Ignacio Zaragoza Biography
Although Ignacio Zaragoza is not a household name in the United States, he is one of Mexico’s most important historical figures. In fact, his fame as a military leader and hero helped inspire the Mexican holiday known as Cinco de Mayo.
Ignacio Zaragoza. He led the Mexican army that defeated the invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
Ignacio Zaragoza (Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin) He was born on March 24, 1829 and died on September 8, 1862. Mexican general and politician.
Zaragoza was born in the former Mexican village of Texas, Bahía del Espiritu Santo (now Goliad, Texas, in the United States) in what was then the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas.
He was the son of Miguel G. Zaragoza and María de Jesús Seguín, niece of Erasmo Seguín and cousin of Juan Seguín. The Zaragoza family moved to Matamoros, Mexico, in 1834, and from there to Monterrey, Mexico, in 1844, where the young Ignacio entered a seminary.
small family
His family was small and poor, but he had a great love for his homeland and an innate sense of patriotism. He attended school until he was ten, when he went to work on his father’s farm.
At the age of 13, he began his military training under the command of General José María Morelos y Pavón, who established the first independent Mexican Republic in 1813 after a successful revolt against Spanish rule.
In 1815 Zaragoza became an officer under the leadership of Morelos and fought against Spanish forces throughout Mexico until their leader went into exile in New Orleans later that year (he would be executed by Spanish authorities).
saint anna
In 1820 Zaragoza joined Santa Anna’s army and participated in numerous battles during his march towards Mexico City; although they were unsuccessful in capturing their target city at this time, they subjugated several smaller cities along their path through central Mexico during what became known as The War for Independence from Spain (1810-1821). .
Returning home from this campaign, Ignacio married María Amalia Ramírez de Dios before becoming involved with another group fighting royalist forces elsewhere.
He began his career as a cadet at the Chapultepec Military College and studied engineering. Between studies he became involved in politics and joined the conservatives.
Photo Pixabay
Training
When he finished his military training, Captain Zaragoza served for a short time with General Santa Anna before being transferred to fight with the rebels in Puebla during the War of the Reforms against the liberal government of President Benito Juárez (1857).
He fought on behalf of the liberal forces of President Benito Juárez against conservative generals such as Miguel Miramón, who led an 8,000-man army against him, but who himself lost 4,000 men when he was outmatched by 30,000 soldiers under General Zaragoza, who had been called «The Army of the North».
It was this same army that would later defeat a hundred thousand soldiers sent by Napoleon III to invade Mexico, after having invaded France itself!
In 1862, during the French Intervention in Mexico -also known as the Second Mexican Empire-, Emperor Maximilian granted him control of the city of Veracruz, where he successfully defended it from further attacks until his liberation two years later by insurgents. republicans led by Porfirio Díaz, who became president five times more than thirty years later (1876-1911). When Porfirio Díaz came to power after again defeating the French forces under Napoleon III
Military and political career
During the political disturbances of the 1850s, Zaragoza joined the army that supported the cause of the Liberal Party, in opposition to the dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
During the 1850s, Zaragoza aligned with the liberal forces that favored the Plan of Ayutla.
Mexico’s first serious effort to establish a democratic and constitutional government.
Zaragoza rose to command an army of volunteers in 1855.
Likewise, he defeated Santa Anna and led to the reestablishment of a constitutional democratic government in Mexico.
Zaragoza served as Secretary of War from April to October 1861, in the cabinet of Benito Juárez.
He resigned to lead the Army of the East (Ejército de Oriente) against the Europeans.
Using the Mexican external debt as a pretext under the Treaty of London concluded that same year, they had invaded Mexico.
The Mexican-American War
Ignacio Zaragoza was born in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, in 1829. He was an army general and hero of May 5, a battle that took place between May 5 and 6, 1862.
This battle occurred during the Mexican-American War and involved US troops led by General Jeffery Taylor against the forces of General Zaragoza.
It was a victory for Mexico after having defeated the United States Army at Palo Alto on May 8 and at Resaca de la Palma on May 9 (Marks).
The reason this particular event is significant is because it showed how strong Zaragoza’s army was when compared to theirs, as well as how brave it was to keep fighting despite casualties on both sides (Haley) .
