Despite Napoleon III’s abandonment of Mexico, a severe blow to the imperial cause, Maximilian of Habsburg refused to abandon his supporters. He retreated to Querétaro in February 1867, where he sustained a siege that lasted several weeks. On May 11, Emperor Maximilian decided to attempt an escape through enemy lines, but was intercepted, court-martialed, and sentenced to death by firing squad. Many European monarchs and other prominent figures (including Victor Hugo and Giuseppe Garibaldi) sent messages and letters to Mexico urging that Maximilian’s life be spared, but Juárez refused to commute the sentence, believing it necessary to send a signal that Mexico would never again tolerate governments imposed by foreign powers. In particular, Juárez’s “political godfather,” or US President Andrew Johnson, who wanted to overtly reaffirm the Monroe Doctrine, refused to intervene. Memorable in its cruel and bloody nature, but entirely unnecessary, the fact that Napoleon III’s withdrawal alone would have been enough to remind Europeans of the power of the United States. The sentence was carried out on June 19, 1867, by a firing squad of seven men; along with Maximilian, Generals Miguel Miramón and Tomás Mejía were shot. Maximilian I’s body was embalmed and displayed in Mexico, before being buried, the following year, in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.
