José Benito Patricio Gabriel López Uraga was a 19th century Mexican general. He participated and fought in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, the

Reform War The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...

and the

Second French intervention in Mexico The Second French Intervention in Mexico ( es, Segunda intervención francesa en México), also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was an invasion of Mexico, launched in late 1862 by the Second French Empire, which hoped to ...

. He also served as the Mexican ambassador to Germany from April 13, 1853 to November 12, 1855.

Biography

He was born in Valladolid (modern-day

Morelia, Michoacán Morelia (; from 1545 to 1828 known as Valladolid) is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Morelia in the north-central part of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. The city is in the Guayangareo Valley and is the capital and larg ...

) on March 17, 1808, as the son of José Benito López Fernández and María de la Luz Uraga y Gutiérrez. He participated in the

and initially participated in the

Battle of Palo Alto The Battle of Palo Alto ( es, Batalla de Palo Alto) was the first major battle of the Mexican–American War and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles (8 km) from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas. A force of som ...

. He was then given command of the , the only external fort that was not taken by the Americans during the

Battle of Monterrey In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers and ...

and when General

Pedro Ampudia Pedro Nolasco Martín José María de la Candelaria Francisco Javier Ampudia y Grimarest (January 30, 1805 – August 7, 1868) was born in Havana, Cuba, and served Mexico as a Northern army officer for most of his life. At various points he was ...

ordered López to hand over the fortress and he had no choice but to do so, even if he personally disagreed. He then promoted the Tolimán Plan but after being captured, he fled to the United States. When the

broke out, López returned to side with the Liberals but lost a leg in combat and was taken prisoner in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

by the Conservatives. López was praised by General

Pedro Ogazón Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning " ...

for his services rendered at

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

. He also manged to capture the village of Camargo on November 29, 1851. Once released on April 13, 1853, he was granted the position of Ambassador to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, presenting his credentials as ambassador of Mexico to the King of Prussia,

Friedrich Wilhelm IV Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

on September 3, 1853 and on October 23, 1853, he established relations with the King of Saxony,

Johann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

, ending his diplomatic mission on November 12, 1855. On 1857, Don

Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...

granted López the

Islas Marías The Islas Marías ("Mary Islands") are an archipelago of four islands that belong to Mexico. They are located in the Pacific Ocean, some off the coast of the mexican state, state of Nayarit and about southeast of the tip of Baja California. The ...

with the condition of not selling or renting them to any foreign power. At the start of the

, he commanded the Army of the East. On February 9, 1862, he was removed from office and replaced by

Ignacio Zaragoza Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (; March 24, 1829September 8, 1862) was a Mexican general and politician. He led the Mexican army of 600 men that defeated 6,500 invading French forces, including the elite French legionnaires at the Battle of Puebla ...

. In 1864, he was the commanding general in Jalisco and general in chief of the Army of the Center but after having personal conflicts with Colonel Antonio Rojas, he returned to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. On July 26 of that year, he switched sides to side with the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

. When

Carlota of Mexico Charlotte of Belgium (''Marie Charlotte Amélie Augustine Victoire Clémentine Léopoldine''; 7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), known by the Spanish version of her name, Carlota, was by birth a Princess of Belgium and member of the House of ...

left for Europe to seek support for her husband, López Uraga went with her as an escort, a fact that caused him to be considered a traitor to the country and revoked his ownership of the Islas Marías. After the victory of the Republicans and due to the Amnesty Law issued by the government of Don Benito Juárez, the former General López Uraga recovered ownership of the Islas Marías in 1878. The islands were then sold in 1879 to Don Manuel Carpena, a resident of

Tepic Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexican state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above sea level, on the banks of the Río Mo ...

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

for 45,000 pesos. Later López lived in exile, dying in San Francisco, California on February 4, 1885.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:López Uraga, José 1808 births 1885 deaths Liberalism in Mexico Mexican generals Mexican monarchists Politicians from Nuevo León Military personnel from Michoacán Second French intervention in Mexico 19th-century Mexican military personnel 19th-century Mexican politicians Exiled Mexican politicians