a company of cadets and gendarmes to protect the President and vice-president as they made their way from Chapultepec Castle to the National Palace, in a route that is remembered in Mexican history as la marcha de la lealtad (the march of loyalty). Modern-day Mexican Presidents have continued to celebrate this historic event, retracing the steps of Madero's march. As they made their way through the city center, the military column, led by the President, riding on horseback, was fired upon by a sniper. The President and his entourage had to stop, seeking shelter at a daguerre photograph shop where they were joined by Gustavo Madero and, some time later, by General Victoriano Huerta. There, Madero was informed that General Villar had been wounded during combat and, at the request of Ángel García Peña, Secretary of Defense, it was decided to appoint General Huerta to replace him as the military commander in charge of ending the insurrection. After the failure of the rebels to take the National Palace, the rebels had to retreat to La Ciudadela, a fortress and armements depot in the historic center of Mexico City. Victoriano Huerta, who had secretly reached an agreement with the rebels to assume the interim presidency once President Madero fell, pretended to remain loyal to the government. Nevertheless, his ammunition was fired in such a way as to cause minimum damage to La Ciudadela, ensuring that the fortress did not fall in government hands, and causing maximum damage to other buildings, particularly occupied by foreign residents, in order to convince the foreign diplomatic missions of the inefficiency of the Madero Government. As Pino before him, Gustavo Madero question that General Huerta, who had previously been recognized throughout his career for his talent in employing artillery, would now display such ineptitude. On February 17, Gustavo Madero decided to arrest General Huerta and presented him to his brother, accusing him of treason. President Madero, in a mistake that would cost him his life, decided to free General Huerta, giving him a 24-hour deadline to capture La Ciudadela. Prior to this, Madero had already travelled to Cuernavaca to enlist the support of the army headed by Felipe Ángeles, a capable and respected general who had remained loyal to the government and who was successfully quenching the Zapata rebellion in the State of Morelos. In case Huerta failed to meet the President's deadline, he would be