Person:Ignacio Zaragoza (1)

Biographical Summary

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (; March 24, 1829September 8, 1862) was a Mexican general and politician. He led the Mexican army of 600 men that defeated 6,500 invading French forces, including the elite French legionnaires at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 (mostly celebrated in the United States as Cinco de Mayo).

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1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Gen Ignacio Seguin Zaragoza, in Find A Grave
   Memorial #88412782, Created by Robert S. Griffin 12 Apr 2012 (accessed 14 May 2018).

   Gen Ignacio Seguin Zaragoza
   BIRTH 24 Mar 1829, Goliad, Goliad County, Texas, USA
   DEATH 8 Sep 1862 (aged 33), Mexico City, Cuauhtémoc Borough, Distrito Federal, Mexico
   BURIAL San Fernando Cemetery, Zaragoza, Zaragoza Municipality, Puebla, Mexico
   [no photograph]
   
   Born at Bahia del Espiritu Santo in what was then a region of Mexico known as Coahuila Y Tejas or near present day Goliad, TX. He became a national hero after leading the nationalist Mexican forces against the French Intervention at the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862. He died in Puebla in Sept. 1862. He was buried in a formal state ceremony in Panteon San Fernando in Mexico City.
   R.I.P.
   Sources: The handbook of Texas Online, www.pbs.org, Consul--Miguel Escobar V., Topeka Capital-Journal, 1997, www.inside-mexico.com, genealogy.com, www.u-s-history.com, www.tpwd.state.tx.us/news, SEDENA
   Silas Griffin, G.R.a.V.E., 1999-2012

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Ignacio Zaragoza, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
   accessed 14 May 2018.

   Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (Spanish pronunciation: [iɣˈnasjo saɾaˈɣosa]; March 24, 1829 – September 8, 1862) was a Mexican general and politician. He led the Mexican army that defeated invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 (mostly celebrated in the United States as Cinco de Mayo)."
   
   - son of Miguel G. Zaragoza and María de Jesús Seguín,
   -moved to Matamoros, Mexico, in 1834, and thence to Monterrey, Mexico, in 1844
   - commanded an army of volunteers that in 1855 defeated dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and led to the re-establishment of a constitutional democratic government in Mexico.
   - served as Secretary of War from April through October 1861
   - defeated forces of Napoleon III near city of Puebla 5 May 1862
   - died shortly after of typhoid fever
   - buried in San Fernando Cemetery in Mexico City. He was later exhumed and transferred to Puebla, while his former tomb became a monument.

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} Zaragoza, Ignacio Seguin, in Handbook of Texas Online
   accessed 14 May 2018.

   "Ignacio Seguín Zaragoza, Mexican general and hero of Cinco de Mayo, was born on March 24, 1829, at Bahía del Espíritu Santo in the state of Coahuila and Texas, near present Goliad, Texas. He was the second son of Miguel G. Zaragoza of Veracruz, Mexico, and María de Jesús Seguín of Bexar"
   
   - moved from Goliad to Matamoros, then to Monterrey in 1844
   - died there on September 8, 1862 in Puebla
   - A state funeral was held in Mexico City with interment at the Panteón de San Fernando

4.   Latino/a Thought: Culture, Politics, and Society.

   au: Francisco H. Vázquez
   pub: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
   da: Jan 16, 2009
   ISBN: 0742568881, 9780742568884
   
   Discussion of Juan Seguin, his third cousin. https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Juan_Seguin_%281%29

5.   Batalla del 5 de mayo de 1862 en Puebla: Telegramas oficiales relativos a la mencionada batalla.

   by Ignacio Zaragoza , Rafael Echenique
   Publication date 1894
   Publisher E. Sanchez
   Collection americana
   Digitizing sponsor Google
   Book from the collections of New York Public Library
   Language Spanish
   Book digitized by Google from the library of the New York Public Library and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.
   Notes
   "Telegramas ... dirigidos a la secretaria de guerra por los generales Ignacio Zaragoza, Ignacio Mejia y Santiago Tapia ..."
   
   full text available
   https://archive.org/details/batalladeldemay00echegoog accessed 21 May 2018

6.   5 de mayo de 1862: Glorioso recuerdo historico.

