Story Tools  E-mail Story  Print Friendly Featured Jobs Featured Jobs Feature Your Jobs: call 823-4444 Legislature Legislature May Land on Web; Lawmakers OK Equipment Buy Gambling Foes Urged to Act; Gov. Gets Few Calls Seeking Veto of Bills Legislature OKs $5 Million for Plane Gov. Making List for Next Session; Loans, Wells To Be on '06 Agenda Lawmakers May Take Fitness Lead Voter ID Is Just One Part of Bill Richardson's Tax Cuts OK'd Tax Cuts, Pre-K Package Approved; Gov. Says No Special Session Public Works Bill OK'd; $471 Million Plan Largest on Record Summary of Major Legislation That Passed, Failed in the 60-Day Legislative Session More Legislature

          Front Page  xgr  2002

Thursday, February 14, 2002

Legislature OKs 1847 Revolt Pardon

By S.U. Mahesh
Journal Capitol Bureau
    SANTA FE — The House and Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved separate but similar measures to posthumously pardon New Mexico landowners who revolted against the occupying United States Army in 1847.
    The House Joint Memorial, sponsored by Rep. Bengie Regensberg, D-Cleveland, also calls for the federal government to reopen cases dating back more than 150 years and provide appropriate relief to the descendants of the rebellious landowners.
    Regensberg said that nearly 1,000 Northern New Mexico Hispanics died trying to defend their lands from the occupying U.S. Army in 1847.
    "At least 100 of them were wrongfully convicted of treason and hanged to death," he said.
    Regensberg said historians could account for 600 people who died in the revolt or were tried for treason. "We're just asking the governor and the president to pardon those 600 people," he said.
    In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico and its army moved into northern New Mexico. But landowners revolted against the army in Mora, Taos and San Miguel counties.
    Rep. Miguel Garcia, D-Albuquerque, said Hispanic landowners were tried for treason even though they were not U.S. citizens in 1847.
    New Mexico became part of the United States after signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
    Regensberg's nonbinding memorial also asks for "appropriate relief" — which the proposal doesn't specify — for the descendants whose ancestors suffered at the hands of the U.S. Army either by losing their lands or lives.
    The proposal also calls for erecting memorials in several northern New Mexico counties where the landowners were tried and executed.
    The House on Tuesday also unanimously approved another joint memorial, also sponsored by Regensberg, which calls for establishing special ties with Spain and Mexico to exchange information on land grants in New Mexico.