Ángel García Peña (1856 – November 23, 1928) was a Mexican Major General who served the

Maderistas This is a list of factions in the Mexican Revolution. Carrancistas Revolutionary followers of Venustiano Carranza from 1913 to 1914, and thereafter the Government army from 1914 until his death in 1920. In 1915, an insurgent group known as the ...

during 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 ...

with his most notable role being in the

Ten Tragic Days The Ten Tragic Days () is the name given to the multi-day coup d'état during the Mexican Revolution in Mexico City. It was staged by opponents of Francisco I. Madero, the democratically elected president of Mexico, between 9–19 February 191 ...

Biography

He was born in the city of

Chihuahua City The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...

, Chihuahua in 1856, being the son of Rodrigo García and Guadalupe Peña. On January 2, 1872, he entered the Heroic Military Academy, and on December 4 of 1875 was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant of artillery and two years later in 1877, artillery lieutenant. Little by little he rose and in September 1878 he was part of the General Staff of the 3rd Division; and in 1879, with the rank of captain first, he passed to the Department of the General Staff. In 1880, he was promoted to Major and in 1882 he worked as an assistant to the National Astronomical Observatory at the Equatorial Telescope to study the transit of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

and in the following year, he was appointed a member of the commission that was in charge of discussing the Statistical Regulations. In 1884 the rank of lieutenant colonel was recognized and from July 25 to August 30, 1887, and accompanied by General

Sóstenes Rocha Sóstenes is Spanish and Portuguese for Sosthenes. It may refer to: *Sóstenes Cavalcante Sóstenes Silva Cavalcante (born 16 January 1975) is a Brazilian politician and pastor. Although born in Alagoas, he has spent his political career represe ...

and participated in the Scientific Commission of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, which was in charge of surveying the

Yaqui River The Yaqui River (Río Yaqui in Spanish) (Hiak Vatwe in the Yaqui or Yoreme language) is a river in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. It was formerly known as the Rio del Norte. Being the largest river system in the state of Sonora, th ...

; later he was appointed director of said commission. For several years he participated in the Exploratory Geographical Commission, of which he was director from 1902 to 1912. He also provided his services to the National Artillery Foundry. García Peña had an active participation in the campaigns against the Yaquis that were carried out from 1887 to 1901 and commanded the 11th Battalion of the Mexican National Guard and was head of column in several explorations in the mountains. He also served as inspector of the staff of the first, second and third military zones. For his outstanding performance in the Yaqui War on March 19, 1900, García Peña obtained the honorable mention and on April 16 of the same year, was awards the Decoration of 3rd. Class of the Order of Military Merit. In 1904 he was promoted to Brigadier General. In 1910 and 1911 he fought the

in Chihuahua, and after the fall of the

Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...

he was promoted to brigadier general on September 12, 1911, by agreement of the interim president

Francisco León de la Barra Francisco León de la Barra y Quijano (16 June 1863 – 23 September 1939) was a Mexican political figure and diplomat who served as the 36th President of Mexico from May 25 to November 6, 1911 during the Mexican Revolution, following the resign ...

. In February 1912 he was commissioned to organize an Auxiliary Irregular Battalion of the Federation in

Jalapa Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In 2020 census the city reported a population of 443,063 and the municipality of which it ...

and

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

and on March 5 received from

Francisco I. Madero Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who served as the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in Februa ...

the Secretary of War and Navy in his presidential cabinet. In 1912 the King of Spain,

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French language, French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May ...

, awarded General García Peña the Grand

Cross of Military Merit The Cross of Military Merit () is Spain's military awards for gallantry or merit in war or peace and is awarded to members of the Spanish Armed Forces, Guardia Civil or civilians. History and attribution Established on 3 August 1864 by Queen ...

and on September 11 of that same year he received the rank of general of division. When the events known as the

unleashed, García Peña faced the uprising and on February 9, he attempted to evict a group of rebels who were in the

National Palace Buildings called National Palace include: *National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo * National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador * National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace * National Palace (Guat ...

, but was wounded during the fighting as he was shot through the arm.Ross, Stanley. ''Francisco I. Madero'', ''Apostle of Democracy'', Columbia University Press, New York 1955, p. 284 Upon the triumph of

Victoriano Huerta José Victoriano Huerta Márquez (; 23 December 1850 – 13 January 1916) was a Mexican general, politician, engineer and dictator who was the 39th President of Mexico, who came to power by coup against the democratically elected government of ...

's squads, he requested his retirement from active service, which was granted on March 1, 1913. At that time, García Peña dedicated himself to carrying out private surveying works, but when in April 1914 the government of Huerta sent for him on the notice of the

United States occupation of Veracruz The Battle of Veracruz was a military conflict between the United States and Mexico that took place in the Mexican port city of Veracruz between April 21 to November 23, 1914. The incident occurred in the midst of poor diplomatic relations be ...

, he immediately left in command of a division of five thousand men heading for Perote in order to fight the Americans but was defeated in the battle. When the danger of war dissipated, García Peña again requested his retirement from active service, which this time was granted on July 9, 1914; and during the government of Venustiano Carranza he returned to serve as a military man from 1916 to January 1920, when he permanently retired from arms. García Peña died on November 23, 1928, in Mexico City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peña, Ángel García 1856 births 1928 deaths People of the Mexican Revolution Military personnel from Mexico City People from Chihuahua City Military personnel from Chihuahua (state) 19th-century Mexican military personnel 19th-century generals 20th-century Mexican military personnel Secretaries of defense of Mexico 20th-century Mexican politicians Politicians from Chihuahua (state)