   Juan de Marín
   G. Veraza, 1887 - Puebla, Battle of, Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico, 1862
   full text available online
   https://books.google.com/

7. ↑ CINCO DE MAYO CELEBRATION, in United States. Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the U.S. Congress. (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress)
   pages H2062-H2063, 9 May 2001.

   From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
   
   The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Toomey). Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) is recognized for 5 minutes.
   
   Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, this past weekend, I had the pleasure of joining my constituents in Goliad, Texas to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with music, with dancing, with great food and, yes, and Mr. Speaker, with great speeches.
   
   Texas Associate professor, Armando Alonzo, said so eloquently, and I quote, "The important thing about this celebration is that it comes from the citizens of the community, not from scholars, not from politicians, or those of us who are at universities with special training."
   
   Although the holiday has spread throughout the world, its true spirit is in communities like Goliad, Texas, where people honor the value of their Mexican history and culture and the contributions that Mexican Americans have made across the spectrum of American life.
   
   Mr. Speaker, I stand before my colleagues as a proud first generation Texan, born of Mexican immigrant parents who came to the United States as children in 1910.
   
   Mr. Speaker, Goliad is the true heart of Cinco de Mayo, because it is the birthplace of General Ignacio Zaragoza, the young Mexican general who defeated the French at the battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This triumph was not only a military victory, but a moral victory over tyranny and oppression.
   
   General Zaragoza is rightly called the "George Washington of Mexico." His dedication to the cause of freedom and democracy is an inspiration and challenge to us all.
   
   General Zaragoza was born in Goliad, Texas on March 24, 1829. He was the son of a soldier, but was educated as a priest. He was a small businessman for a short time, but his passionate support of Mexico's struggle for democracy led him to follow his father into military service.
   
   During the years of the War of the Reform in 1857 to 1860, he joined with the legendary Benito Juarez and fought in numerous battles, including the Battle of Calpulalpan, which ended the War of Reform.
   
   His military brilliance in those 4 years was recognized, and he quickly moved up the ranks to general. When Mexican President Juarez was forced to declare a moratorium on Mexico's European debt in order to salvage the bankrupt economy, Spain, England, and France sent their fleets and forced the surrender of Veracruz.
   
   Because General Zaragoza was serving as head of the War Ministry, President Juarez initially sent one of his other generals to Veracruz, Mexico. When the general saw the awesome forces of the great European powers arrayed in front of Veracruz, he immediately resigned.
   
   President Juarez then turned to General Zaragoza to lead the Army of the East. Although the Spanish and the English withdrew after negotiations with President Juarez, the French army, recognized as the finest army in the world at that time, began its march towards Mexico City. Napoleon III had dreams of an empire in the Americas, with Mexico as its center, in alliance with the Confederate States of America. However, standing in the way of French conquest was General Zaragoza.
   
   The young Mexican general was determined to make his stand at Pueblo, 100 miles east of the capital. He did not know it could not be done. His ill-equipped and outnumbered Army was composed of farmers, Indians, militia and many young residents of Puebla. Many had obsolete firearms or they used rocks, sticks and machetes.
   
   The French forces attacked on May 5, 1862. The battle lasted throughout the day. Despite repeated assaults by the French cavalry and infantry, General Zaragoza's army held. They were fighting for their homes and their families and they would not be denied a victory.
   
   The French were forced to retreat in defeat. After that battle, General Zaragoza proved he was a man of compassion as well as valor. He ordered his medical staff to treat the French wounded. He received a hero's welcome in Mexico City, but while visiting his own sick troops, he contracted typhoid fever and died soon after, on September 8, 1862. He was only 33 years old. He was given a state funeral; and on September 11, 1862, President Benito Juarez declared May 5, Cinco de Mayo, a national holiday.
   
   This weekend's celebrations in Goliad were even more special as the birthplace of General Zaragoza was reopened to the public and rededicated after several months of renovation.
   
