commanded General Miguel Miramón by commanding an army of 3,282 during the

War of Reform The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...

. The battle was a liberal victory. General Miramón was almost captured, but escaped in the disorder caused by the Republican artillery, abandoning artillery, ammunition and weapons.

The battle

Conservative General

Miguel Miramón Miguel Gregorio de la Luz Atenógenes Miramón y Tarelo, known as Miguel Miramón, (29 September 1831 – 19 June 1867) was a Mexican conservative general who became president of Mexico at the age of twenty seven during the Reform War, serving ...

faced a formidable army of 8,000 men liberals, commanded by General González Ortega, Antillon, Zaragoza, Bending and Berriozábal. Miramón marched had a force of only 3,282 soldiers rookies. Despite the numerical superiority of the liberals, Miramón moved his troops to Silao where the Liberals were encamped. The battle commenced at the break the dawn of August 10. Miramón's artillery opened large gaps in the path of Loma. González Ortega was able to conceal his maneuvers while Miramón had to rest his soldiers after two hours of fighting and the terrible fire of the powerful liberal artillery. At 8:15 am, after 3 hours of tremendous attacks the conservative army fled, completely defeated and abandoned all their artillery, baggage, ammunition and military equipment to the Liberals as well as a large number of prisoners, including several generals. Miramón was pursued by the victors but escaped. "After a hard-fought battle in which ha Mexican blood flowed profusely, D. Miguel Miramón was defeated by the forces under my command, leaving in my hands an immense train of artillery, weapons, ammunition, flags, bodies and hundreds of prisoners, a few generals and many officers. The battle began at dawn and ended at eight or nine ". Miramón said that "the liberal artillery, served by American gunners had won the battle." Liberal troops occupied Silao, Querétaro, Celaya and Guanajuato.

References

{{Reflist History of Guanajuato 1860 in Mexico Reform War