1829: Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin was born on January 14, 1829 to Capt. Miguel Zaragoza and his wife Maria de Jesus Seguin in the Bahia del Espiritu Santo. The site is near present-day Matagorda Bay, between Houston and Corpus Christi. The State of Texas has included his birthplace in the Goliad State Park and the house where Zaragoza was actually born is still standing.
1833: With fierce Comanches as neighbors and the incipient Texas Republic in the offing, the Zaragozas stay in Texas was relatively brief. When he was four, his family moved to Matamoros and he attended the San Juan elementary school, although little is known about his stay there.
A street bears his name in Matamoros, but apart from that, there is little to indicate the hero of Puebla lived there. The Original Townsite of Brownsville was once that city's communal land, so in a sense, Zaragoza lived here, too. Zaragoza’s family had originally come from Monterrey, where many of the settlers of the South Texas area originated. In fact, that Nuevo Leon city was the launching point for many Mexican families who lived in then-Mexican Texas.
1840s: In Monterrey Ignacio entered the seminary, a traditional haven for young men who saw the church as a way to a profession. He interrupted his clerical studies to enter commerce. He worked for Felipe Sepulveda, a prominent Monterrey grocer. In 1846, when U.S. troops invaded Mexico, he joined the Mexican national guard.
He attained the rank of captain and was stationed in Victoria, Tamaulipas, the capital of the state. Later, one of Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana’s usurpations of the national presidency drew Zaragoza into the regular army and he served under the liberal generals who adhered to the constitution defended by Benito Juarez. He soon attained the rank of colonel. His performance on the battlefield and his knowledge of military tactics earned him the confidence and respect of his superiors.
1855: In the Battle of Silao, Zaragoza – then only 25 – played a defining role in the Liberals' victory. That battle is recognized as one of the bloodiest of the war. Zaragoza knew what stakes were in play. At the heart of the civil war was the dispute between the constitutionalists who wanted the laws of reform followed, and the conservatives, who wanted to hold on to power.
The church, a powerful institution, backed the conservatives. Clerics feared the state would carry out the separation of church and state called for in the reformed constitution and financed the conservatives in their quest to retain their power.
1856-61: Interim President Ignacio Comonfort refused to relinquish power and uphold the precepts of the constitution and it ignited civil war. In battle after bloody battle, the liberals moved toward the Mexican capital as the conservatives delayed their progress by inciting peasants to battle the "devil-driven" liberals.
In one of these battles, General Jesus Gonzalez Ortega took ill with fever. The Battle of Guadalajara was to mark an important turning point in the war. The city – which lay between the Liberal Army and the capital – was an important tactical site and the conservatives fought hard to deny them a victory.
Gonzalez-Ortega hand-picked Zaragoza over higher-ranking officers to lead the assault against the city. The Liberal siege of the city lasted for weeks and saw hand-to-hand combat in the city’s streets. Time and time again the Liberals charged only to be driven back by the determined defenders.
With typhoid fever raging through the city, the weary defenders finally succumbed to Zaragoza’s Ejercito del Centro and asked for a truce that would allow them to retreat and abandon the city. A truce was worked out and the defeated army was allowed to depart. But another surprise awaited the Liberal soldiers. Unbeknownst to them, another conservative army had arrived in the outskirts of the city and the two armies met at a bridge to the city. Zaragoza’s army would not be denied their victory and the conservatives were defeated.
December 22, 1861: Before them, the road to the capital lay waiting. Gathering their forces, the Liberals organized around San Miguelito. They faced an army of 8,000 well-equipped men with supplies bought for them by frightened church prelates and clergy. They had at their disposal several dangerous artillery pieces. The task of defending the most vulnerable site on the battle field was assigned to young Ignacio, then only 31.
He was given the task of defending the hills overlooking the battle. If the high ground was lost, the result could very well decide the war between the Liberals and Conservatives – and the future of Mexico. He did not falter. Bearing the brunt of the attack, Zaragoza’s troops held the hills as the enemy’s troops fought for their survival. Bloody and fierce clashes occurred where the defenders of the hills foiled the attacks and Zaragoza aided his fellow generals to execute the battle plan. His troops held. The Liberals prevailed. The next day, the defeated conservative generals came to secure guarantees for their remaining troops and officers.
December 25, 1861: With the city theirs for the taking, the Liberal armies gathered to enter it. On Christmas Day General Gonzalez-Ortega, ordered one of his generals and an escort to enter the city and assure of a peaceful takeover. The general he chose for this honor – and great risk– was Ignacio Zaragoza.
