Vicente Filisola (sometimes Vicente Filísola, with an accent) (b. ca. 1789, Ravello, Italy - d. July 23, 1850, Mexico City) was a Spanish military figure, Mexican military and political figure in the 19th century.
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He joined the Spanish army on March 17, 1804, fighting in many battles of the Napoleonic Wars. He later served in New Spain (Mexico) in 1811. As a supporter of Agustin de Iturbide, who declared himself emperor of Mexico, he became a brigadier general in command of the Army of the Three Guarantees. Emperor Iturbide sent him to Central America to ensure its inclusion in the Mexican Empire. This he did, but when Iturbide fell in 1823 and Mexico was declared a republic, Central America (except for Chiapas) declared independence from Mexico.[1]
As a governor of Mexico, he occupied Guatemala City after the formation of the Federal Republic of Central America and was successful in annexing El Salvador in 1823, causing an uprising there. In compliance with the Mexican constitution, Filisola convened the Central American congress which forthwith declared its independence from Mexico. Filisola was not able to maintain a fighting force, and his troops were sent back to Mexico by the residents of Guatemala City who paid for their transportation.
Filisola received a colonization grant in October, 1831, to bring six hundred non-Anglo-American families into east Texas. In 1833, he became commander of the Eastern Provincias Internas (Eastern Interior Provinces).[2]
In 1836, Antonio López de Santa Anna commissioned Filisola as his second-in-command during his fight for Texas. Filisola never had to command any decisive battles in the Texas Revolution, but was left trailing Santa Anna as the Mexican leader sped forward. At the Guadalupe River, Filisola was left in charge of the troops moving the heavy military equipment, supply wagons, and livestock across Texas. Moving the bulk of the army over rain-soaked land and numerous flooded crossings, proved to be logistically fatal. While Santa Anna quickly proceeded toward Sesma and the Colorado River, Filisola with the rear guard, was mired down in mud, low on food, short on supplies, and exhausted. He was left to delegate the orders issued by Santa Anna.
Filisola's dispatches to Santa Anna were captured by Sam Houston's men and this led directly to the battle. While Santa Anna was preoccupied with the attempt to the capture the new republic's officials, Filisola was instructed to wait for Colonel Amat's , General Gaona's, and Sesma forces to converge. Then, locate a crossing, establish a camp and take 500 men, cross, find, attack, and defeat the Texians and then cross the Brazos with the reminder of the army and supplies and proceed to form a camp at Harrisburg.
Vicente Filisola was somewhere between San Felipe and Fort Bend, with about 1000 men, (after dispatching General Cos with 500 men to reinforce Santa Anna), when Santa Anna was captured by the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto. Captain Miguel Aguirre, a wounded officer from Santa Anna’s guard, of the Tampico Regiment, made his way to Filisola’s camp on the Brazos, with word of the total demise of the Mexican army at San Jacinto. A few more locals and soldiers trickled in and also confirmed and much exaggerated their defeat. Filisola did not have any knowledge if Santa Anna was still even alive, thus he was unsure if he should rush to aid him. The news of the defeat had badly demoralized his army, and any action he would take against Houston might possibly risk the demise of all Mexican prisoners. His other option was to retreat, requesting instruction from officials in Mexico City.
The Mexican troops in Texas linked up at Elizabeth Powell's Boardinghouse near Fort Bend, where the Generals held a council of war headed by Filisola. Agreeing to depart, Filisola was responsible for organizing the withdrawal of the remaining 4000 Mexican soldiers from Texas.
Filisola carried out Santa Anna's orders to retreat. On May 24, he ordered Juan José Andrade to destroy the fortifications of the Alamo and to evacuate San Antonio and "ratified", according to the Republic of Texas, the Treaties of Velasco. Filisola and Andrade then combined their forces at Goliad and continued the retreat toward Matamoros, Mexico.
After both parties to the treaties broke parts of the agreement, he received instructions from the Mexican government to not retreat. Although he offered to return to Texas, the exhausted Mexican force continued to Matamoros where on June 12, José de Urrea replaced Filisola in general command and Filisola resigned his own command to Juan José Andrade.
During the Mexican-American War Filisola commanded one of three divisions of the Mexican army.
Filisola died of cholera in Mexico City in 1850.
Although Filisola was accused of being a coward and a traitor in overseeing the withdrawal of the Mexican troops, he was exonerated in 1841. However forgetting his own role in the defeat at San Jacinto, Santa Anna placed the entire blame on Filisola.
Filisola was famously quoted as saying about Santa Anna "His forehead had clouded over... Some interpreted it as discouragement, others as despair, and not a few as rudeness, scorn or indifference towards all the persons that he had to deal with or met with for some reason or other." Filisola often had the job of dealing with Santa Anna's snap judgements. [3]
He later published a defense of his retreat which was later translated and published in 1837 by the Republic of Texas. In 1928 Castañeda published a translation of Filisola's account in The Mexican Side of the Texas Revolution, and his complete account of the Texas Revolution is found in Memoirs for the History of the War in Texas, published in 1985.
| Preceded by José Matías Delgado |
Governor of El Salvador 1823 |
Succeeded by Felipe Codallos |
| Preceded by Gabino Gaínza |
Chief of State of Central America 1823 |
Succeeded by First Triumvirate |