"[2] During his youth he entered the Heroico Colegio Militar, he was a companion of the liberal Leandro Valle and the conservative Miguel Miramón.

[1] He was wounded in the leg and he received an honorary medal and an epaulet on his left shoulder for his bravery but he saw indignantly since his convalescence, Mexico surrendered to the United States on September 13, 1847.

When the Ayutla Revolution occurred, a movement developed from a plan proclaimed by Florencio Villareal supported by Juan N. Álvarez and Ignacio Comonfort, on March 1, 1854, to end the dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna.

With Comonfort's betrayal in the self-coup and Félix María Zuloaga's coup supported by the Mexican clergy of the time thus provoking the Reform War and Salazar, without hesitation, joined the liberals.

[2][1] The following year in the Siege of Puebla, its population that fell before the site; however, he was able to escape at the time of the surrender by entering a private house, suffering great risk, since the owner participated in the Imperial ideas and tried to denounce him, but Salazar opportunely managed to subdue him and left him unable to denounce him, he waited for the arrival of the night and undertook the flight to Mexico City, thus continuing to fight for the liberal cause.

With great speed, the republican forces broke camp and moved towards Santa Ana Amatlán, where they arrived on the 13th.

General Arteaga ordered his officers Julián Solano and Pedro Tapia to gather thirty men each; the first, to monitor the movements of Méndez's imperial army and the second to guard, from an elevation, the entrance to the town.

Based on Solano's reports, which indicated that Méndez had not moved from his position, it was enough for Arteaga and Salazar to order their men to rest.

[2] However confidence would cement his fate as around 11 in the morning, the stillness of the town was broken by the violent incursion of the imperial troops.