Pedro de Ampudia
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2018) ) |
Pedro Ampudia y Grimarest | |
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Secretary of National Defense | |
In office April 29, 1860 – September 20, 1860 | |
President | Benito Juárez |
Preceded by | José G. de Partearroyo |
Succeeded by | Ignacio de la Llave |
Personal details | |
Born | Havana, Captaincy General of Cuba (today Cuba) | January 30, 1805
Died | August 7, 1868 Mexico City, Mexico | (aged 63)
Profession | Military |
Pedro Nolasco Martín José María de la Candelaria Francisco Javier Ampudia y Grimarest (January 30, 1805 – August 7, 1868) was born in
Ampudia began his career in the Spanish army, and emigrated to
Briefly appointed as commander-in-chief of the Mexican Army of the North in 1846, Ampudia was removed from command following the brutal public execution of a local guerrilla leader on his personal orders. As a conservador (a member of Mexico's conservative faction), Ampudia was quickly relegated to a staff position in favor of his liberal rival, General Mariano Arista. At the Battle of Palo Alto, Ampudia harshly criticized Arista for what he saw as "unacceptable tactical blunders" and continued his criticism at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma – a defeat for which Arista partially blamed him.
During the long retreat south, Ampudia was appointed commander-in-chief of the Army of the North, in time to command Mexican forces at the
- "The men will brook no further retreat in the face of the enemy."
After a skilled defense of the city, Ampudia found American forces entered from the west and east. Trapped in the city plaza and bombarded by U.S. forces with howitzers, general Ampudia chose to request a flag of truce and retreat his battered army. His arrangement with Zachary Taylor allowed the Army of the North to keep its weapons but march as far south as possible and neglect offensive operations for three months. At Saltillo, Ampudia attempted to throw up a defense similar to that at Monterrey, but the inhabitants of the city would have none of it. His failure to defend that city led to his removal by Santa Anna, and like his former superior, Arista, Ampudia found himself spending most of the rest of the war in administrative duties, though he was in command of portions of the Mexican artillery at the Battle of Buena Vista in 1847.
Despite his controversial retreat at Monterrey, Ampudia remained popular in Mexican folklore as "the only man who could defeat Taylor." After the war, Ampudia's policies became gradually more liberal, so that he supported the government of
See also
- Battles of the Mexican–American War
- History of Mexico
- History of Nuevo León
- Mexican–American War
References
- Bauer, K. Jack, "The Mexican–American War, 1846–1848"
- Miguel Ángel Peral, ed., "Diccionario Biográfico Mexicano"
External links
- Pedro Ampudia at A Continent Divided: The U.S.-Mexico War, Center for Greater Southwestern Studies, the University of Texas at Arlington