User:Wartor/Mexican Spy Company

The Mexican Spy Company was a spy ring active during the Mexican-American War which was formed by the United States Army in an effort to hinder both the Mexican Army and guerrilla troops sympathetic to the Mexican cause. The ring, composed of Mexican spies and led by the highwayman Manuel Domínguez, was created on orders of General Winfield Scott in response to attacks on American supply lines fueling the American campaign for Mexico City.

Formation
On May 15, 1847, U.S. General William J. Worth captured the city of Puebla unopposed and was joined by the forces of Winfield Scott on the 27th. Various members of the city's gentry and clergy pled with both commanders to address the highwaymen that had been hiding within Puebla, as the criminals were known to harass Mexicans and American soldiers alike. In particular, they had requested the capture of an "undesirable" named Manuel Domínguez--known as el Chato ("the flat-nosed one")--who had managed to escape from prison via bribes given to local law enforcement or a breakout organized by his accomplices. Domínguez's network, comprised of hundreds of members, operated throughout the paths connecting the cities of Veracruz, Puebla, and Mexico City and was known to rob all who happened to cross paths.On June 2, Domínguez was captured by U.S. forces, and despite previously agreed-upon terms between the American generals and local notables, Scott chose to employ the highwayman as the head of what he called "The Mexican Spy Company," a network of local spies that would report on everything they saw and that would also gather intelligence on the plans of General Santa Anna. The spies would achieve their goals by infiltrating the Mexican Army and the populations of both Puebla and Mexico City. Domínguez, after his capture, claimed that he had been an honest man who had in fact been attacked by a Mexican government official, which led him to seek a life in the mountains where he became a bandit leader. He accepted the offer to collaborate with the U.S. Army and was placed under the command of Colonel Ethan Hitchcock, where he received a colonel's salary (before subsequently receiving the rank itself). At first, Domínguez was posted as a messenger between the cities of Puebla and Xalapa, but Hitchcock soon suggested that he form a band of scouts and spies. As a result, American forces released many of Domínguez's accomplices that had been jailed in Puebla, who would go on to receive salaries higher than those of U.S. Army sergeants once recruited. Once its ranks were expanded, the Spy Company's espionage led to the arrest of both civilians and military elements assisting the Mexican cause, as well as the undermining of Mexican military plans, as noted by Scott in a letter to Colonel Thomas Childs in Xalapa:"'The Poblano spies have provided me with the most exact reports regarding the movements of the enemy and the plans of their countrymen; because of their conduct, I was able to apprehend various military officials and civilians during their night-time meetings which aimed to convince the locals to take up arms. The spy company has fought valiantly and is so committed that it will have to flee the country when our army retreats.'"Domínguez's spies were also entrusted with being guides, given their knowledge of the routes between Xalapa and Mexico City. Furthermore, the participated as combatants against Mexican forces during Major Franklin Smith's offensive in the Battle of Churubusco. According to accounts of the battle, General Pedro María Anaya, who was taken prisoner, saw Domínguez and his accomplices and"'compelled by a feeling of abhorrence and horror, rebuked the insolent ringleader, calling him a traitor, at the risk of his own life.'"

Interestingly enough, 80 members of the Mexican Saint Patrick's Battalion (composed of soldiers that had deserted from U.S. forces) were also captured in the battle, and Hitchcock expressed his disdain for their willingness to take up arms against the United States.

Fate of the Company
It was thought that the Company would stay in Mexico while the United States Army maintained its presence in the country, once the war was over. Eventually, one of Domínguez's men went to Mexico City to report on the spy ring's activities between Puebla and Veracruz--the group chose to operate within the area due to their familiarity with the region, but isolated itself in fear of reprisals. Domínguez's wife (who according to Hitchcock was beautiful except for the fact that she was missing a tooth), sought refuge among the American ranks after feeling threatened by some men who had sworn to take revenge upon her husband. Later on, Domínguez's men were devoted to dismantle guerrilla groups that still operated in Puebla and Tlaxcala, and participated in skirmishes against Cirilo León's fighters.

The Company was dissolved in mid-1848 when Domínguez's men voluntarily resigned from service, receiving $20,000 in doing so. Many took the money and continued to commit highway robbery, but Domínguez, fearing that he would be killed "like a dog", did not wish to remain in Mexico and died impovrished with his family in New Orleans. Hitchcock commented that when Domínguez arrived to the city, he stopped being the respected and feared man that he had been in Mexico.