Heroic Military Academy (Mexico)

Heroico Colegio Militar (Mexico)
Type Military college
Established 1823
Superindentent of the Academy André Georges Foullon Van Lissum
Location Tlalpan, Mexico City, Mexico
19°15′30″N 99°9′2″W / 19.25833°N 99.15056°W / 19.25833; -99.15056Coordinates: 19°15′30″N 99°9′2″W / 19.25833°N 99.15056°W / 19.25833; -99.15056
Mascot Royal Eagle
Affiliations Secretariat of National Defense
Website Official

The Heroic Military College (officially in Spanish: Heroico Colegio Militar) is the major military educational institution in Mexico. It was founded in 1823 and located in the former Palace of the Inquisition in Mexico City. Initially designated as the Cadet Academy it was renamed in 1823 as the Colegio Militar. The College was relocated in Perote, Veracruz, before being returned to Mexico City where it was established in the Betlemitas monastery (today occupied by the Interactive Museum of the Economy and the Museum of the Mexican Army and Air Force). From 1835 the Military College was located in the Recogidas Building (destroyed by an earthquake in 1985). Cadets training for the Mexican Navy originally formed part of the student body but in 1897 the Military Naval School was established as a separate institution in Veracruz.

The Military College comes under the supervision of the Mexican Army and Air Force University and the Army Military Education General Directorate.

History of the College

Foundation

Although as early as 1818 were plans for a military academy proposed, in would be only in 1822 when such plans materialized, with the efforts of Diego Garcia Conde, the ex-Spanish military officer then serving in the Mexican Army, for such an academy to be formed were approved by the Mexican Imperial Government, through the Imperial War Ministry.

In the middle of the year, Emperor Agustin de Iturbide ordered that the Former Inquisition Palace Complex become the headquarters of the now newly founded Military College of Mexico, the Military Cadet Academy and the Engineers Training School, all under their first director, Brigadier Diego Garcia Conde. By the next year, through the orders of War Minister General Jose Joaquin de Herrera, the Military College of Mexico was relaunched as a separate academy with headquarters at San Carlos Fortress, in Perote, Veracruz state. In 1824, in compliance with an order from President Guadalupe Victoria, 18 cadets of the now called Perote Military College of Mexico, through the permission of then college director Col. Juan Dominguez y Galvez, became the first cadets of the new Naval Aspirants College and the Tlacotalpan Nautical School trained to be the Mexican Navy's future ship officers.

A cadet of the Heroic Military Academy (Mexico) with a golden eagle, the academy mascot.
Another cadet holding the golden eagle mascot. A female cadet stands in the foreground. Both wear the gala uniform of the Cadet Corps

Early years

In 1828, due to a campaign against secret societies and masonic lodges, Lt. Col. Manuel Montano's visit became the reason for the College's first loyalty act by the Corps of Cadets and its faculty, for their response to him was that the Military College should be exempted from the campaign due to the fact that no one in the College's cadet rosters were either secret society members nor Masons, and it turned into a national act of loyalty by the college cadets and faculty. As a result of this great deed, the College in March 1828 returned to Mexico City, first in the Bethelemitas convent and later in the Inquisition Palace Complex on July 1. By then, it began to be recognized by every Mexican as the nation's premier military educational institution.

The turmoil that sparked in the 1828 presidential elections took its toll on the College cadets. On September 11, a rebellion led by Generals Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and Jose Maria Lobato denounced the election results ten days before, in which Manuel Gomez Pedraza emerged as the winner. Two months later, on November 30, they together with Lorenzo de Zavala and Col. Santiago Garcia staged a coup d'état that took over the La Acordada building demanding that the election results be voided by Congress. The same day, President Victoria called on the College cadets to proceed to the National Palace, and they fought on the side of the armed forces for 4 days until the fighting ended on December 4, with a compromise reached by both sides. Class would resume later the next day.

