1. Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin was a Mexican Army officer and politician.
17 Facts About Ignacio Zaragoza
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Ignacio Zaragoza is best known for leading a Mexican army of 3,791 men which defeated a 5,730-strong force of French troops at the battle of Puebla on May 5,1862 during the second French intervention in Mexico.
3.
Ignacio Zaragoza was the son of Miguel G Zaragoza and Maria de Jesus Seguin, who was a niece of Erasmo Seguin and cousin of Juan Seguin.
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Ignacio Zaragoza's father met his mother while on duty and stationed at Bexar in 1825.
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The Zaragoza family moved to Matamoros in 1834 and then to Monterrey in 1844, where young Ignacio entered a seminary.
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Between the years 1846 and 1850, Ignacio Zaragoza spent his time working in the mercantile business.
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In 1852, as a member of the Mexican Liberal Party, Ignacio Zaragoza got his first government opportunity when he was offered a position in the national guard.
8.
Ignacio Zaragoza joined the army supporting the cause of the Liberal Party, in opposition to dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
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Ignacio Zaragoza was so committed to his cause that he even missed his wedding, in order to stay and lead his army to victory.
10.
In 1862, with the abrupt death of his wife and the need for generals in the military to help his country fight France in the Mexican east, Ignacio Zaragoza decided to resign in order to lead the Army of the East against the Europeans, in particular the French, who were using the Mexican external debt as a pretext under the Treaty of London concluded earlier that year to invade Mexico.
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Ignacio Zaragoza fell back to the favorable defensive forts outside of the city of Puebla, and with his ragtag army, beat back repeated French assaults upon the Mexican positions at Fort Loreto and Fort Guadalupe.
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Ignacio Zaragoza held firm ordering several counter attacks and held the gates to the capital.
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Ignacio Zaragoza then took the initiative and ordered a general counter attack pushing the French in a general retreat to Orizaba with Zaragoza's men in pursuit.
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Shortly after his famous victory, Ignacio Zaragoza was struck with typhoid fever, of which he died at the age of 33.
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Ignacio Zaragoza was buried in San Fernando Cemetery in Mexico City.
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Ignacio Zaragoza was later exhumed and transferred to Puebla, while his former tomb became a monument.
17.
Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza is one of the main avenues of Mexico City, crossing the city from center to the southeast, and at its intersection with Avenida Rio Churubusco it becomes Mexican Federal Highway 150D.