in Yucatan as part of the Caste Wars, after which he moved to Tabasco and was granted the rank of lieutenant colonel. During the Mexican–American War, he was in charge of fortifications in Monterey and in Saltillo, and in 1847 contributed to setting up the defenses on the route from Veracruz to Mexico City. In July 1848, he retired to Chihuahua where he was elected alderman in 1852 and remained in that post until March, 1853 when he returned to service in the military. In November he was promoted to colonel and was named president of the council of war for judging thieves at which post he remained for a few months. In the following two years he served the Santa Anna’s campaign against the liberal revolutionaries of the south led by Juan Alvarez. He fell prisoner at the Hacienda de Nuzco, and the rebel commander Ignacio Comonfort protected him from being sent to a firing squad and actually recruited him to join the liberal cause. When the Plan of Ayutla triumphed, and Santa Anna’s dictatorship was overthrown, Zuloaga was given command of Comonfort’s forces and assigned to the campaign of Sierra de Queretaro. La Reforma Zuloaga’s old commander Ignacio Comonfort ascended to the presidency in December, 1856, and proceeded to administer over one of the most eventful presidencies in 19th century Mexican history. A convention finished drafting a new constitution for the nation in early 1857, only to encounter extreme opposition from conservatives over its unprecedented reforms aimed against the army and the church. Most notable was the opposition to the constitutional codification of the Ley Lerdo, a law which forced collective entities to forcibly sell their properties, affecting both the Catholic Church, and Mexico’s Indigenous communities, who had a tradition of farming on communal lands. Further controversy was inflamed when the government mandated that all civil servants swear an oath to the constitution or lose their jobs. Many Catholics did refuse the oath, but those who did not were excommunicated. Zuloaga was initially loyal to the moderate liberal government of Ignacio Comonfort. He helped command a government effort to put down a conservative rebellion in Puebla. As tensions over the constitution rose, Comonfort left the capital and temporarily resided in Tacubaya where his defenses were commanded by Zuloaga. However, by December, Zuloaga was among those being suspected of plotting against the government, and he was even indicted. Plan