Thus, it came that on that day when the constitutionalist forces of Benito Juarez took the city the man leading the takeover force was the same who was born a scant 32 years before in the rolling hills of Goliad, Texas.
January 1, 1862: Benito Juarez and his constitutionalist armies joined Zaragoza in the city. Later in April, Juarez named him minister of War of Mexico. By then he was all of 33 years old.
May 5, 1862: He was to be tested again, but this time it would be by seasoned French troops who had entered the country under the pretense of getting debts repaid to their country. Having heard that the French had started their march toward Mexico City, Zaragoza led his troops to meet the most feared imperial army in the world of the day.
He left behind a gravely ill wife he would never see again.On the hills of Puebla and the plains below, Zaragoza and his army withstood and defeated the French troops. For half a day, the soldiers repelled the charges of the imperial soldiers and left the field in victory. Among the defenders were future Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz and Brownsville's own guerrilla leader Juan Cortina.
"The national arms have been covered with glory," he wrote Juarez in a one-line letter after the May 5th battle for Puebla. ("Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria.")
September 8, 1862: Four months later, Ignacio Zaragoza died of typhoid fever. His victory, however, remains celebrated to this day.
1833: With fierce Comanches as neighbors and the incipient Texas Republic in the offing, the Zaragozas stay in Texas was relatively brief. When he was four, his family moved to Matamoros and he attended the San Juan elementary school, although little is known about his stay there.
A street bears his name in Matamoros, but apart from that, there is little to indicate the hero of Puebla lived there. The Original Townsite of Brownsville was once that city's communal land, so in a sense, Zaragoza lived here, too. Zaragoza’s family had originally come from Monterrey, where many of the settlers of the South Texas area originated. In fact, that Nuevo Leon city was the launching point for many Mexican families who lived in then-Mexican Texas.
1840s: In Monterrey Ignacio entered the seminary, a traditional haven for young men who saw the church as a way to a profession. He interrupted his clerical studies to enter commerce. He worked for Felipe Sepulveda, a prominent Monterrey grocer. In 1846, when U.S. troops invaded Mexico, he joined the Mexican national guard.
He attained the rank of captain and was stationed in Victoria, Tamaulipas, the capital of the state. Later, one of Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana’s usurpations of the national presidency drew Zaragoza into the regular army and he served under the liberal generals who adhered to the constitution defended by Benito Juarez. He soon attained the rank of colonel. His performance on the battlefield and his knowledge of military tactics earned him the confidence and respect of his superiors.
1855: In the Battle of Silao, Zaragoza – then only 25 – played a defining role in the Liberals' victory. That battle is recognized as one of the bloodiest of the war. Zaragoza knew what stakes were in play. At the heart of the civil war was the dispute between the constitutionalists who wanted the laws of reform followed, and the conservatives, who wanted to hold on to power.
The church, a powerful institution, backed the conservatives. Clerics feared the state would carry out the separation of church and state called for in the reformed constitution and financed the conservatives in their quest to retain their power.
1856-61: Interim President Ignacio Comonfort refused to relinquish power and uphold the precepts of the constitution and it ignited civil war. In battle after bloody battle, the liberals moved toward the Mexican capital as the conservatives delayed their progress by inciting peasants to battle the "devil-driven" liberals.
In one of these battles, General Jesus Gonzalez Ortega took ill with fever. The Battle of Guadalajara was to mark an important turning point in the war. The city – which lay between the Liberal Army and the capital – was an important tactical site and the conservatives fought hard to deny them a victory.Gonzalez-Ortega hand-picked Zaragoza over higher-ranking officers to lead the assault against the city. The Liberal siege of the city lasted for weeks and saw hand-to-hand combat in the city’s streets. Time and time again the Liberals charged only to be driven back by the determined defenders.
With typhoid fever raging through the city, the weary defenders finally succumbed to Zaragoza’s Ejercito del Centro and asked for a truce that would allow them to retreat and abandon the city. A truce was worked out and the defeated army was allowed to depart. But another surprise awaited the Liberal soldiers. Unbeknownst to them, another conservative army had arrived in the outskirts of the city and the two armies met at a bridge to the city. Zaragoza’s army would not be denied their victory and the conservatives were defeated.
December 22, 1861: Before them, the road to the capital lay waiting. Gathering their forces, the Liberals organized around San Miguelito. They faced an army of 8,000 well-equipped men with supplies bought for them by frightened church prelates and clergy. They had at their disposal several dangerous artillery pieces. The task of defending the most vulnerable site on the battle field was assigned to young Ignacio, then only 31.
