Juan Seguin
Juan Nepomuceno Seguin, commonly known as Juan Seguin, was a notable Tejano leader in the Texas Revolution, born in 1806 in San Fernando de Béxar, New Spain (now San Antonio, Texas). Coming from a prominent landowning family, he became a successful rancher and land speculator, marrying María Gertrudis Flores de Abrego and raising a large family. Seguin's political involvement began early, as he served as an alderman and later became the mayor of San Antonio. His opposition to Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna's centralizing policies led him to align with American revolutionaries seeking independence from Mexico.
During the Texas Revolution, Seguin played crucial roles in various battles, including the Siege of Béjar and the Battle of San Jacinto, earning a reputation as a skilled military leader. His actions not only solidified his status as a hero of the revolution but also highlighted the complexities of loyalty and identity in a region marked by cultural diversity. Despite facing challenges later in life, including questions about his patriotism, Seguin returned to Texas after the Mexican-American War. He continued to engage in public service before his death in 1890, leaving behind a legacy that captures the intricate interplay between Tejano and Anglo-American histories in Texas. His contributions were later recognized, culminating in his reburial in Seguin, Texas, in 1976, celebrating his lasting impact on Texas history.
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Subject Terms
Juan Seguin
American military leader and politician
- Born: October 27, 1806
- Birthplace: San Fernando de Béxar, New Spain (now San Antonio, Texas)
- Died: August 27, 1890
- Place of death: Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Seguin was a politician who opposed Antonio López de Santa Anna’s plan to centralize the Mexican state and replace the constitution of 1824. A supporter of states’ rights, Seguin joined forces with Texas independence leaders and participated in the Battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto.
Early Life
Juan Nepomuceno Seguin, better known as Juan Seguin (wahn SAY-geen), was born in 1806 into a prominent landowning family at San Fernando de Béxar, New Spain (now San Antonio, Texas). His father, Erasmo Seguin, a merchant and postmaster, was a delegate to the Mexican congress that drafted the republican constitution of 1824. His mother was María Josefa Becerra.
Seguin became a successful rancher and a land speculator. In 1826, he married María Gertrudis Flores de Abrego, the daughter of a prominent Texas ranching family, and the couple had nine children who survived infancy. Seguin embarked upon a political career, serving as an alderman for San Antonio in 1929. He was a member of the district electoral assembly, and in 1834 was both the mayor of San Antonio and lieutenant governor for the San Antonio district .
The Seguin family opposed Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna’s plan to scrap the constitution of 1824 and centralize power in Mexico City. Santa Anna’s proposal forced Juan Seguin to form an alliance with the Americans in the Texas portion of the Mexican state who sought complete independence from Mexico.
Life’s Work
During the 1820’s and early 1830’s, Seguin became friends with the future leaders of the Texas Revolution: James Bowie, William Barrett Travis, David Crockett, Stephen Fuller Austin, and Sam Houston. Seguin was one of the first to organize opposition to Santa Anna. Austin appointed Seguin the captain of a unit of native-born Texans who opposed the Mexican president. Seguin saw action at the Battle of Gonzales (1835), fought with Bowie at the Battle of Concepcion (1835), and he and General Edward Burleson successfully took control of the Alamo (a fort) and San Antonio in the Siege of Bejar (1835). The Alamo was rebuilt, strengthening the structure against a possible Mexican assault, although the Alamo’s defenders knew they could not win against the larger army of Santa Anna. For this reason, Travis sent Seguin and Pablo Gomez to seek help from Colonel James Fannin at Goliad. Seguin and Gomez were chosen because they spoke Spanish and could more easily slip out of the Alamo and away from San Antonio without arousing Mexican suspicions.
Seguin was dealt a double blow in 1836, when he simultaneously learned that the Alamo had fallen to the Mexican soldiers and that Fannin had rejected his request for assistance. Seguin proceeded to contact Houston, who told Seguin that he had instructed Travis to blow up the Alamo and Fannin to leave Goliad, rather than surrender. Both Travis and Fannin were to merge their fighters with Houston’s army, but neither man obeyed Houston’s directives.
At the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto, Seguin commanded the Second Regiment Cavalry of native-borns and ordered his men to place white cards on their hats with the words “Remember the Alamo” in order to distinguish themselves from Santa Anna’s troops. After Santa Anna’s forces were defeated in this battle, Seguin persuaded Houston not to burn San Antonio in retaliation for the Texans’ defeat at the Alamo. Houston instructed Seguin to return to San Antonio and find the remains of Travis, Bowie, and Crockett for proper burial. These remains were interred in San Antonio’s historic St. Fernando’s Roman Catholic Church.
Seguin’s military and political career continued after the Battle of San Jacinto. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Texas army; he served in the congress of the Texas Republic until 1840, representing Houston and Austin; and he was mayor of San Antonio from 1841 through 1842. Seguin was also on the Texas congressional committee that selected Austin as the new republic’s capital. Unfortunately, Seguin’s later career was ruined by American squatters in San Antonio, who questioned his patriotism to the Texas Republic. He fled to Mexico, where he was forced to join the Mexican army or serve a prison sentence.
With the end the Mexican-American War in 1848, Seguin no longer feared for his safety and returned to San Antonio to resume his ranching operations. He served
Bexar County as justice of the peace from 1852 through 1856 and founded this county’s Democratic Party. He was named a judge for Wilson County, Texas, in 1869. Five years later, Seguin was declared a hero of the Texas war for independence and granted a lifetime pension. He ultimately returned to Mexico, where he had business interests and lived with his eldest son, the mayor of Nuevo Laredo. Seguin died there on August 27, 1890. He was reburied in Seguin, Texas, on July 4, 1976.
Significance
It took tremendous courage for Juan Sequin to collaborate with the Americans, but his commitment to political ideals forced him to begin a rebellion against his own country. His recruitment of native-borns, his strengthening of the Alamo’s defenses, his service as a courier for the Alamo’s defenders, and his leadership at the Battle of San Jacinto, enshrine Seguin as a major figure in the successful outcome of the Texas Revolution.
Bibliography
Davis, William C. Three Roads to the Alamo. New York: HarperCollins, 1998. Regarded as the definitive study on the Alamo. Recounts the contributions of Crockett, Bowie, Travis, and the other major figures of the war of Texas independence.
Hollmann, Robert. Juan Seguin. Dallas, Tex.: Durban House, 2007. This narrative interview with Sequin’s friend Pablo Gomez describes Seguin’s role in Texas becoming independent from Mexico.
Reimers, Peggy A. Lone Star Legends. n.p.: P.A. Reimers, 2006. Focuses on Seguin’s life during the Texas Revolution.
Sequin, Juan Nepomuceno. A Revolution Remembered: The Memoirs and Selected Correspondence of Juan Seguin. Austin, Tex.: Texas State Historical Association, 2002. The best resource for primary source documents on Seguin.
Thompson, Frank. The Alamo. New York: New Market Press, 2004. An illustrated history about the making of the film The Alamo includes a brief narrative about Seguin’s role in achieving independence for Texas.