Simón de Herrera y Leyva (1754–1813) was a lifelong political and military professional for Spain, primarily in the lands known as
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
and at times ventured to Europe. He became an interim governor of
Spanish Texas at
San Antonio and a governor of
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
.
Early life and career
Born in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
in 1754, Simón de Herrera started his military career at the early age of nine, joining the Guimar Militia as sub-lieutenant on September 12, 1763. On August 2, 1769, at the age of 15, he had already reached the rank of captain of militia. In 1776, he served in South American ventures capturing Portuguese (now Brazilian) towns and ports.
[Harris Gaylord Warren and Jack D. L. Homes]
"HERRERA, SIMON DE"
''Handbook of Texas Online'' In Spain, he served as special courier to
France and participated in the
Great Siege of Gibraltar
The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had end ...
until 1781.
In 1782, he fought under the command of
Bernardo de Gálvez at
Guárico,
Venezuela, and became acquainted with
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as comman