CHAPTER 6—Mutinity

José Benito Zarauz, in charge of the defense of Bilbao and the province, sent a message to Macías and Tricio who were hidden at the convent of San Francisco, to summon them to a meeting to discuss the defensive tactics for the City, which were aimed at blocking and delaying the advance of the French
troops that were led by General Merlin so that the British Navy was able to disembark soldiers to reinforce that defensive line. Unfortunately, the English reinforcements could not arrive in time. Given that scenario, Luis Power sent another message to Tomas de Salcedo to intercept Napoleon’s forces at Miraba-
lles, which suffered the insanity and barbarity of the imperial army that razed and destroyed the town, leaving behind devastation and death. Having the way cleared, the French army marched towards Atxuri to put an end to the revolt at any cost because the Corsican general wanted Spain to be subdued.
At that meeting, which took place at the Marzana fish market facilities, the defensive and offensive strategies for Casco Viejo (Old Quarters) were planned and discussed. as soon as Luis Power entered the joint, with his usual limp that a bullet had caused him in the Battle of Le Boulou Luis Power, he ap-
proached the two bandits to shake their hands, addressing them as heroes for the exploits they had carried out against the Napoleonic troops. At the end of the meeting, Macías and Tricio were amazed by the way Luis Power conducted the meeting and by his extensive military knowledge. The meeting had not
yet finished when some soldiers from Miraballes arrived in Marzana to inform all those present that Miraballes had fallen and that the 'Gauls' had mercilessly and brutally killed anyone who opposed them, taking no prisoners. In the face of this bad news, Luis Power said, "I know that this battle is going to be bru-
tal and grisly, and many of us will die or be imprisoned, and subsequently executed in front of our fellow citizens as an example to others, but we must fight for our rights and liberties, and that’s why I ask the survivors, if anyone survives, to join the English army to throw Napoleon's forces out of Spain."
At that mythical meeting, he appointed Tricio commander of the barricades and the cannons that had been placed at Santos Juanes Square in Atxuri and at Ibeni dock, but Macias, knowing that most of the people assigned to that battlefield were going to die, convinced Luis Power to let him lead that de-
fensive post and assign Tricio Carcedo of Sestao to the artillery post that was set up on the other side of the river, on the road to the Convent of San Francisco. Despite conscription being mandatory for all single and widowed Biscayans without children, on the day of the attack, the whole town, regardless of age
or sex, took to the streets to defend their town, even though defeating the most disciplined and best-equipped army in the world was a different kettle of fish. Moreover, they were outnumbered and the only weapons that the residents of Bilbao had at their disposal were those of the Larrinaga battalion.
At dawn, that bloody August 16, on San Roke's day, the French drums and bugles began to be heard down the slopes of Miraflores. The few locals who opposed Merlin's army at that spot had to retreat to the first barricades that were positioned at the entrance of Atxuri, which did not pose an obstacle be-
cause the French cannons blew them up in the twinkling of an eye. The women and men ,who were trying to block that way into Bilbao, were blown to smithereens, giving the French infantry easy control of the place. When the bombardment from both sides ceased, they began to fight hand-to-hand. The French
soldiers brutally stabbed their bayonets into the locals. The level of cruelty was such that the streets of Bilbao turned red. But the people of Bilbao did not retreat a single inch despite that numerical superiority, shouting 'Free Bilbao' and decisively attacking the French soldiers, who did not break the formation
and advanced like a steamroller. Once the barricades and the fierce opposition of the people were overcome, the fight continued on the streets of Casco Viejo where many Gallic soldiers began to fall because the women of the town attacked the invaders with bayonets and with the knives they had, and those
who were in the apartments above did not stop pouring boiling water and oil on them, as well as flowerpots. Some of those who were able to retreat to Ibeni dock crossed the Nervion River swimming or running across Saint Anton Bridge to save their lives, but those who could not cross and were at the mercy of
the French troop screamed in pain and fear because of the brutality employed by the invading soldiers. The screams were so loud that the cannon shots did not mute them; they could be heard from the Convent of San Francisco. There were lots of burned and dismembered bodies lying dead on the ground. Ot-
hers were floating on the Nervion River, which also turned red. The number of bodies floating down the river was such that several of these bodies reached the shore of the Convent of the Punta in Sestao. Once Bilbao was taken, Merlin attacked the Convent of San Francisco, where Luis Power was withstanding
the French troops, but the insatiable French cannon shots killed most of those who were inside the walls. One of these cannon shots hit Luis Power and killed him instantly. The men and women who were still alive, one of whom was Tricio, with no leader to follow, escaped towards Sestao. Those who were una-
ble to escape were shot mercilessly and thrown into the river so that the current scattered their bodies downstream. One of those bodies was Macías'. His body was found half-buried and mutilated in the marshes of Erandio.
A sentence from the report that Joseph Bonaparte sent to his brother Napoleon Bonaparte highlights the horror of that bloody battle, "Bilbao’s rioting has been crushed with the blood of 1,200 people".
As a result of the fall of Bilbao, the City became Frenchified again since the French remained in it until 1813, which favored the arrival and the settlement of many wealthy French families who set up countless businesses and promoted mixed marriages to root out that hatred towards the French, but the
working class was very conscious of the outrages, plundering, and rapes the French soldiers had committed.
In view of this cock-up, the bands of bandits continued assaulting the French stagecoaches and convoys that went up to or down from Vitoria. One of these bandits, who led the 'Banda deI Tuerto', was Tricio Carcedo de Sestao who had hidden with his men somewhere in Sestao.