Political turmoil broke out again in 1840. On July 13 of that year Gen. Jose Urrea bolted out of jail and led a rebellion against President Anastacio Bustamante, who was later imprisoned in the presidential residence. General Gabriel Valencia then ordered all troops loyal to the President to proceed at once to the city citadel. These included the cadets of the Military College under its then director Brigade General Pedro Conde, who was received by Gen. Valencia and sent a delegation of cadets to the citadel. The College delegation then moved to a church where they fought anti-Bustamante troops, which resulted in two wounded cadets (Juan Rico and Antonio Groso), the former would later die of his wounds sustained. On the 16th President Bustamante left his residence and Gen. Vicente Filisola arrived at the church premises. On that night, when an armistice was made, the attempted coup was already over.

The next year, it relocated to the Chalpultepec Castle in Mexico City. This castle would be, in 6 years time, during the Mexican War, a place where 5 cadets and an officer in the faculty died in defense of the Mexican nation, and it would gain the Heroic designation. After a few years, the College relocated to the Inquisition Palace and later to San Lucas.

In 1846, the College's only naval director, Graduate Ship Captain Francisco Garcia began his duties as College Commandant, a duty lasting until 1847. A sudden rebellion by the Corps of Cadets happened during his tenure.

The Niños Héroes

The following year (1847), during the first term of Col. José Mariano Monterde Segura as commandant, the Mexican–American War reached Mexico City and the Military Academy. On September 11 cadets of the Academy were involved in fighting on the Condress Estate. On September 13 Chapultepec Castle and its surroundings became the site of the historic Battle of Chapultepec. Its Mexican Army defenders, under the leadership of Nicolás Bravo, former President and a veteran of the war of independence, included about 200 members of the Corps of Cadets, aged between 13 and 19. At the end of the battle five cadets - Juan Escutia (who reportedly leapt to his death wrapped in the Flag of Mexico), Agustin Melgar, Francisco Marquez, Fernando Montes de Oca, and Vicente Suárez; plus faculty member Lieutenant of Engineers Juan de la Barrera; all refused to retreat and died in a final stand as the "young heroes" of Academy legend. An unknown proportion of the other cadets became casualties or prisoners during the earlier stages of the battle.

Each year on the anniversary of the battle, the sacrifice of the five Niños Héroes of the Military Academy is remembered nationwide, with a national ceremony at the monument with the Corps in attendance.

1857-1920

In 1858, during the term of Commandant Colonel Luis Tola Algarín, the College moved its facilities to the former Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Mexico City. During the Reform War the same year the Corps of Cadets was involved in a clash with the forces of Gen. Miguel Blanco on October 15 in Toluca. Casualties suffered by the cadets and instructors in this and subsequent actions caused the closure of the College in 1861.

The College was reopened in 1867. Located first in the National Palace the College was moved to various locations before returning to the Chapultepec Castle in 1882. Formerly a joint services institution, the College became an academy for the Mexican Army only in 1897, following the establishment of the Military Naval School in Veracruz.

On 8 February 1913 the 600 cadets of the Military College played a major part in the coup known as The Ten Tragic Days against President Francisco Madero.[1] Cadets of the separate Escuela Militar de Aspirantes de Tlalpan had joined with regular army units in an ultimately successful attempt to overthrow Madero. However a detachment of cadets from the Heroic Military College, acting on the orders of Deputy Commandant Lieutenant Colonel Víctor Hernández Covarrubias escorted President Madero from Chapultepec Castle to the National Palace on the following day. Termed the Loyalty March, this action is still marked by an annual parade by the Corps of Cadets, attended by the present-day President of Mexico and his Cabinet.

Following the overthrow of General Victoriano Huerta in July 1914 and the disbandment of the Federal Army, the College was closed. It was reestablished in February 1920 albelt in a new campus in Popotla, Mexico City. Later that spring the then reestablished cavalry squadron were involved in what has been termed "the final cavalry charge in the Americas". This occurred on May 8, when on the orders of Colonel Rodolfo Casillas the cadets acted in support of regular army dragoons led by General Pilar Sanchez under attack by rebel forces in Apizaco, Tlaxcala. In another engagement two days later a cadet was killed in action in San Marcos while supporting government forces.

