José de Urrea

José de Urrea (19 March 1797 – 1 August 1849) was a noted general for the Republic of Mexico. He fought under General Antonio López de Santa Anna during the Texas Revolution. Urrea's forces were never defeated in battle. His most notable success was that of the Goliad Campaign, in which James Fannin's ca. 400 soldiers were surrounded and induced to capitulate under terms, but were massacred in Urrea's absence on the orders of Santa Anna. ["The Goliad Massacre", [http://www.presidiolabahia.org/massacre.htm Presidio La Bahia] , Goliad, Texas, Presidio Nuestra Senora De Loreto De La Bahia, Friends of the Fort website, accessed 28 Oct 2006"]

Early life

Urrea was born at El Presidio de San Augustín de Tucson (present day Tucson, Arizona). Despite being born on the northern frontier of Mexico, his family had deep roots in the state of Durango.

Military career

In 1807 Urrea entered the Spanish army as a cadet, becoming a lieutenant in 1816. In 1824 he rose to the rank of captain, but he resigned from the army and entered private life. In 1829 he rejoined the military as a major and helped to liberate the city of Durango, allying himself with Antonio López de Santa Anna. He was promoted to colonel for his actions. In 1835 he reluctantly took part in Santa Anna's attack on the state of Zacatecas (the state had openly rebelled against his rise to power). He was promoted to Brigadier General for his role in this.

Texas Rebellion

When the Mexican state of Texas also rebelled against Santa Anna's Federalist government, Urrea was sent there to help put down the colonists. He defeated the Texas forces at the Battle of San Patricio, Battle of Refugio, Goliad and Battle of Coleto. The last, also known as the "Goliad Massacre", included the deliberate slaughter of Texans who had surrendered. The execution of prisoners, however, was not Urrea's choice, but an order by General Santa Anna.

Due to Urrea's string of victories, Santa Anna decided to stay in Texas and personally finish off the rebellious Texas government. His motives were personal and politicalFact|date=November 2007 as Urrea was getting all the headlines and would be seen back in Mexico as a more popular figure.

Aftermath

The military defeat of Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacinto resulted in Santa Anna's capture and him being forced to order all Mexican forces to withdraw from Texas soil. Urrea was infuriated and after linking up with Vicente Filisola's forces, wanted to continue the war against the Texans since the Mexicans still had over 500 troops in Texas against less then 900 of Sam Houston's Texans. But Urrea and Filisola had no choice but to comply with Santa Anna's orders, and by June, Urrea and all Mexican forces had withdrawn from Texas. In 1837, Urrea turned against Santa Anna upon his return to Mexico, and fought against him at the Battle of Mazatlán in 1838. The attempted uprising resulted in his eventual arrest, and he was sent Perote Prison.cite encyclopedia
title = Urrea, José de
author = Ohlendorf, Shelia M.
encyclopedia = Handbook of Texas Online
volume =
pages =
publisher = Texas State Historical Association
date =
id =
url = http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/UU/fur2.html
accessdate = 2007-11-07] He later briefly revived his military career with the invasion of French forces of Mexico, but another failed coup attempt followed.

The Mexican-American War saw Urrea leading a cavalry division against invading American troops. Urrea died of cholera soon after the war ended.

ee also

*Timeline of the Texas Revolution

References

External links

*

Further reading

*Hoyt, Edwin P.;"The Alamo-An Illustrated History"; Taylor Publishing; ISBN 0-87833-288-X