Juan Seguín

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Juan Seguín
County Judge of Wilson County, Texas
In office
1869–1869
Personal details
Born
Juan Nepomuceno Seguín

(1806-10-27)27 October 1806
San Antonio de Béjar, Province of Texas, Viceroyalty of New Spain
(now Texas, U.S.)
Died27 August 1890(1890-08-27) (aged 83)
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Political partyDemocratic Party
Spouse
María Gertrudis Flores de Abrego
​
​
(m. 1825)​
Military service
AllegianceTexas Republic of Texas
Mexico
Branch/serviceTexas Texian Army
Army of the Republic of Texas
Mexican Army (Mexican–American War)
Years of service1835–1836, 1836–1842 (Texas)
1846–1848 (Mexico)
RankColonel
UnitTexian volunteer and regular army
Battles/warsTexas Revolution
Juan Seguin's "Rancheros" Volunteers
Flag used by Juan Seguin's Volunteers during the Siege of the Alamo
Active1835–1836
CountryRepublic of Texas
AllegianceRepublic of Texas
Typevolunteers (militia)
Rolecavalry, infantry
Size160
Part ofTexian Army
EngagementsTexas Revolution
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston
Juan Seguín
William Travis †
James Bowie †
Davy Crockett †

Juan Nepomuceno Seguín (October 27, 1806 – August 27, 1890) was a

Houston, Juan Seguin Monument in Seguin, World War II Liberty Ship SS Juan N. Seguin, Seguin High School in Arlington
.

Early life

Juan Nepomuceno Seguin was born on October 27, 1806, in

Juan José María Erasmo Seguin and Maria Josefa Becerra (Spaniards from the Canary Islands). As the son of a postal administrator, he would help his mother in business, while his father was one of the drafting rapporteurs for the Mexican Constitution of 1824. In 1825, Seguin married María Gertrudis Flores de Abrego. They had ten children. He was elected an alderman in December, 1828 and served on numerous electoral boards before becoming the San Antonio alcalde (mayor) in December 1833. He then served as political chief of Bexar in 1834, when the previous chief became ill. In 1835, he led a relief force to Monclova, when the Federalist Governor appealed for help.[1]

Texas Revolution

Main article: Texas Revolution

As a teenager in Mexico, he had a strong interest in politics. While

Battle of Concepcion.[7]

Martín Perfecto de Cos was appointed as military governor over Texas by his brother-in-law Antonio López de Santa Anna, and established his headquarters in San Antonio on October 9, 1835.[8] Upwards of 160 rancheros (Mexican ranch owners) and other Tejanos under Seguín, José Carbajal, Plácido Benavides, Salvador Flores and Manuel Leal joined Austin and approximately 400 Texians at the Siege of Béxar.[9][10][11] After a two-month battle, Cos surrendered on December 9.[12]

In January 1836, Seguín was commissioned as a captain in the regular Texas army.

Alamo, but it had already fallen to Santa Anna's army.[16]

Tejano Mexican ranch owners or "Rancheros" who joined the Texian Army to fight Mexico in the Texas Revolution
of 1835–1836.

After the Alamo, he re-formed cavalry companies at Gonzales and acted as the rear guard, providing protection for fleeing Texas families during the Runaway Scrape.[17] His company, with Captain Moseley Baker's company, blocked the Mexican army from crossing the Brazos River, preventing them from overtaking the Texians.[13] His cavalry command, participating as infantry with Sherman's company, fought in the victorious Battle of San Jacinto.[18][19] In May 1836, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.[20] On June 4, as a representative of the Republic of Texas, he accepted the formal surrender of the Mexican forces in the Alamo.

Life under the Republic of Texas

After Texas became a Republic, he was the head of the San Antonio military, commanding a force to defend the western frontier.[21] Texas army Brigadier General Felix Huston ordered Seguín in early 1837 to arrange for burial of the Alamo defenders' remains that had been left where they were burned. Ashes were identified and collected at three unrecorded sites. Prior to the February 25 funeral, the casket lay in "the parish church". An account provided by Seguin, in the March 28, 1837 issue of the Telegraph and Texas Register, states they were buried where the majority of ashes had been found, but was not specific about the location.[22] He told historian Reuben Potter in 1861 that the site was in a peach orchard near the mission. Twenty-eight years later in correspondence with Hamilton P. Bee, Seguín remembered placing the remains in a tomb inside the "Cathedral of San Antonio".[23] Remains believed to be those of the Alamo defenders were discovered at the Cathedral of San Fernando in 1936, the battle's centennial. Time had decayed their original container, and they were re-interred in a marble sarcophagus. Purported to hold the ashes of Travis, Bowie and Crockett, some have doubted it can be proven whose remains are actually entombed there.[23]

Seguín was elected as a Texas Senator from 1837 to 1840 and worked closely with Congressman

San Antonio
in 1841.

Texas became flooded with adventurous and land-hungry North Americans who were unfamiliar with the native Texans' history[26] and their loyal support of Texas.[27] Seguin's leadership and loyalty was challenged by these newcomers.[28] Refusing to burn San Antonio to the ground by order of the new head of the Texas military was just the beginning.[13]

In 1842, San Antonio was overrun by

Ráfael Vásquez, chasing them from Texas,[30] he was deemed to be to blame for the attack.[31]

Seguín resigned from office in April, due to threats on his life.

Adrian Woll[32] in September 1842 and later served under Santa Anna in the Mexican–American War
of 1846–1848.