   Mr. Speaker, I want to especially thank Lupita Barrera and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife for the wonderful job they did restoring this great man's home.
   
   Mr. Speaker, I am extending an invitation to the two Presidents of Mexico and the United States to come to Goliad, Texas this next year.
   
   The people of Goliad are proud and determined to keep the legacy of General Zaragoza alive. The little town and surrounding communities have taken the time not only to celebrate, but also to teach their children the true lesson of Cinco de Mayo; namely, the freedom we now enjoy has a price, and each successive generation must be vigilant and willing to continue the fight if freedom is to endure.
   
   Goliad is over a thousand miles away from Puebla, Mexico. Yet the citizens of Goliad have adopted Puebla and Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, the birthplace of General Zaragoza's wife, Rafaela Padilla, as sister cities. Cooperation, trade and interaction among the three cities is vigorous. People along the border realize that what affects their neighbors affects them as well.
   
   The Rio Grande River--a Heritage River, has become a bridge between two peoples and two rich cultures. We all prosper through open communication, undying friendship and growing trade. This, too, is a lesson of Cinco de Mayo. General Zaragoza helped preserve our Union by defeating the French troops. Today, trade with Mexico is helping to drive our booming economy and strengthening the North American continent. In this interdependent world, we truly need each other.
   
   As you can see, I--Congressman Hinojosa am very proud to represent and speak in the Halls of Congress for Goliad and Goliad County. I am starting early--I am extending a very cordial invitation to Mexican President Vincente Fox and President George W. Bush to jointly visit Goliad, Texas during May of 2002 to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. I want to extend the invitation to all of you, my colleagues in Congress, as well.
   
   Mr. Speaker, include for the Record an exemplary speech given at Saturday's Goliad Cinco de Mayo celebration by Professor Armando C. Alonzo, an Associate Professor of History at Texas A University into the Record immediately following my remarks.

   Excerpts From Talk Given by Prof. Armando C. Alonzo at the Cinco de Mayo Celebration
   
   Good morning. I'm very happy to be here today with all of you for today's celebration and I want to thank the Society of General Ignacio Zaragoza for inviting me to be part of this important event along with the city and county officials as well as Congressman Ruben Hinojosa. I'm always happy to be in Goliad because I also have some roots in this area because my father was born and raised in Yorktown, not very far from here. I want to make two points today without going too much into the historical facts of General Zaragoza's victory over the French in 1862 because others have already talked about that.
   
   One of the important things about this celebration is that it comes from the citizens of the community not from scholars, politicians, or those of us who are at universities with special training. It's important that events like this be planned and organized by the people in the community because history is made by the people of these communities. Trade and the economy are certainly important but this celebration reminds us of the value that history and culture have for Mexico and its citizens and for Texas and its citizens. The people in this community have taken the time and effort to celebrate our history and culture and that is very important because of the impact that this kind of events have for our children and for the entire community. Even though we are about a thousand miles from Puebla where the battle took place, this celebration still has connections and its far-reaching impact is evident by the fact that there are people here from the sister city of Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, from other parts of the country, and we even have a direct descendant of a soldier who fought at the Battle of Puebla--the lady who lives in South Texas, whose grandfather fought at the battle.
   
   Memory helps to keep our history alive. This celebration is a memory of an important historical event--the battle that took place on the Cinco de Mayo. It's important for parents to connect the memory of that event to our culture and history and pass it on to our children.
   
   This celebration, which goes back at least 55 years, keeps the memory alive of our history and our culture for the entire community. Professor Americo Paredes, who died two years ago, said the Mexican experience in Texas is part of the story of ``Greater Mexico. In his works 50 years ago Professor Paredes explained how cultural influences, such as language, music, the corridos, that are familiar to us, theater, and other factors made Texas a part of ``Greater Mexico. Today we see this ``Greater Mexico through the flow of trade and people. I look at the Rio Grande not as a political boundary but as a bridge between two peoples and two cultures. The Rio Grande is a bridge that connects us together rather than divides us. For us in Texas especially, Greater Mexico is part of our daily lives. In fact our roots can be traced to Coahuila from which the Spanish colonization of the provincia de Los Tejas proceeded. As a matter of fact, the settlers initially called this land, Texas, Las Nuevas Filipinas (in honor of King Philip of Spain). Nuevo Leon and Nuevo Santander also helped colonize Texas by sending settlers. So as we can see, the history of Texas is connected to Mexico in different ways.
   
