Francisco Márquez (1834-1847) was one of the six 'Niños Héroes' assassinated in the Military College when the United States attacked the city of Chapultepec. At that time, Márquez was just a cadet and was 13 years old.
He is one of the most important characters in the history of Mexico, for his early death and for having faced foreign troops in defense of the nation. His relevance is notorious today, as many educational institutions, streets or government buildings have been named in his honor.
Painting representing Francisco Márquez. Source: Unidentified painter, via Wikimedia Commons.
According to the official account, Márquez's body was found in the eastern area of the academy along with that of Juan Escutia, another of the cadets and perhaps the most famous of the Niños Héroes. Márquez was the youngest of the six children who died in battle.
Biography
Although he went down in the history of Mexico simply as Francisco Márquez, the full name of this cadet from the Colegio Militas del Castillo de Chapultepec was Francisco de Borja Jesús Márquez Paniagua. He was born in 1834 in Guadalajara, although the exact month and day that it occurred is unknown.
His father died when Francisco was very young. After the event, his mother, Micaela, remarried, this time with a captain of the Mexican army named Francisco Ortiz.
He joined the academy the same year of his death. He then started as a cadet on January 14. Few documents about his short life were obtained after the conflict with the United States. Much of the papers were lost back then.
He died in the Military College located on a hill in the city of Chapultepec. The institution, which was created in 1823, is now better known as the Heroic Military College.
American invasion
In 1846 the conflict between the United States and Mexico reached one of its highest points when Texas, after achieving its independence from Mexico a few years earlier, became part of the United States. The Mexican government never accepted the separation and this fact resulted in a new dispute between both nations.
The two North American countries began to fight for a region that bordered on Texas. The United States sent an army led by Zachary Taylor to occupy the area.
Mexico responded by killing several rival soldiers and burning a US fort in the area. It was then that war was declared on May 23, 1846.
In September 1847, the Americans devised a way to attack the hill where the Colegio Militar de Chapultepec was located. The first president of Mexico at that time, Antonio López Santa Anna, made the decision not to send more soldiers to the hill, even though he knew that it was critical to defend that point.
When finally, on September 13 during the Battle of Chapultepec, the United States reached the top, it found more than 500 soldiers, many of whom were only cadets and minors. Among them was Francisco Márquez.
Battle of Chapultepec
The confrontation began on September 12, 1847 in the early hours of the day. The United States troops began their attack on the castle on the hill of the city, where the Military College was located. The attack lasted late into the night and the Mexican army suffered heavy casualties during that time.
The offensive by the Americans continued the next day when he was ordered to enter the castle. The Mexican military high command ordered his men to withdraw from the hill. The decision was heard and accepted by all but six cadets who decided to confront the foreign troops and defend the place, Francisco Márquez being one of the cadets who preferred to fight.
At just 13 years old, he was the youngest of the group left on the hill. The others who stayed were Juan de la Barrera (who had already reached the rank of lieutenant), Agustín Melgar, Montes de Oca, Vicente Suárez and the famous Juan Escutia (all cadets in the institution).
The role of Francisco Márquez during the invasion was to defend the eastern area of the hill where the Military College was located. Finally, all of them died in the defense of the castle, where all of them suffered bullet wounds except Escutia.
Hero kid's day
The group of young people were eventually dubbed the Niños Héroes. Benito Juárez, during one of his mandates, designated that September 13 be honored the memory of the fallen and was established as a day of national mourning. Currently, various ceremonies are held to honor the defenders of the fort.
Recognitions
The Niños Héroes received posthumous recognition when they were awarded the medal of merit for having defended Mexican territory.
30 years after the Battle of Chapultepec, several survivors met to found an association. His main objective was to have a ceremony held in honor of all who fought for two days on the hill. They finally got a monument built.
The Child Heroes appeared on bills and coins. Between 1981 and 1989 their faces were on the 500 peso bills. Then, between 1994 and 1995, they were in the 50 peso coin.
There is a subway station that was named in honor of the cadets killed in 1847. And several streets around the area where they died are named after one of the Niños Héroes.
Monuments
In 1952 a monument was inaugurated in honor of the Niños Héroes that is made up of six columns in which the name of each one appears. It is located in Mexico City at the entrance to the largest park in the country.
The monument was named Altar de la Patria and was designed by the architect Enrique Aragón. Inside each column is an urn like the remains of one of the cadets.
In other cities and states of Mexico you can also find monuments in honor of the Niños Héroes. There is also a plaque inaugurated in 1947 on the site where the remains of all the children were found, being offered by the then US President Harry S. Truman.
References
- Conway, Christopher B. The US-Mexican War. Hackett Pub. Co., 2010.
- Cota Torres, Edgar. The Black Legend On The Northern Border Of Mexico. Editorial Orbis Press, 2007.
- Magazine Of The Mexican Army And Air Force, Topics1-6. National Defense Secretariat, 2009.
- Tucker, Spencer et al. The Encyclopedia Of The Mexican-American War. ABC-Clio LLC, 2013.
- Villalpando César, José Manuel. Children heroes. Editorial Planeta Mexicana, 2004.