had already begun in April 1846. He was named general and chief of the forces destined for the departments of Puebla, Oaxaca, Veracruz, and Tabasco, and he published a proclamation calling for the unity of all parties. Amidst increasing opposition to his policies, and the conduct of the war which had been so far a grievous set of defeats for Mexico, Mariano Paredes stepped down and passed the presidency over to Bravo on July 28, 1846. Third Presidency Bravo was summoned to the capital from the department of Veracruz where he was in the middle of fortifying the city against a potential assault, and replaced with General Mosso. Four days after he assumed the presidency, on August 3, the garrison of Vera Cruz and San Juan de Ulua revolted, proclaiming the plan of Guadalajara, and early on the morning of August 4, General Salas with more than a thousand troops revolted in the capital. The former president Paredes fled the city on that same night, intending to go off to the front to lead some troops he had dispatched, but he was arrested and sent back by General Avalos. At a conference held by the belligerents, including Vizcaino Lemus, and Jose Ramon Pacheco, Martin Carrera, Jose Urrea, and Ramon Moralies, on August 6 it was agreed that Bravo should step down. Power would pass over to General Salas. Battle of Chapultepec Bravo continued to participate in the war effort, and was named commandant general of the Department of Puebla, but he retreated from that city when orders arrived to fall back on the capital. He took part in the efforts to defend the capital and he was assigned to the southern boundary of the city, which had previously belonged to General Andrade. After the defeats of Molino del Rey and Casa Mata he was placed in charge of defending the Chapultepec with two thousand troops, with Monterde, director of the fortifications there, as his second-in-command. The place began to be bombarded on September 12, and an assault followed the next day, which ultimately ended in a Mexican defeat, and Bravo was taken prisoner. During the Battle of Chapultepec, Bravo had asked for reinforcements and only the Battalion of San Blas commanded by Xicotencatl could help. Bravo's reputation suffered in the aftermath of the loss, for in the official report by Santa Anna he assured that Bravo had been taken prisoner