He was given the task of defending the hills overlooking the battle. If the high ground was lost, the result could very well decide the war between the Liberals and Conservatives – and the future of Mexico. He did not falter. Bearing the brunt of the attack, Zaragoza’s troops held the hills as the enemy’s troops fought for their survival. Bloody and fierce clashes occurred where the defenders of the hills foiled the attacks and Zaragoza aided his fellow generals to execute the battle plan. His troops held. The Liberals prevailed. The next day, the defeated conservative generals came to secure guarantees for their remaining troops and officers.
December 25, 1861: With the city theirs for the taking, the Liberal armies gathered to enter it. On Christmas Day General Gonzalez-Ortega, ordered one of his generals and an escort to enter the city and assure of a peaceful takeover. The general he chose for this honor – and great risk– was Ignacio Zaragoza.
Thus, it came that on that day when the constitutionalist forces of Benito Juarez took the city the man leading the takeover force was the same who was born a scant 32 years before in the rolling hills of Goliad, Texas.
January 1, 1862: Benito Juarez and his constitutionalist armies joined Zaragoza in the city. Later in April, Juarez named him minister of War of Mexico. By then he was all of 33 years old.
May 5, 1862: He was to be tested again, but this time it would be by seasoned French troops who had entered the country under the pretense of getting debts repaid to their country. Having heard that the French had started their march toward Mexico City, Zaragoza led his troops to meet the most feared imperial army in the world of the day.
He left behind a gravely ill wife he would never see again.On the hills of Puebla and the plains below, Zaragoza and his army withstood and defeated the French troops. For half a day, the soldiers repelled the charges of the imperial soldiers and left the field in victory. Among the defenders were future Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz and Brownsville's own guerrilla leader Juan Cortina.
"The national arms have been covered with glory," he wrote Juarez in a one-line letter after the May 5th battle for Puebla. ("Las armas nacionales se han cubierto de gloria.")
September 8, 1862: Four months later, Ignacio Zaragoza died of typhoid fever. His victory, however, remains celebrated to this day.
15 comments:
Mexicans at play, bro.
Tenia que ser un tejano que les gano la independencia a los pinches mojados...
Lo pior es que ni saben los pendejos.
Hey history BUFF
"Los Tomates" bridge officially named Veteran's Bridge on the United States side is known as puente internacional Ignacio Zaragoza in Mexico.
So matamotos has more than a street named after him.
Juan, no sabes nada de historia Mexicana. Los heroes reales de la batalla del 5 de mayo fureon Los mosquitos de la Salga Veracruzana, donde murio la mitad de la tropa francesa y sus caballos, mulas etc. La mitad que quedo viva iban enfermos con muy pocas armas. Por eso fue facil para Los mexicanos matardos a pedradas. Lee, no nada Las publiques pendejadas.
Montoya plagiarizes:
Goliad, Texas - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliad,_Texas
Mexico. In 1829, the name of the Mexican Texas village of La BahÃa was changed to "Goliad", believed to be an anagram of Hidalgo (omitting the silent initial "H"), in honor of the patriot priest Miguel Hidalgo, the father of the Mexican War of Independence.
At play? A part of our history and our culture! They paved the way for us and thus, the reason for us to enjoy the above feature. We cannot deny our Mexican roots nor pull them out of the ground nor ignore the contributions so many of our ancestors of Spanish/Mexican decent participated in. Understanding who we are is determined by what we know about our past. Good article, Mr. Montoya. You should compile all your similar stories and print them into a book. I am hoping that these type of stories will be shared in the new history class that will be taught to our students regarding their culture and ethnic studies regardless of what they call the class because of political correctness.
Great historical article. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
There are too many American heroes to wast time on these Mexicans. This is America Bro!!!
Gotta resoect the rrun rrun.
They dont filter comwnts and block those people that ga e diffrent views frin their own (ie... brownsville voice blog). Keep up the good work Jmon.
Great Read Juan. Gracias Amigo.
Mexicans have never been able to govern themselves in peace. There is one strong man after another trying to control the people. The people have never controlled their government but believed what ever brand of shit they were feed. Today it is totally corrupt central, state and municipal governments who are bought and paid for by the cartels.
Nopozwau
Great half ass read Montoya - abstain from writing history if you only know parts of it.
Thanks!
Put it in spanish bro pa que sepan los majaretes la verdad.
If nobody writes about history it will soon disappear down the toilet with your mojones. Thanks Juan for writing about history specially about this region.
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