Manuel Armijo

Manuel Armijo (c. 1793–1853) was a New Mexican soldier and statesman who served three times as governor of New Mexico. He was instrumental in putting down the Revolt of 1837, he led the force that captured the Texan Santa Fe Expedition and he surrendered to the United States (U.S.) in the Mexican-American War.

Early life and first governorship
Manuel Armijo was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and apparently made himself wealthy and prominent. He may have been born in Casa de Armijo, which is now a restaurant in Old Town Albuquerque.

According to George Wilkins Kendall, he became wealthy by working for a sheep rancher and stealing and selling the sheep, often to his own employer; but Kendall was writing about his experience as Armijo's prisoner in 1841 and his biographical sketch of Armijo is scurrilous. The historian Marc Simmons ascribes the story of sheep theft to "tradition". Armijo became the alcalde (mayor) of Albuquerque and militia lieutenant in 1822 and 1824.

In 1827, he was appointed governor of New Mexico, but in 1828 he returned from Santa Fe to Albuquerque as a wealthy merchant in sheep and wool blankets, acting as alcalde again. Some have it that he left the governorship to avoid a Federal investigation.

In 1836 Armijo was appointed subcomisario, collector of customs, of New Mexico; this was a fund-raising position that involved work in Santa Fe. However, for health reasons he spent most of his time in Albuquerque and was replaced.

Revolt of 1837
In August 1837 disaffected residents of the northern part of New Mexico assassinated Governor Albino Pérez and took over the state (the Revolt of 1837). Many people in the southern part opposed the new government, but several prominent people refused to lead a counterrevolution. Mariano Chávez, a wealthy young relative of Armijo's, proposed him for the position and Armijo accepted. He marched to Santa Fe and declared himself governor, a position that the Mexican government also gave him when the news of the rebellion reached them (and not when Armijo's letter announcing his self-appointment reached them later, contrary to Kendall's account).

Armijo wrote to the government requesting federal troops, and trained soldiers under Lt. Col. Cayetano Justiniani of the Veracruz dragoons arrived in early January 1838. Later that month the rebellion flared up again and Armijo led the force that defeated the rebels at Pojoaque. According to Armijo's letters to the Mexican historian Carlos María Bustamante, he was nominally in command but his forces were really led by Justiniani.

Beginning with Kendall, some American authors have accused Armijo of starting the rebellion that he later put down. , The trader and writer Josiah Gregg said Armijo's brother "intimated" to Gregg that Armijo had ridden from Albuquerque to Santa Fe expecting the rebels to elect him governor. As he had taken no personal part in the insurrection, they "would not acknowledge his claim to their suffrages," so he returned to Albuquerque to plot the counterrevolution. The historian Janet Lecompte doubts this story and notes that there is no documentary evidence of any involvement of Armijo in the Revolt of 1837.

Second term
In 1841 Armijo successfully repelled the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. He evidently authorized false promises of safe conduct, but instead took the Texan merchants and soldiers into custody and sent them further south in Mexico as prisoners.

Stories about Armijo's corruption made it into Euro-American accounts of the region to justify a U.S. invasion. It was also rumored that he was having an illicit affair with the wealthy Santa Fe saloon owner Maria Gertrudis "Tules" Barceló.

Also during this period he eagerly approved land grants to Americans, selling 9700000 acre in some of the largest land grants ever made. For example, in January 1841 Charles Beaubien and Guadalupe Miranda petitioned Armijo for a grant of 1741764 acre of land east of the Sangre de Cristo range. Charles Bent was given part of that land, even though he was not a Mexican citizen. When Padre Martinez of Taos learned of the grant, he raised such a strong objection that Armijo withdrew the grant that summer. Armijo later reinstated the grant when Beaubien died, giving it to his son-in-law, Lucien Maxwell.

In 1843 the Republic of Texas sent another force into New Mexico to retaliate for the capture of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition and Mexican attacks on Texas. This force, with something over 200 men, defeated a New Mexican advance party. Armijo, camped 140 mi away with 500 men, "fled in terror" on hearing the news. He then resigned his position as military commander and in the following year, the governorship, "claiming ill health".

Third term and Mexican-American War
Nevertheless, he was appointed to his third governorship in 1845. The following year, the Mexican-American War started and General Stephen Kearny brought about 1,700 soldiers to conquer New Mexico. Armijo heard of the plan in late June from an American business partner who arrived with a caravan on the Santa Fe Trail. Armijo sold his interest in their business to his partner and began liquidating his many other assets.

He also received a large amount of ammunition and supplies from a caravan out of Independence, Missouri. On August 4, as Kearny crossed what is now the border between Colorado and New Mexico, Armijo signed a power of attorney so that an associate could take care of his affairs after he left. On August 8 he issued a proclamation to the people of New Mexico exhorting them to prepare to repel the invasion.

On about August 9 Armijo called a meeting with a number of respected New Mexicans. He did not want to fight, but the priests present did, as did the young regular-army commander, Diego Archuleta, and the young militia officers Manuel Chaves and Miguel Pino. According to a refugee from the war, Armijo would have done nothing toward defense if the latter two had not threatened to shoot him. Then on August 12 or 13 he received an American named James Magoffin, the husband of a relative of his, who later claimed to have convinced Armijo not to fight. An unverified story says that Magoffin bribed them. Magoffin later requested a reimbursement from the U. S. Treasury of $50,000, of which he received $30,000.

Around this same time some Santa Feans talked of killing the American traders in the town, but Armijo put a stop to the plan and dismissed Archuleta. In any case, at the Battle of Santa Fe, Armijo set up a position in Apache Canyon, a narrow pass about 10 mi southeast of the city, but decided not to fight before the American army was even in sight. When Pino, Chaves and some of the militiamen insisted, Armijo ordered the cannon pointed at them. All of the New Mexican army retreated to Santa Fe and Armijo fled to Chihuahua, while Kearny and his force entered Santa Fe and claimed New Mexico for the U.S. without a shot fired.

Armijo was tried in Mexico City for cowardice and desertion in the face of the enemy, but he was acquitted. While in Mexico City, he interceded on behalf of Magoffin, who had been arrested as a spy in Chihuahua.

Armijo later returned to Lemitar, New Mexico, and lived the rest of his life there. He is buried in the churchyard (Camposanto Iglesia) in front of San Miguel de Socorro, in the northwest corner.