Santos Benavides

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Santos Benavides
Born(1823-11-01)November 1, 1823
Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexican Republic
DiedJanuary 9, 1891(1891-01-09) (aged 67)
Laredo, Texas, U.S.
Place of burial
Laredo, Texas
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Service/branch Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–65 (CSA)
Rank Colonel (CSA)
Commands held33rd Texas Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars
Other work
rancher

Santos Benavides (November 1, 1823 – November 9, 1891) was a

Tejano soldier in the Confederate military.[1]

Republic of the Rio Grande Capitol Building Museum
in Laredo
Entrance to Colonel Santos Benavides Elementary School in the Winfield subdivision of Laredo, Texas

Biography

Benavides was born in

County Judge in 1859.[2]
He was a Captain of the 33rd Texas Cavalry, also called Benavides's Regiment, until he was promoted to Colonel in November 1863.

Colonel Santos Benavides became the highest ranking Tejano officer in the Confederate Army. There are instances of him acting as a slave catcher, venturing into Mexico and retrieving runaway slaves and returning them to their masters, for which he was compensated.[3]

On May 22, 1861, at the

Second Cortina War), and drove him back into Mexico. Probably his greatest contribution to the Confederacy was securing passage of Confederate cotton to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, in 1863. Due to the Union blockade of ports along the Gulf of Mexico, shipping cotton to Mexico was one of the few ways the Confederacy was able to earn needed cash. On March 18, 1864, Major Alfred Holt led a force of about two hundred men of the Union First Texas Cavalry who were stationed near Brownsville, Texas under the command of Colonel Edmund J. Davis, who had earlier offered Benavides a Union generalship. Their mission was to destroy five thousand bales of cotton stacked at the San Agustín Plaza in Laredo. Colonel Benavides commanded 42 men and repelled three Union attacks at the Zacate Creek in what is known as the Battle of Laredo.[4] Colonel Benavides secured passage of the 5,000 cotton bales into Mexico.[5] In May 1865, Benavides's regiment participated in the last land battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Palmito Ranch
.

After the

ranching activities and remained active in politics. He served three terms in the Texas State Legislature from 1879 to 1885.[6]
He died in Laredo and is buried there.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Who is the Confederate Tejano Tiger?". 23 November 2017.
  2. ^ Jerry Thompson, "BENAVIDES, SANTOS," Handbook of Texas Online, accessed May 28, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  3. ^ "Mexican-Americans in the Civil War".
  4. ^ Webb County Heritage Foundation; War on the Rio Grande
  5. ^ Handbook of Texas Online; Colonel Santos Benavides (accessed November 25, 2008)
  6. ^ Legislative Reference Library of Texas: Santos Benavides

External links