Later life

In February 1848, Seguín requested permission to return to Texas. By the year's end, he had returned,

County Judge in Wilson County in 1869. However, business dealings occasionally took him back to Mexico, and in around 1883 he settled in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to be near his son Santiago, who was mayor. He died there on August 27, 1890. His remains were returned to Texas in 1974 and as part of the nation's Bicentennial celebration were reinterred in his namesake town, Seguin,[36] during ceremonies on July 4, 1976. A large monument, depicting him on horseback waving his saber, now honors his service to Texas, in the downtown Seguin Central Park.[37]

Legacy

A statue of Juan Seguín in the City of Seguin.

In popular culture

Film and TV

Books

Tejanos who served under Juan Seguín

Tejano volunteers under Juan Seguín

Tejano volunteers under the command of Juan Seguín for all or part of their service in the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas. Note that Seguin's men at the Alamo were scouts/couriers going in and out, between San Antonio and nearby Gonzales
, the rallying point for volunteers.

Sources:


See also

Notes

Footnotes

  1. ^ Juan Seguin married María Gertrudis Flores de Abrego, a member of one of San Antonio's well known ranching families. There were four Jose Flores De Abrego sons, (brothers-in-law to Juan Seguin), who joined in with him. (see de la Teja (1991), p. 18) Captain Salvador Flores, Captain Manuel N. Flores, Lieutenant Nepomuceno Flores, and Private Jose Maria Flores all participated in the Texas Revolution, on the Texian side.
  2. ^ According to records, Seguin did not appear at the Convention to accept his appointment in the regular army; Jesus (Comanche) Cuellar filled in for him. He instead took the position to become the first judge of San Antonio. According to Lindley, he was not regular army until after departing from the Alamo as a courier on February 25. See de la Teja pg.79, Lindley pg.113

Citations

  1. ^ Teja, Jesús F. de la. "Juan Nepumuceno Seguin". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  2. ^ Todish (1998), p. 109.
  3. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 77.
  4. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 135.
  5. ^ Edmonson (2000), p. 219.
  6. ^ Hardin (1994), pg. 29
  7. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 78.
  8. ^ Menchaca, Poche, Matovina, de la Teja (2013), p. 63
  9. ^ Lozano (1985), p. 34.
  10. ^ Zamora, Orozco, Rocha (2000), pp. 35–49 Occupied Texas: Béxar and Goliad, 1835–1836 (Paul D. Lack)
  11. ^ Poyo (1996), p. 53, Efficient in the Cause (Stephen L. Harden)
  12. ^ "Surrender terms signed by General Cos and General Burleson at San Antonio, December 11, 1835". Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  13. ^ a b c Groneman (1998), p. 98.
  14. ^ a b de la Teja (1991), p. 79.
  15. ^ Lord (1961), p. 111.
  16. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 80.
  17. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 81.
  18. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 83.
  19. ^ Lindley (2003), p. 160.
  20. ^ Lozano (1985), p. 36.
  21. ^ Matavoina (1995), p. 19.
  22. ^ "Telegraph and Texas Register May 28, 1837". The Portal to Texas History. Texas State Historical Association. 28 March 1837. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  23. ^
    JSTOR 30236392
    .
  24. ^ Moore (2006), p. 228.
  25. ^ Todish (1998), p. 109-110.
  26. ^ Edmonson (2000), p. 412.
  27. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 113.
  28. ^ a b Nofi (1992, pp. 85–86.
  29. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 116.
  30. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 117.
  31. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 118.
  32. ^ a b Groneman (1998), p. 99.
  33. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 50.
  34. ^ a b survey, historic american buildings. "Juan N. Seguin Ranch House, Northwest of Floresville, Floresville, Wilson County, TX". Library of Congress.
  35. ^ de la Teja (1991), p. 51.
  36. ^ Groneman (1999), p. 99.
  37. ^ Visit Seguin, Texas
  38. ^ Gesick, John. "Seguin, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  39. ^ "History of Seguin". City of Seguin, Texas. City of Seguin, Texas. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  40. ^ "Juan Seguin School, Guadalupe County". Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  41. ^ "Juan N. Seguin Memorial Interchange". Texas State Legislature. State of Texas. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  42. ^ a b "Texas Memorial Highway System". Texas Dept. of Transportation. State of Texas. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  43. ^ "Seguin Salute". Texas Highways. Texas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  44. ^ "2934 – Juan N. Seguin". American Merchant Marine at War. USMM. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  45. ^ "Juan Seguin High School". Juan Seguin High School. Arlington ISD. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  46. ^ "School Districts in Fort Bend County". Texas Education Agency. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  47. ^ "Juan Seguin Elementary / Homepage".
  48. ^ "Juan Seguin Elementary | Home".
  49. ^ "Seguin Early Childhood Center".
  50. ^ "Elementary Schools Directory". La Joya ISD. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  51. ^ "The Last Command (1955)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  52. ^ "The Alamo". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  53. ^ Brode, Parker (2009) pp.212–213
  54. JSTOR 25744068
    .
  55. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  56. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  57. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  58. IMDb Edit this at Wikidata
  59. ^ "The Alamo 2004". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  60. ^ "Review: History Channel's 'Texas Rising' beautifully shot but lacks accuracy". Daily News. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  61. ISBN 978-1606995044
    .
  62. ^ "Jack Jackson's American History: Los Tejanos Lost Cause". Goodreads. Retrieved 19 March 2023.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juan Seguin.
Political offices
Preceded by
José Francisco Ruiz
1836–1837
Thomas Jefferson Green
1837 (25 days only)
 Republic of Texas Senate
Republic of Texas Senator from Bexar District
Juan Seguín
1837–1840 		Succeeded by
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