Zaragoza, Ignacio, 1829-1862

Ignacio Zaragoza (b. March 24, 1829–d. September 8, 1862) was a Mexican general and politician. He led the Mexican army that defeated invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Zaragoza was born in the early Mexican Texas village of Bahía del Espíritu Santo (now Goliad, Texas, United States) in what was then the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas. The family moved to Matamoros, Mexico in 1834. During the political unrest of the 1850s, Zaragoza joined the army supporting the cause of the Liberal Party, in opposition to dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna. Zaragoza rose to command an army of volunteers that in 1855 defeated Santa Anna and led to the re-establishment of a constitutional democratic government in Mexico. Zaragoza served as Secretary of War in 1861 and resigned in order to lead the Army of the East (Ejército de Oriente) against the Europeans who had invaded Mexico. Shortly after his famous victory, Zaragoza was struck with typhoid fever, of which he died at the age of 33 in Puebla, Mexico. He was buried in San Fernando Cemetery in Mexico City.