The College from 1947 to today

In 1947 The Military College celebrated the centenary of the Corps of Cadets' participation in the Battle of Chapultepec, the finest hour of its history. In 1949, the Congress of the Union formally conferred the "Heroic" designation to both the Corps and to the Midshipmen's Regiment of the Naval Military Academy, the latter for its role in resisting the United States occupation of Veracruz in 1914.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Heroic Military College (1820-1970), 1 oz silver coins were minted by the Central Bank. In addition stamps featuring two Military College shakos were printed by the Government of Mexico. A special issue of stamps also commemorated the Golden Jubilee of "the final cavalry charge in the Americas"; carried out by the cavalry cadets of the college in 1920 (see above).

In 1976, the College's present campus in Tlalpan Borough, Mexico City, was formally opened, partially damaged by the 1985 earthquake that struck the city. Today, the commandant of the academy is Brigade General André Georges Foullon Van Lissum.

The school was used as a setting for Luis Miguel's 1989 music video "La Incondicional". In the video he plays an Air Force cadet. In a marching scene towards the end of the song one can see the "Por el Honor de Mexico" banner.

Perote, the second home of the Military College, has been dubbed by the Veracruz State Congress as The Cradle of the Military College since 2002.

From 2007, the academy has accepted female cadets. The present Corps is regiment-sized and has among its units a cavalry squadron and an artillery battery, plus an armored cavalry training squadron raised recently - a first in a military academy in Latin America.

Motto and Collegiate Slogan

Por el Honor de Mexico (For Mexico's Honor) is the college motto, made in a contest organized by radio station XEQ in commemoration of the centenary of the defense of Chalpultepec Castle in 1947.

Every midday, after the afternoon ceremony and before the midday parade, the following cheer is done by the Corps of Cadets:

Collegiate Hymn and March

Hymn of the Heroic Military College

The Hymn of the Heroic Military College was composed in 1930 by Prof. José Ignacio Ríos del Río.[2]

Lyrics

Spanish
Chorus
Vibre el clarín de la guerra, resuenen las fanfarrias
Redoblen los tambores, una marcha triunfal
Y lleven de la Patria a todos los confines
Tu nombre sacrosanto,
Colegio Militar
Tu nombre sacrosanto,
Colegio Militar

Verse
Colegio sacrosanto, de memoria bendita
de forjaran sus almas, Montes de Oca y Melgar
La Patria bate marcha de honor a tu pasado,
de epopeyas gloriosas y de nombre inmortal.

Y en un gesto sublime de amor y de cariño,
bendice a los efebos que supieron morir
bañados por las ráfagas de luz espendorosa
que el ángel de la gloria enviara del cenit.

Repeat Chorus

Regimental March of the Heroic Military College

The Regimental March was composed by Lieutenant José Sotero Ortiz Sánchez, in time for the College's 1947 centenary of the Battle of Chapultepec.

Lyrics

Spanish
Páginas del libro de la historia del Heroico Colegio Militar
de epopeyas que ya jamás se borran del santuario de la inmortalidad.
Canto que se eleva a la memoria como ofrenda de honor a la lealtad
de los héroes que envueltos por la gloria grandioso ejemplo que nos dio la libertad.
Repeat All

Juventud de mi patria sublime, que marcháis con gallarda ilusión
aumentáreis la historia que escribe nobles hechos de sangre y honor.
Yunque forjador de hombres de guerra como Suárez, Escutia y Melgar,
Montes de Oca, Márquez y De la Barrera, los niños héroes de mi México inmortal!
Repeat All

Commandants

[3]