   In Zaragoza we have a Tejano who is a hero of Mexico. Ignacio de Zaragoza was born in this little village, in this pueblito in Texas but his work, his values and his love were for his country, his patria, instead of for Santiago Vidaurri, the strongman of Nuevo Leon. Through his mother, who was part of the Seguins of San Antonio, he was a multigeneration citizen of Texas. Ignacio de Zaragoza was a Texan of Hispanic origin, a son of Texas who moved with his father to the lower Valley and then to Nuevo Leon. The legacy of General Zaragoza is the value and worth that his life gives to our history and culture. That is what this community is celebrating today.
   
   Thank you very much. I hope you have a good day.

8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} "In Honor of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin, The Hero of Puebla, and the Goliad Zaragoza Society, in United States. Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the U.S. Congress. (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress)
   Volume 147, Number 58, Page E704, 2 May 2001.

   HON. RUBEN HINOJOSA of Texas in the house of representatives, Wednesday, May 2, 2001
   
   Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true hero who gave his life to free his country from foreign oppression. Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin was born in 1829 at Bahia Del Espiritu Santo, Mexico near what is now Goliad, Texas in my Congressional District. He was the son of a soldier, but was educated as a priest. When the United States invaded Mexico, he tried to enlist but was rejected because of his youth. He was a businessman for a short time, but his passionate support of Mexico's struggle to create a fledgling democracy, made him a soldier. During the years of the War of the Reform in 1857 to 1860, he joined with Benito Juarez and fought in numerous battles including the battle of Calpulalpan, which ended the war.
   In April 1861, General Zaragoza was appointed Minister of War and the Navy. When Mexican President Juarez was forced to declare a moratorium on Mexico's European debt in order to salvage the bankrupt economy, Spain sent a fleet and forced the surrender of Veracruz. France and England joined Spain in the invasion of Mexico. General Zaragoza resigned from the ministry to lead the Army of the East. Although the English and Spanish reached an agreement with President Juarez and withdrew, the French landed troops and marched toward Mexico City. They met the Mexican forces at the City of Puebla in a battle that lasted the entire day of May 5, 1862. Under General Zaragoza's leadership that vastly outnumbered Mexican army and Puebla townspeople forced the withdrawal of Napoleon III's Army, the premier army in the world. Napoleon's army suffered heavy losses, but Mexican casualties were few. Although the French ultimately captured Mexico City the next year and put Napoleon's nephew on the throne, the costly delay in Puebla and the subsequent guerrilla war waged by Benito Juarez shortened the French intervention. It also helped preserve the American Union, as it kept the French too occupied to directly aid the Confederacy with troops in the U.S. Civil War, which was being waged at the time.
   General Zaragoza received a hero's welcome in Mexico City. While visiting his sick troops, he contracted typhoid and died on September 8, 1862 at the age of 33. He received a state funeral and on September 11, 1862, President Juarez declared May 5, Cinco de Mayo, a national holiday.
   Today Cinco de Mayo is celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world. This weekend I will be joining in the festivities being sponsored by the Goliad Zaragoza Society at the birthplace of this great man.
   The Goliad Zaragoza Society was founded in 1944 by a group of Mexican Americans to pay tribute to the legacy of General Zaragoza by showing respect and pride for their culture. Today the Society's primary mission is providing scholarships to help students pursue their education.

9. ↑ The Mexican War Documents, in New York Herald (New York City, New York)
   Page 5, 8 May 1862.

   Declarations written and presented by Gen. Zaragoza following the Decree of War announced by President Juarez:

   Proclamation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the East.
   
