Title: Mexican Independence History: The Siege of Guanajuato
Headings: Mexican Independence: The Siege of Guanajuato
Mexican Independence: The Siege of Guanajuato
Father Hidalgo's Rebel Army
The Granary of Granaditas
The Siege of Guanajuato
Death of Riaño and the White Flag
Pipila, Unlikely Hero
Massacre and Pillage
Aftermath and Legacy of the Siege of Guanajuato
Sources

Content: As they passed through Celaya, the local regiment, composed mostly of Creole officers and soldiers, switched sides and joined the rebels. Neither Allende, who had a military background nor Hidalgo could completely control the angry mob that followed them. The rebel “army” that descended upon Guanajuato on September 28 was a seething mass of anger, vengeance, and greed, numbering anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 according to eyewitness accounts. The Granary of Granaditas
The intendant of Guanajuato, Juan Antonio Riaño, was an old personal friend of Hidalgo. Hidalgo even sent his old friend a letter, offering to protect his family. Riaño and the royalist forces in Guanajuato decided to fight. They chose the large, fortress-like public granary ( Alhóndiga de Granaditas) to make their stand: all of the Spaniards moved their families and wealth inside and fortified the building as best they could. Riaño was confident: he believed that the rabble marching on Guanajuato would be quickly dispersed by organized resistance.