Las tropas realistas del general Arredondo y la expedición de Mina tras la victoria de la fragata Sabina en mayo de 1817

With the destruction of his flotilla at Soto la Marina (New Santander) by the royalist frigate Sabina on 18 May, Javier Mina realised that he could not escape from there by sea if he should be surrounded by the forces that royalist general Joaquín de Arredondo was slowly but surely assembling.. Mina therefore decided to remain in an area of New Santander roughly defined by a triangle drawn between San Fernando, Croix and Soto la Marina, keeping his forces in constant movement there, guerilla-fashion, until he decided the best direction to take. There he waited to see what support might be forthcoming from the local populace of New Santander, from insurgent groups remaining in the interior of New Spain and from any that might assemble in the north of New Leon and the south of Texas. Finally he moved inland when general Arredondo blocked any other route.