Juan Seguín
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Juan Nepomuceno Seguín (October 27, 1806 – August 27, 1890) was a Spanish-
Tejano Tejanos ( , ) are descendants of Texas Creoles and Mestizos who settled in Texas before its admission as an American state. The term is also sometimes applied to Texans of Mexican descent. Etymology The word ''Tejano'', with a ''J'' instead ...
political and military figure of the
Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...
who helped to establish the independence of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Numerous places and institutions are named in his honor, including the county seat of Seguin in Guadalupe County, the Juan N. Seguin Memorial Interchange in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, 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 San Antonio de Bexar, Province of Texas,
Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
, to Juan José María Erasmo Seguin, a second-generation Bexareño, and Maria Josefa Becerra. 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 An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
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.


Texas Revolution

As a teenager in Mexico, he had a strong interest in politics. While
Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...
repealed the Mexican Constitution of 1824, Seguín was very critical of his contemporary Mexican leader. Years later Seguín gladly joined the Texas Revolution to rid the area of Santa Anna's rule.Todish (1998), p. 109. In 1835–1836, Seguín recruited and commanded troops for the Texian Army.de la Teja (1991), p. 77.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. He was commissioned a captain by Stephen F. Austin in October 1835de la Teja (1991), p. 135. and was tasked with supplying the Texian troops with food and provisions.Edmonson (2000), p. 219. Seguín sent out scouting parties to the Missions of San Antonio in search of a suitable base camp for the Texians Hardin (1994), pg. 29 and participated in the early successful Battle of Concepcion.de la Teja (1991), p. 78. Martín Perfecto de Cos was appointed as military governor over Texas by his brother-in-law
Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...
, and established his headquarters in San Antonio on October 9, 1835. 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.Lozano (1985), p. 34. After a two-month battle, Cos surrendered on December 9. In January 1836, Seguín was commissioned as a captain in the regular Texas army.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 Upon the return of Santa Anna's army, Seguín joined William B. Travis on February 23, in the
Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio L ...
.Groneman (1998), p. 98. Although serving at the
Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...
during the thirteen-day
siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
, he did not actually participate in the final battle of the Alamo.de la Teja (1991), p. 79. He was chosen to carry the Alamo message through enemy lines,Lord (1961), p. 111. that the Texans "shall never surrender or retreat". Seguín got that message through to the other soldiers on the Texian side. He then returned with men to reinforce the
Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...
, but it had already fallen to Santa Anna's army.de la Teja (1991), p. 80. 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.de la Teja (1991), p. 81. His company, with Captain Moseley Baker's company, blocked the Mexican army from crossing the Brazos River, preventing them from overtaking the Texians. His cavalry command, participating as infantry with Sherman's company, fought in the victorious
Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...
.de la Teja (1991), p. 83.Lindley (2003), p. 160. In May 1836, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.Lozano (1985), p. 36. On June 4, as a representative of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
, 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.Matavoina (1995), p. 19. 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. 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". 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 A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...
. Purported to hold the ashes of Travis, Bowie and Crockett, some have doubted it can be proven whose remains are actually entombed there. Seguín was elected as a Texas Senator from 1837 to 1840 and worked closely with Congressman José Antonio Navarro to ensure legislation that would be in the best interest of the citizenry of Texas, who were quickly becoming the political minority. In 1839, Seguín, captain of a Texas force of about fifty-four men, again protected the colonists in the Henry Karnes campaign against the hostile
Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
Indians.Moore (2006), p. 228. In 1839, at a town thirty miles east of San Antonio, he was honored by parade and celebration; that newly named town would now bear his own name, Seguin. In 1840, he resigned his congressional seat in order to join a controversial campaign against the Centralist government in Mexico City. He became mayor of
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
in 1841. Texas became flooded with adventurous and land-hungry North Americans who were unfamiliar with the native Texans' historyEdmonson (2000), p. 412. and their loyal support of Texas.de la Teja (1991), p. 113. Seguin's leadership and loyalty was challenged by these newcomers.Nofi (1992, pp. 85–86. Refusing to burn San Antonio to the ground by order of the new head of the Texas military was just the beginning. In 1842, San Antonio was overrun by Santa Anna's forces. During March 1842, Colonel Seguin and the citizens of San Antonio sought refuge at Manuel Flores' Ranch in the city of Seguin, Texas.de la Teja (1991), p. 116. A counterattack was planned, and even though Seguín pursued the army of Ráfael Vásquez, chasing them from Texas,de la Teja (1991), p. 117. he was deemed to be to blame for the attack.de la Teja (1991), p. 118. Seguín resigned from office in April, due to threats on his life.Groneman (1998), p. 99. Opposition to his defense of Texas rights, adversities, and false charges that he was aiding the Mexican army proved too much to bear. He fled to Mexico to "seek refuge amongst my enemies", where he was captured, arrested and coerced to enlist in the Mexican army as a staff officer. He returned to San Antonio with the opposition army of Adrian Woll in September 1842 and later served under Santa Anna in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
of 1846–1848.


