Diego Ortiz Parrilla facts for kids

Diego Ortiz Parrilla was an important Spanish military officer in the 1700s. He was also a governor, an explorer, and a mapmaker. He helped shape the history of New Spain, which is now Mexico and parts of the United States.

Who Was Diego Ortiz Parrilla?

His Early Life and Military Start

Diego Ortiz Parrilla was probably born in 1715 in a town called Villa de Lúcar, in Spain. His family was well-known and important.

He began his military career in 1734 as a young officer called an alférez. He joined a special army unit called a dragoon regiment. At first, he might have fought in Spain or been sent to Cuba.

Parrilla served in Cuba until 1746. Then, his commander, Don Juan Francisco de Güemes, became the Viceroy of New Spain. A viceroy was like a governor for a large area. Parrilla moved with him to Mexico City. He became a dragoon captain in Veracruz. In 1747, he helped stop a Native revolt in Puebla. Soon after, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Adventures as Governor

In 1749, Parrilla became the temporary Governor of Sinaloa and Sonora. This area is now part of Mexico. He was also put in charge of a fort called Presidio del Pitic.

His orders included dealing with the Seri people and their allies. He captured many Native people to move them away from their homes. He also took over Tiburón Island and forced its people to leave. After this, Parrilla became the first European to map the island. Even though he secured the land, he did not completely defeat the Native groups. Still, he was promoted to colonel in 1751.

Later, in 1751-1752, a conflict called the Pima Revolt happened. Over 100 people died. As governor, Parrilla helped settle a disagreement between a local militia and Jesuit missionaries. He pardoned the Native people involved. This made the missionaries in New Spain upset with him.

The San Sabá Story

A Mission and a Fort

Parrilla was replaced as governor in 1752. He went back to his old job as a dragoon captain in Veracruz. In 1756, he was given permission to go back to Spain. He needed to claim his father's family property.

But his trip was put on hold. He was asked to lead a new mission in Texas. This was the San Sabá de la Santa Cruz mission. Its goal was to convert Plains Apache people to Catholicism. Parrilla was ordered to move an existing fort to the San Sabá River.

Parrilla doubted that the Apache people wanted to convert. He also got involved in a disagreement between two missionary leaders. Despite his doubts, he followed his orders. He arrived at the San Sabá River in April 1757. He built a new fort there to protect the missionaries. This fort was called Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas.

Parrilla also oversaw searches for minerals in the area. A log fence was built around the fort. The missionaries did not trust Parrilla. They built their mission a little distance away from the fort.

A Difficult Time at San Sabá

Over the next year, Parrilla worried about attacks on San Sabá. He asked the missionaries to move to the fort for safety, but they refused. In March 1758, a large Comanche army attacked the mission. Many people were killed, and the mission was burned down. The survivors ran to the fort. Parrilla and his soldiers defended it for several days.

More attacks happened. In December, a Comanche group attacked Apache men near the fort. In March 1759, the same raiders attacked San Sabá again. They killed guards and stole many horses.

After the first attack, Parrilla buried the victims. He wrote to military leaders in Mexico City. He suggested stopping missionary work at San Sabá. He wanted to lead a fight against the "Norteños," or "northern tribes." The Governor of Texas supported his plan.

It was hard to communicate with Mexico City. But Parrilla finally got approval for his plan. He started planning his attack in January 1759. The main target was not the Comanche. Instead, he focused on the Tawakoni, Tonkawa, and Wichita nations. Parrilla refused offers from French officials to make peace with these Native nations.

The Campaign Begins

Parrilla left San Antonio in August. He had 139 Spanish soldiers and 241 local fighters. He also had 134 Apache and 30 Tlaxcaltecan troops. Two priests joined the army. The soldiers came from forts all over Texas and northern Mexico. The army had many horses, mules, two cannons, and four months of food.

As they moved north, scouts sometimes got lost. On October 1, they attacked a Tonkawa village. They killed 55 people and captured 149. They also got back 100 horses that had been stolen from the San Luis fort.

Battle of the Twin Villages

The toughest fight happened on October 7, 1759. This was the Battle of the Twin Villages. Parrilla and his men were ambushed near two Taovaya villages. These villages were on both sides of the Red River.

The army was attacked by warriors who came from the woods. Parrilla ordered his men to chase them. This led them into the woods and onto a sandbank. The sandbank was next to a village that the Native soldiers had strongly fortified. They had walls made of logs and a ditch to stop horse attacks. A large pen inside protected civilians.

Parrilla said the defenders had a French flag and French muskets. There were many defenders, possibly thousands. They also had large fields of food nearby. As the Spanish soldiers sank into the sand, they pulled back. Parrilla was shot in the arm. The Spanish horses were sinking deep into the sand. Parrilla said his enemy had "the advantage in arms and determination."

The Spanish were surrounded by gunfire. Parrilla arranged his troops. Spanish soldiers were in the middle, and Native allies protected the sides. The Europeans fired their cannons 11 times, but they did no damage. The mounted fighters kept attacking and reloading their guns. The Spanish slowly became surrounded. Many Spanish soldiers and Native allies left the fight.