   The treaties agreed to at Soledad on the 19th of February last, with the allied forces, have been broken by the Frencb, and, without any excuse whatever, they have provoked us to take up arms. They feign to offer us a foreign sovereign, and, deeming us unworthy of the independence which our heroes conquered with their blood, they look upon us as imbecile men, easily governed by the power of the bayonet. They deceive themselves, and forget that oppression is as nothing against a free people; nor can they be conquered by force. Nothing can intimidate nor crush a people who, proud of their history, have scarcely seen a year since they reconquered their liberties; for such a people, having a conviction of their dignity, will know how to repel so bold an aggression, and will add another page to their brilliant annals. Mexico accepts war; she has not provoked it; but she accepts it with honor, and she is proud to know that she has faithfully fulfilled her word whicb was pledged in tbe preliminary conference. Her faith has been derided, and the responsibilities of war will fall upon the nation that so unjustly and without reason attempts to enslave her. Nations, the whole world over, will do us justice, if fortune should be against us. If we perish gloriously in our defence, posterity will gather up our names and imitate our example.
   
   England and Spain, with more justice and less exigence, have left our soil, and avoided complicity in an undertaking in which they never sought to intrude their arms. More impartial, they were soon deceived concerning the condition in which we were found, and they did not hesitate in paying to our flag the tribute which is due to it. They deserve our thanks for such honorable conduct.
   
   New sacrifices now impend over us; new fatigues we must endure, and new battles must we fight. But, before the sublime idea of our liberty, nothing can make us quail. Death itself must tie indifferent to us; and, above all things – absolutely above everything – in this moment, we should have no other thought than the welfare of our unfortunate country, and no other object but her defence. Courage and union, and there can be no doubt of triumph.
   
   The degenerate son of the immortal Mareles, with two or three ether spurious Mexicans, unworthy of the air which they breathe, accompany the invader, and, with delusion, hope to form a party that will aid them in their unjust designs; but in this also I they deceive themselves. The people – the true people, who so often have shed their blood in defence of their holiest rights – regard them with indignation and despise them, because they know what to hope from those speculators who, in their delirium, have not hesitated to place the sovereignty of Mexico at the feet of Maximilian. Ignorant of recent events, they do not knew that the people who have descended from Hidalgo never shun the battle, and that they know how to fail in a manner worthy of their origin rather than consent that their precious liberty, which has cost so many snatched, should be snatched from thein with impunity.
   
   It has been my fortune to be the one first to lead the national army to victory, and I am animated by the firm hope that their efforts and devotion will be seconded by all Mexicans, from whom I have received proofs of their love of country and of their self-abnegation in moments of misfortune.
   Liberty and reform!
   
   I. ZARAGOZA.
   Headquarters, in Chalchicoluma, April 14, 1862.

   The Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the East to the Forces Under His Command.
   
   Companions in Arms –
   
   The struggle is about to commence! The preliminaries of ‘’la Soledad’’ have been broken by the French. They have separated themselves from the coalition which they had formed with the English and the Spaniard in London, for making certain reclamations on Mexico concerning our public debt; the vibration of the cannon shall shortly cause to leap the hearts of the sons of Ananuac. The French seek to intrude into our internal politics, introduced as they are by unworthy Mexicans – traitors whom we will soon punish. The republic is independent; sons of this generation, we were born free; we shall preserve this freedom, or die defending it.
   
   Courage, mv friends; do not be afraid of fighting with a nation which has a warlike fame. The free know no
   rivals, and a thousand examples fill the pages of history of peoples who have always conquered those who would pretend to rule over them.
   
   I have a blind faith in our triumph – in the victory of citizens over slaves; the usurper of the French throne will soon be convinced that the era of conquests has passed. We are about to lay down the first stone of the great edifice which shall free France from vassalage, to which she has been subjected by the bayonets of a
   despot.
   
   Be you, as you always have been, valiant in combat and merciful in victory, and soon I will lead you to the
   front of the invaders.
   
   Your general and friend,
   IGNACIO ZARAGOZA.
   Headquarters, in Chalchicoluma, April 14,1862.

10. ↑ English naming practice includes only the father's family name as a person's last name. Spanish naming practice includes both the father's family name and the mother's family name as a person's last name.
    See: Spanish naming customs, Wikipedia