Later life

In February 1848, Seguín requested permission to return to Texas. By the year's end, he had returned,de la Teja (1991), p. 50. building a home in 1852; adjacent to his father Erasmo Seguín's house, and ranching in Floresville, Texas. He was elected to two terms as Justice of the Peace of Bexar County in 1852 and 1854, and became a founding father of the Democratic Party in Bexar county.de la Teja (1991), p. 51. In 1858, he published his life memoirs. Seguín served as 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 Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, Texas, Laredo, United States. The 2010 census popula ...
,
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...
, 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, 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.


Legacy

*1838 – Walnut Springs in
Guadalupe County, Texas Guadalupe County (''Local'' , ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 172,706. The county seat is Seguin. The county was founded in 1846 and is named after the Guadalupe River. Guadalup ...
was renamed Seguin. *1908–2010 – Juan Seguin School (a.k.a. Juan Seguin Elementary School), Guadalupe County, originally established for children of Mexico's refugees from the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...
. *June 13, 2001 – Juan N. Seguin Memorial Interchange, State Highway 225 between Houston and La Porte, HB3460 designated by the 77th Regular Session, 2001 of the Texas State Legislature *June 13, 2001 – Juan N. Seguin Boulevard, Park Road 1836 between Independence Parkway and the San Jacinto Battleground *October 28, 2000 – A statue of Juan N. Seguin sculpted by Erik Christianson of Bulverde was erected in the public square south of the courthouse in the city of Seguin. *War II Liberty Ship , Hull No. 2934. The builder's plaque and ships bell from ''Juan N. Seguin'' hangs inside the city hall in Seguin. * Juan Seguin High School - Arlington ISD. *Juan Seguin Elementary Fort Bend Independent School District *Juan Seguin Elementary, McAllen ISD, McAllen, TX *Juan Seguin Early Childhood Center, Lamar CISD, Richmond, Texas *Juan Seguin Elementary, La Joya Independent School District, Mission, Hidalgo County *2007– Seguin Circl

River Bend Golf Clu

Floresville, Texas Commemorates exact location of the home Juan Seguin built next to his father Erasmo, in Floresville. *October 25, 2014 Juan Seguin Texas Ranger memorial placed near grave in Seguin, Texas dedicated by Former Texas Rangers Associationbr>
*Juan N. Seguin Elementary School in Eagle Pass. Formerly called Robert E. Lee Elementary School. *Juan Nepomuceno Seguin Statue, Statues of Heroes at Alamo Mission, The Alamo, by Enrique "Kiko" Guerra


In popular culture


Film and TV

*1955 – '' The Last Command'', portrayed by Edward Colmans. *1960 – '' The Alamo'', portrayed by
Joseph Calleia Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television. After serving in the Merchant Navy (Un ...
. *1982 – ''
American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...
: Seguin'', portrayed by A Martinez and written by Jesús Salvador Treviño. * 1986 – '' Gone to Texas'' (retitled from ''Houston: The Legend of Texas''), portrayed by Peter Gonzales Falcon. *1987 – '' The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory'', portrayed by Michael Wren. *1988 – '' Alamo: The Price of Freedom'', portrayed by Derek Caballero. *1994 – '' James A. Michener's Texas'', portrayed by Roland Rodriguez. *2004 – '' The Alamo'', portrayed by Jordi Mollà. *2015 – '' Texas Rising'', portrayed by Raúl Méndez


Books

*2012 – The novel '' Los Tejanos and Lost Cause'', a fictionalized imagining of Seguin's perspective on the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...
.


Tejanos who served under Juan Seguín


See also

* Erasmo Seguín, Juan's father


Notes


Footnotes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Seguin Descendants Historical Preservation
* ''Remember the Alamo'', PBS ''American Experience'' (200

Alamo/timeline/1835 * ''The West'', PBS (2001), Juan Segui

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seguin, Juan 1806 births 1890 deaths People of Spanish Texas People of the Texas Revolution Army of the Republic of Texas officers Alamo defenders Alamo survivors Republic of Texas senators Texas Democrats Mayors of San Antonio People from Floresville, Texas People from Laredo, Texas People from Nuevo Laredo People from San Antonio People from Wilson County, Texas Tejano politicians Hispanic and Latino American mayors 19th-century mayors of places in Texas