Background
In 1861, France invaded Mexico. The French were fighting for control of Mexico and the Mexicans for their independence.
This battle took place on May 5, 1862 in Puebla, Mexico. It was one of the first battles that showed that the Mexican army could be on a par with any European army of the time.
On May 5, 1862, a small Mexican army led by General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated a much larger French force commanded by General Charles de Lorencez in Puebla.
In what became known as the Battle of Puebla, Zaragoza’s victory was short-lived and ultimately inconsequential, but it was an important milestone in the history of Mexico, which had been under French occupation since 1861.
Battle May 5
The Battle of Puebla was fought on May 5, 1862, between the Army of the Three Guarantees under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza and the French forces led by General Charles Latrille de Lorencez.
The battle occurred when the Republican army was defending their country after the French invaded it in 1861. This battle was one of many fought against France over the course of twenty years that ended Mexico’s independence from France on September 22, 1867.
Consequences
The battle of Puebla is considered one of the most important in the history of Mexico. It was a morale boost for the Mexican army and also helped secure Mexico’s independence from France.
Zaragoza’s victory was instrumental in raising the spirits of his men, who had suffered several defeats before that battle. Also, Zaragoza fought valiantly in this battle against superior numbers.
This earned him great admiration from his peers and from civilians, which increased when he declared himself «general-in-chief» after defeating Mejía in Puebla.
Due to Zaragoza’s contribution to the achievement of the independence of Mexico, President Benito Juárez promoted May 5 as an official holiday, known as «Cinco de Mayo», so that people would remember it every year on this date while it celebrated their freedom and their service in times of war.
Ignacio Zaragoza was a great military leader and a hero of the 5th of May.
The greatest of all was Ignacio Zaragoza, he was a great military leader. Ignacio Zaragoza was a hero of May 5. Ignacio Zaragoza was a hero of the Mexican-American War.
He is also considered one of the heroes of the Mexican Revolution and his statue can be found today in Mexico City, as well as in other cities such as Puebla and Veracruz.
French invasion
In 1863, France invaded Mexico in an attempt to take over the country. Around 3,000 French soldiers landed in Veracruz and quickly headed inland towards Puebla.
However, they met with strong resistance from the Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza.
After several months of fighting in Puebla, Zaragoza defeated the French army at La Carbonera on May 5, 1864. This victory saved Mexico from being taken over by a foreign power and made him one of the greatest heroes in Mexican history.
When the forces of Napoleon III invaded the French intervention in Mexico, Zaragoza’s forces fought them at Acultzingo on April 28, 1862, where he was forced to retreat.
Zaragoza understood the favorable defensive positions outside the city of Puebla, and with a smaller force and not as well equipped as his opponent, he repulsed repeated French attacks against the Mexican positions at Forts Loreto and Guadalupe. The French were forced to withdraw to Orizaba.
Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the much larger French army.
The Battle of Puebla was a turning point in the Franco-Mexican War. The French army that invaded Mexico, under the command of Maximilian, met its match when it faced Ignacio Zaragoza, a Mexican general who was a hero of this battle.
Mexicans celebrated it as an important victory, and it is still remembered today as a patriotic holiday called Cinco de Mayo.
It is also celebrated in France as part of their efforts to remember all the wars they have fought in over the years – from World War I to Vietnam – and, despite losing in Puebla, they were able to push back to the forces that invaded his country for years and decades after this initial defeat.
The other side of this story is how it’s celebrated in the United States: many Americans don’t know much about it because it wasn’t an American victory; but some historians believe that if it weren’t for the victory at Zaragoza, Mexico might have become part of France instead of being independent today.
Background of the Second French intervention
The French invaded Mexico in 1862 but were forced to withdraw a year later. They tried again in 1863 and were defeated once more.
The French were looking for a way to get revenge for losing the Franco-Prussian War (also known as the Seven Weeks War), which ended on May 10, 1871.
The war had left France with heavy losses and many men killed or wounded, so they wanted to expand their empire in an attempt to rebuild their economy and morale.
They also thought they deserved retribution from Germany – their Kaiser Wilhelm I was one of those who led the attack on France during World War I (1914).
In addition to all this suffering at home, there was another reason Napoleon III decided he needed more land: he wanted power over the…