12. An unsuccessful attempt by the existing inhabitants of the newly annexed territory of New Mexico to resist American rule, the Taos Revolt of 1847 resulted in the swift and decisive brute force of American soldiery brought down upon the rebels
Following the August 1846 surrender of New Mexico to the United States, a product of the Battle of Sante Fe where Governor Manuel Armijo yielded without a shot being fired, many Hispanos and Puebloans remained resentful of their new situation. Treated poorly by occupying American forces under the command of Colonel Sterling Price and Governor Charles Bent, on January 19, 1847, the Taos Revolt was launched. Led by Pablo Montoya and Tomas Romero, the rebels stormed Bent’s mansion, murdering and scalping the governor before his family. Killing and scalping several other leading government officials, including the county sheriff and judge, the rebels sought to punish all those who had accepted the American government’s offices.
Marching with a force of five hundred, the rebels laid siege to Simeon Turley’s mill the following day. Although only two occupants survived, escaping at night, the attack on the mill raised the alarm in Sante Fe. Price was deployed with three hundred soldiers, defeating a force of approximately fifteen hundred rebels at Santa Cruz de la Cañada. Retreating to Taos Pueblo, the insurgents sought refuge within an adobe church. Breaching the church walls with cannons, more than a hundred and fifty rebels were killed and four hundred captured; just seven Americans died. Bringing the leaders to trial for treason, at least twenty-eight were sentenced to death for their involvement.