Luis Pérez Figueroa (1833 – 1903) was a Mexican general who fought in the war of independence that followed the French intervention in Mexico.

Military career

Figueroa was born on 22 March 1833 in

Salvatierra, Guanajuato Salvatierra () is a Mexican city (and municipality) located in the valley of Huatzindeo in the lowlands of the state of Guanajuato. It is rich in civil and religious architecture; haciendas, bridges, convents and large houses surrounded in traditi ...

. He joined the national army at the age of twenty in March 1853 as a second lieutenant in the infantry, and was promoted to first lieutenant in 1855. He played an active role in the war of intervention, fighting successfully against imperial troops in the mountains of Teotitlan and

Tuxtepec San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec (, "on the hill of rabbits"), or simply referred to as Tuxtepec, is the head of the municipality by the same name and is the second most populous city of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tuxtepec District of ...

. He was a signatory to the Plan which defended the town of

. As a colonel, on the 25th of April 1865 he defeated French forces at San Miguel Soyaltepec (now covered by the Miguel Aleman Dam), which was renamed Patriótica Villa de San Miguel Soyaltepec in 1868 in honor of this battle. In 1866 he became a brigadier general, and on 18 October 1866 his brigade fought on the right flank under General

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

in the decisive Battle of La Carbonera. Later he was given command of a division. After the war, the President

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

became suspicious of Porfirio Díaz's ambitions. Figueroa supported Juárez and urged him to appoint loyal governors in Oaxaca,

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

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

, Díaz's power base. Juárez next ordered the disarming of the Oaxacan National Guards. The Zapotecs of the Ixtlan National Guard believed that they had earned the right to bear arms, and felt betrayed by Juárez. At Figueroa's urging, Juárez quietly let the matter rest.

Honors

Figueroa married a

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

n woman and had eight children. He received various awards for his patriotism and courage, including a medal for the assault and capture of Puebla in 1867. He remained in the army for forty years. He died on May 23, 1903, in

Tlalpan Tlalpan ( , 'place on the earth') is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over 80% under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost al ...

in the Federal District of Mexico. His funeral was held with full honors, and was attended by the president of the republic,

Porfirio Diaz Porfirio is a given name in Portuguese and Spanish, derived from the Greek Porphyry (''porphyrios'' "purple-clad"). It can refer to: * Porfirio Salinas – Mexican-American artist * Porfirio Armando Betancourt – Honduran football player * ...

. In his memory, the Oaxaca state government gave his name in October 1904 to the

Acatlán de Pérez Figueroa Acatlán (Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and ...

municipality of the Tuxtepec District, Oaxaca.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figueroa, Luis Perez 1833 births 1903 deaths 19th-century Mexican people Mexican generals People from Salvatierra, Guanajuato Military personnel from Guanajuato