INCLUDES A LETTER FROM SANTA ANNA (MEXICAN MANUSCRIPTS.) Papers of Miguel de Andrade, commander of a lancer battalion under Santa Anna during the Revolution of Ayutla. 15 manuscript documents; early fastener holes in upper left corner, generally minor wear. Vp, 1853-56 and 1894
Financial records, receipts, promissory notes, and letters regarding the lancer battalion of the Mexican military under command of Miguel de Andrade. Mexico's dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna signed one of them. Most of these documents date from the Revolution of Ayutla, a Liberal uprising against Santa Anna. Providing the troops with fresh uniforms, horses, and supplies was a constant concern, all the more so given Santa Anna's chronic lack of funds. His treasury spent a considerable amount of money on supplying the troops with essentials, nearly all of it borrowed. As these documents show, Santa Anna often could not afford to outfit his own soldiers, and had to rely on his officers to provide the requisite supplies, sometimes through credit, to be reimbursed later. Several of the documents attest to how the general of the lancers took out loans himself to purchase his troops' basic needs. An account dated 30 March 1855 shows that Santa Anna's regime could no longer afford to make payments after paying nearly half the considerable debts (43,715.50 pesos) accumulated by only that one battalion. The highlight of the lot is an insightful Letter Signed from Santa Anna to General Andrade. Written on 1 August 1855, only 12 days before the Ayutla rebels would depose him, Santa Anna informed his general of disloyalty and discontent in another division, asking him to take command of that battalion as well. Plagued by debt and flagging morale (so readily apparent in these papers), it is unsurprising that Santa Anna would soon lose.
