| Juan Nepomuceno Seguín | |
|---|---|
Juan Seguín |
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| Born | 27 October 1806 San Antonio, Texas |
| Died | 27 August 1890 (aged 83) Nuevo Laredo, Mexico |
| Allegiance | The Republic of Texas |
| Service/branch | Texian Army, Republic of Texas Militia, Republic of Texas Army |
| Years of service | 1835-1836, 1836-1842 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | Texian volunteer and regular army |
| Battles/wars |
Battle of Concepcion |
Juan Nepomuceno Seguín (October 27, 1806 – August 27, 1890) was a 19th-century Texas Senator, Mayor, Judge, and Justice of the Peace and a prominent participant in the Texas Revolution.
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Juan Seguín was born in San Antonio de Bexar on October 27, 1806. He was the older of two sons of Erasmo Seguín and María Josefa Becerra. As the son of a postmaster, he would assist his mother in the business, while his father was off writing the Mexican Constitution of 1824. In 1825, he married María Gertrudis Flores de Abrego. They had ten children. He was elected an alderman in December, 1828 and served on numerous electoral boards before becoming the San Antonio alcalde (mayor) in December 1833. He then served as political chief of Bexar in 1834, when the previous chief became ill. In 1835, he led a relief force to Monclova, when the Federalist Governor appealed for help.
As a teenager in Mexico, he had a strong interest in politics. When, Antonio López de Santa Anna repealed the Mexican Constitution of 1824, he was very critical of his contemporary Mexican leader and gladly joined the Texas Revolution to rid Texas of Santa Anna's rule.[1] In 1835-1836, Seguin recruited and commanded troops for the Texian Army.[2] [Note 1] He was commissioned a captain by Stephen F. Austin in October 1835[3] and would be tasked with the burden of supplying the Texian troops with food and provisions.[4] Juan sent out scouting parties to the Missions of San Antonio in search of a suitable base camp for the Texians [5] and participated in the early successful Battle of Concepcion[6] and the 2 month long, Siege of Bexar,[7] that drove the troops of Santa Anna out of Texas.
In January 1836, he was commissioned as a Captain in the regular Texas army.[Note 2] Upon the return of Santa Anna's army, Juan would join William B. Travis on February 23, in the battle of the Alamo.[8] Although serving at the Alamo, during the thirteen day siege, he did not actually participate in the final battle of the Alamo [9] but was a very significant part of the battle of San Jacinto.[10] Because Seguín spoke some English and Spanish, he was chosen to carry the Alamo message through enemy lines,[11] that the Texans "shall never surrender or retreat." Seguín got that message through to the other soldiers, on the Texian side.[9] He then returned with men to reinforce the Alamo, but it had already fallen to Santa Anna's army.[12]
After becoming a Republic, he would be the head of the San Antonio military, commanding a force to defend the western frontier.[13] In 1837, Colonel Seguín would direct the burial of the ashes of the slain Alamo defenders.[8][14] In 1839, Seguín, captain of a Texas force of about fifty-four men would again protect the colonists in the Henry Karnes campaign against the hostile Comanche Indians.[15]
Seguín was elected as a Texas Senator from 1837 to 1840 and worked closely with Congressman José Antonio Navarro, to ensure legislation that would be in the best interest of the citizenry of Texas, who were quickly becoming the political minority. In 1839, at a town thirty miles east of San Antonio, he was honored by parade and celebration. That newly named town would now bear his own name, Seguin. In 1840, he resigned his congressional seat in order to join a controversial campaign against the Centralist government in Mexico City.[1] Juan became mayor of San Antonio in 1841.
Texas became flooded by adventurous and land hungry North Americans that were unfamiliar with the native Texan's history[16] and their loyal support of Texas.[17] His leadership and loyalty would be challenged by these newcomers.[18] Refusing to burn San Antonio to the ground by order of the new head of the Texas military was just the beginning.[8]
In 1842, San Antonio would be overrun twice, by Santa Anna's forces. During March 1842, Colonel Seguin and the citizens of San Antonio would seek refuge at Manuel Flores Ranch in the city of Seguin, Texas.[19] A counter attack was planned and even though Seguín had pursued the army of Ráfael Vásquez, chasing them from Texas;[20] he was doomed to be blamed for the attack.[21]
Seguín would resign from office in April, due to threats on his life.[22] Opposition to his defense of Texas rights, adversities, and false charges that he was aiding the Mexican army, proved too much to bear. He fled to Mexico to "seek refuge amongst my enemies," where he was captured, arrested and coerced to enlist in the Mexican army as a staff official. He would return to San Antonio with the opposition army of Adrian Woll[22] in September 1842 and later served under Santa Anna in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848.
In February 1848, Juan requested permission to return to Texas. By years end, he had returned to Texas,[23] establishing a home adjacent his father Erasmo Seguin's house, and ranching in Floresville, Texas.[18] He was elected to two terms as Justice of the Peace of Bexar County in 1852 and 1854. He became a founding father of the Democratic Party in Bexar county.[24] [Note 3] In 1858, he published his life memoirs. Seguin served as County Judge in Wilson County in 1869. However, business dealings occasionally took him back to Mexico. And around 1883, he settled in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to be near his son Santiago, who was mayor. He died there on August 27, 1890. His remains were returned to Texas in 1974 and reinterred in his namesake town, Seguin,[8] during ceremonies on July 4, 1976. A large monument, depicting him on horseback waiving his saber, now honors his service to Texas, in the downtown Seguin Central Park.[25]
In 1838, the city of Seguin, was named for him and there he rode on horseback, in a parade, celebrating the event.
Over the years, the attitude to Juan Seguin was mixed. On one hand, he was recognized as the Alamo hero, on the other, he was often labeled as traitor, both by Texans and Mexicans.[26]
In the 1960 film The Alamo (by John Wayne), Joseph Calleia played Juan Seguin, a San Antonio political figure who leads Texas volunteers to help defend the Alamo.
In the second half of the 20th century, interest in Juan Seguin grew. He was portrayed in the TV drama: American Playhouse: Seguin (1982), directed by Jesús Salvador Treviño, where he was played by A. Martinez.[27]
In the 2004 film The Alamo (by John Lee Hancock), Juan Seguin was played by Jordi Molla. Playing as a supporting character, his role in the film was important, because the director considered this character as a "moral bellwether of the story".[28]
In a September 2001 ceremony, Park Road 1836, which connects Battleground Road (formerly Texas State Highway 134) to the San Jacinto Monument Grounds near Houston, was renamed in Seguin's honor and the Interstate 610/Texas State Highway 225 interchange in southeast Houston was bestowed with the name of "Juan N. Seguin Memorial Interchange."[29]
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| Preceded by José Francisco Ruiz 1836-1837 Thomas Jefferson Green (1837 -25 days only) |
Republic of Texas Senate Republic of Texas Senator from Bexar District Juan Seguín 1837-1840 |
Succeeded by William H. Daingerfield 1840-1842 |