The revolt in Zacatecas was the first rebellion caused by Santa Anna's rise to power. The militant reaction began as a response to the order from the Mexican government disbanding bodies of militia in the various states. Governor Francisco García Salinas, a former Santa Anna ally, led an army of about 5,000 thousand men against the federal government of Antonio López de Santa Anna. El Presidente responded by personally leading an army of 3,000 against Zacatecas, leaving General Miguel Barragán as "Manager of the Presidency." The centralists defeated Governor García Salinas and his poorly equipped troops in the battle of Zacatecas, April 11, 1835. The pillaging of the city and the atrocities against foreigners that followed–supposedly sanctioned by Santa Anna himself–alarmed Mexicans everywhere, but especially in the Anglo-American colonies of Texas.