No.PeriodRankNotes
11818–1823Brigadier GeneralDiego García Conde
21823–1824Cavalry ColonelJuan Domínguez y Gálvez
31825–1828Cavalry Lieutenant ColonelJosé Manuel Arechaga
41835–1836Engineers ColonelIgnacio Mora y Villamil
51836–1846Brigadier GeneralPedro García Conde
61846–1847Graduate Captain, CommanderFrancisco García SalinasOnly naval officer commandant of the College
71847–1853Graduate Gen., Engineers ColonelJosé Mariano Monterde SeguraLed the defense of Chapultepec Castle during the Battle of Chapultepec which took a heavy toll for the Academy
81853–1854Graduate Gen., Engineers ColonelSantiago Blanco Duque de Estrada
91854–1859Graduate Gen., Engineers ColonelLuis Tola Algarín
101859–1860Engineers Colonel (Staff)José Mariano Monterde Segura2nd Period
111861–1863Brigade GeneralJosé Justo Alvarez Valenzuela
121868–1871Engineers ColonelAmado Camacho
131871–1880Engineers ColonelMiguel Quintana González
141880–1883Divisional GeneralSóstenes Rocha
151883–1884General Graduado, Coronel Tec. de ArtilleríaFrancisco de Paula Méndez
161884–1906Engineers Colonel GeneralJuan VillegasHighest-ranking officer commandant of the College
171906–1912General de Brigada de E.M. Esp.Joaquín Beltrán Castañares
181912–1913Brigade GeneralFelipe Ángeles
191913Artillery Technical ColonelMiguel Bernard
201914Division GeneralSamuel García Cuéllar
Closed in 1914 during Mexican Revolution, reopened 1920
211920Brigade GeneralAngel Vallejo
221920Brigade GeneralJoaquín Mucel Acereto
231920–1921General de BrigadaMarcelino Murrieta Murrieta
241921–1923General de BrigadaVíctor Hernández Covarrubias
251923General de BrigadaJosé Domingo Ramírez Garrido
261923–1925General de BrigadaMiguel Angel Peralta
271925General de Brigada I.C.Manuel Mendoza Sarabia
281925Brigadier GeneralAmado Aguirre Santiago
291925–1927Division generalMiguel M. Acosta Guajardo
301927–1928General de BrigadaJuan José Ríos
311928–1931General de DivisiónGilberto R. Limón
321931–1935General de DivisiónJoaquín Amaro Domínguez
331935–1936General de BrigadaRafael Cházaro Pérez
341936General de BrigadaSamuel Carlos Rojas Raso
351936–1938General de BrigadaOthón León Lobato
361939–1941General de BrigadaAlberto Zuno Hernández
371941–1942General de DivisiónMarcelino García Barragán
381942–1945General de DivisiónGilberto R. Limón2nd Period
391945–1948General de BrigadaLuis Alamillo Flores
401948–1950General de BrigadaRafael Ávila Camacho
411950–1953General de DivisiónTomás Sánchez Hernández
421953–1955General de DivisiónLeobardo Ruiz Camarillo
431955–1959General de DivisiónFrancisco de Jesús Grajales Godoy
441959–1965General de BrigadaJerónimo Gomar Suástegui
451965–1970General de BrigadaRoberto Yáñez Vázquez
461971–1973General de BrigadaMiguel Rivera Becerra
471976General de DivisiónSalvador Revueltas Olvera
481976–1980General de DivisiónAbsalón Castellanos Domínguez
491980–1982General de DivisiónEnrique Cervantes Aguirre
501983–1985General de BrigadaJaime Contreras Guerrero
511985–1988General de DivisiónCarlos Cisneros Montes de Oca
521988–1991General de DivisiónCarlos Duarte Sacramento
531991–1994General de BrigadaLuis Ángel Fuentes Álvarez
541994–1997General de BrigadaRigoberto Castillejos Adriano
551997–2000General de BrigadaSalvador Cienfuegos Zepeda
562000–2002Divisional GeneralTomás Ángeles Dauahare
572002–2003General de BrigadaManuel Sánchez Aguilar
582003–2006Brigade GeneralCarlos García Priani
592007–2008Brigade GeneralFrancisco Tomas Gonzalez Loaiza
602008-2011Brigade GeneralGonzalo Bernardino Duran Valdez
612011-2013Brigade GeneralSergio Alberto Martinez Castuera
622013-Brigade GeneralAndré Georges Foullon Van Lissum

References

  1. Ronald Atkin, page 126 "Revolution! Mexico 1910-20", Granada Publishing Ltd. 1973
  2. http://www.sedena.gob.mx/index.php?id=234
  3. Directores del Heroico Colegio Militar, Secretariat of National Defense (Mexico) (SEDENA)
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