Godofredo Guttmacher
Godofredo Guttmacher y Bonhoeffer (January 5, 1882 - December 4, 1941) was a Mejican revolutionary, land owner and civil engineer known for having led an armed struggle against the Mejican state during the Civil War between 1916 and 1919. A Tejan-German Protestant, Guttmacher sought the independence of Tejas from the centralized rule of the Mejican state and the establishment of a "theodemocratic" republic in the region. Partially successful, he established the short-lived Republic of Tejas following the Cry of Goliad, struggled with fellow Protestant Bernardo Bell, leader of the Conciliationist faction, was defeated, and signed the Treaty of Huaco in December 1919.
Guttmacher was born in San Antonio de Béjar to a family of German Silesian immigrants, part of the wave of Protestant migration allowed into Mejico thanks to the Liberal immigration policies of the late 19th century. The Guttmacher family settled into Tejas, becoming prominent landowners and influential members of the nascent Protestant community. Godofredo received an education in civil engineering, being sent to Germany to study. Returning to Mejico upon graduation and working on some infrastructural projects, Godofredo's father, Francisco Guttmacher, launched an independentist revolution on April 3, 1912, by promulgating the Plan of La Magnolia, which was crushed at the battles of Friedrichsburg and Boerne by General Victoriano Huerta.
Although he did not initially support his father's movement and distanced himself from independentist ideas, the continued growth of Protestantism in Tejas, which came to constitute a significant and influential minority, along with the region's political marginalization, gradually changed Guttmacher's stance and ideas. The Mejican government's heavy-handed approach to suppressing Protestant activities and regional autonomy movements exacerbated tensions within Tejas, and on October 3, 1916, taking advantage of the political disarray central Mejico was embroiled in, Guttmacher issued the Cry of Goliad, calling for the independence of Tejas and proclaiming the establishment of the Republic of Tejas, which implemented his "theodemocratic" ideals, expelled Mejican Catholics, and immediately ignited a fierce conflict with the Conciliationist faction of Bernardo Bell, who rallied Catholic and Protestant militias under his command.
Guttmacher demonstrated his military capabilities and managed to keep the Conciliationist Army at bay, entrenching himself and his movement in the city of Huaco, which he recognised as a "New Zion", a symbolic center for his visionary project. His forces held out against repeated assaults, leveraging both guerilla tactics and traditional strategies. Despite his initial successes, Guttmacher faced significant challenges - the Mejican government of Venustiano Carranza, established in 1917, became increasingly alarmed at the defeats of the Conciliationists, and deployed significant military resources to quell the rebellion. General Álvaro Obregón was responsible for orchestrating a campaign against Guttmacher's forces, slowly reclaiming Tejan territories, although incurring heavy casualties.
During the battle of San Antonio and the capture of the Álamo, Guttmacher was heavily wounded and had to have his left leg amputated. Coupled with this, the blockade of Espíritu Santo and the fall of Huaco in November 1919 forced Guttmacher to the negotiating table. The resulting Treaty of Huaco, signed on December 10, 1919, formally ended the conflict and marked the dissolution of the Republic of Tejas. Per the treaty, the region as a whole was reintegrated into the country and added the right of greater regional autonomy, increased protections for Protestants, the return of all Mejican Catholics and of their places of worship, and a limited amnesty for those who had participated in the rebellion. Due to his cooperative attitude, Guttmacher himself was offered an hacienda in exchange for a pledge of loyalty to the Mejican stage and his retirement from politics.
Following the treaty, Guttmacher retreated to his hacienda near Friedrichsburg, where he lived in relative seclusion together with his family. Despite his defeat, he remained an important figure in regional Tejan politics and a figurehead of the Tèchannisch people and Tèchannisch identity. He was assassinated by members of the Mejican ultranationalist Golden Shirts in his hacienda in 1941.