José Antonio Mexía Hernández (; – 3 May 1839) was a 19th-century Mexican general and politician. He served as secretary of the Legation of Mexico in Washington from about 1829 to 1831.

Early life

He was born about 1800 to Pedro Mexía and his wife Juana Josefa Hernández, but his birthplace is debated. According to Mexía himself, his birthplace was Xalapa, Veracruz. Some historians cite records that put his place of birth as

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

.Tucker (2013) p.399 Although details of his early life are scant, he lost his father and brother sometime in the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

and fled to the United States where he became fluent in the English language.

Career

By 1822, Mexía was back living in Mexico and working as an official interpreter for the

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( or ) is the largest of three list of federally recognized tribes, federally recognized tribes of Cherokees in the United States. It includes people descended from members of the Cherokee Nation (1794–1907), Old Cheroke ...

, by appointment of

Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...

president José Félix Trespalacios. Mexía became active in government service as Secretary of State for

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 ...

and the

Tuxpan Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, for Enrique Rodríguez Cano) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 89,557 and of the municipality was 154,600 inhabitants, ...

customs collector. He spent two years as the grand secretary of the

York Rite In Anglo-American Freemasonry, York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named after York, in Yorkshire, England, where the Rite was supposedly first practiced. A Rite is a series of ...

masons Grand Lodge of Mexico, an organization which some in Mexico viewed as having political undertones. Enlisting in the military, he quickly rose to the rank of brigadier general. Mexía was originally a supporter of

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 ...

, who was elected President of Mexico on a Federalist platform. During Mexía's 1832 expedition, he traveled to Texas to quell the rebellion started by the Anahuac Disturbances. As a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the

state of México The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name o ...

, he participated in an 1834 uprising against

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Santa Anna, who had changed his politics to centralism. Two months later, he was captured by centralist forces in

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

and sent into exile. He traveled to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, where he encouraged American

filibuster A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent a decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking ...

s to invade Mexico, recruiting Anglo settlers under the guise of brokering land for them. On November 6, 1835, the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

''Mary Jane'' set sail for

Tampico, Tamaulipas Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

, in the Tampico Expedition. The Americans, realizing they had been tricked, did not support Mexía's plan of inciting another uprising against Santa Anna. Thirty-one men were taken as prisoners, but Mexía managed to escape to Texas. Santa Anna ordered the execution of the prisoners. Three died from illness. In 1839, Mexía joined General

José de Urrea José Cosme de Urrea y Elías González (full name) or simply José de Urrea (March 19, 1797 – August 1, 1849) was a Mexican general. He fought under General Antonio López de Santa Anna during the Texas Revolution. Urrea's forces were never d ...

's rebellion against Santa Anna and was defeated and captured at the Battle of Acajete. For his participation in the rebellion. Mexía was executed by firing squad on May 3, 1839.

Legacy

The town of Mexia, Texas, in Limestone County is part of multiple large land tracts granted to the Mexía family in 1833 by the government of

. When the town was laid out in the 1870s, it was given the Mexía family name.

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References

* * * * *

External links

* * *
Guide to the Mexía Family Papers
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library is the primary special-collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mexia, Jose Antonio Modern Mexico 1800 births 1839 deaths People of the Texas Revolution Mexican generals Governors of Querétaro 19th-century Mexican politicians 19th-century Mexican military personnel Politicians from Veracruz Military personnel from Veracruz