Around nightfall, Parrilla stopped the attack after four hours. They had not defeated the Natives. Nineteen Spanish soldiers were killed, and 14 were wounded. Nineteen soldiers also left the army. Under the cover of darkness, Parrilla ordered his men to retreat. They left behind their two cannons and supplies.

In his report, Parrilla claimed it was a success. He said they had killed at least 100 enemy fighters and the Taovaya chief. But these details were not confirmed. The Spanish camped nearby and then moved to a better location. They spent a day caring for the wounded.

The Retreat and Its Aftermath

Parrilla and his army were left without weapons or supplies. They had to retreat to San Sabá. They arrived at the fort on October 25, after 17 days. Some say they were chased the whole way. Others say they were not followed, and that Parrilla's enemies made up those stories.

Parrilla returned defeated. He met with his captains to confirm that going to San Antonio was the best plan. The army arrived in San Antonio in November and broke up. From there, Parrilla asked to go to the capital. He sent his report about the battle. He arrived in Mexico City in the summer of 1760.

The cannons Parrilla lost were not found for 20 years. They were returned to Spanish control in 1778. The Native victory in the Red River Campaign led to big changes. New Spain had to reorganize its frontier defenses. A peace agreement between the Taovaya people and New Spain was not made until 1772.

Historians have different views on the campaign. Some call it a complete failure and a "disgrace." Others think the failure was made to seem worse by Parrilla's political enemies. A journal kept by a captain named Juan Ángel de Oyarzún helped historians learn about the campaign. The exact location of the San Sabá Mission was a mystery until 1994.

Florida and Coahuila Assignments

After his defeat at San Sabá, Diego Ortiz Parrilla was sent to a fort in Coahuila. This area is now in Mexico. Soon after, he was sent to stop a Native uprising in Spanish Florida. With 400 soldiers, Parrilla became Governor of San Miguel de Pensacola. He spent two years stopping the rebellion.

By the time he finished, Spain had lost the Seven Years' War. Spain gave Florida to Great Britain. In September 1763, Parrilla handed over Pensacola to a British officer. He then sailed to Veracruz with his army and some Native people loyal to Spain.

Parrilla returned to the Presidio de Santa Rosa. He became Governor of Coahuila in June 1764. He held this job until December 1765. As governor, he gave a large piece of land to a former soldier. This land later became part of Maverick County, Texas.

Exploring the Gulf Coast

Searching for New Settlers

In 1765, some Native Malaguita people reported that European settlers were on the "Islas Blancas." This is now Padre Island, near the Nueces River. This area was not explored by the Spanish. It seemed possible that British colonists were moving into Spanish territory.

The news reached Parrilla, and he sent it to Mexico City. The Viceroy of New Spain, Joaquín de Montserrat, decided to investigate. He ordered José de Escandón, the Governor of Nuevo Santander, to gather information. Then, in April 1766, Montserrat asked Parrilla to explore the area directly. He needed to find proof of British activity.

Parrilla had just finished his governorship. He traveled to the San Juan Bautista mission. There, he met 25 soldiers sent by Escandón. He was also joined by the Malaguita people who first reported the settlers.

On September 7, 1766, Parrilla and his men camped on the shores of the Laguna Madre. This area was then known as "Corpus Christi Bay." They waited six days for a hurricane to pass.

The Island Search and Mapping

On September 13, an expedition led by José Antonio de la Garza Falcón went to Padre Island. On September 24, they reported back to Parrilla. They had explored the whole island. They found no European settlements, only a few old Native ruins. However, the island was full of sunken ships. They even burned the remains of a British warship.

The expedition renamed the island "Isla de San Carlos de los Malaguitas." But this name did not become popular. A pilot on the trip, Mateo Martínez, was surprised by the island's geography. He had never seen barrier islands before. Some historians think Garza Falcón might not have actually landed on the island due to the bad weather.

Parrilla sent the Nuevo Santander soldiers back. He continued with only his own soldiers. Flooding made it impossible to cross the Nueces River mouth. So, he led the expedition far upriver to cross a bridge. He then followed the road to Presidio La Bahía. He arrived there in early October.

At the fort, he talked to soldiers who survived a hurricane. The hurricane had almost destroyed another fort on September 4. These men told Parrilla that all coastal waters were flooded. So, he decided not to explore further. He spent the rest of the trip working on his map of the coastline. Parrilla could not get more time for his survey. He ended the mission on October 14, 1766.

Parrilla's Map and Its Impact

Parrilla sent his finished map to Joaquín de Montserrat on May 4, 1767. He had mapped the coastline as far north as Galveston Bay. He also made the first detailed maps of Padre Island and other barrier islands. In a report, he said his map was better than "all those that have come to the courts of Spain and France."

However, the map had mistakes in areas he could not visit. He had drawn them based on what others told him. Because of a misunderstanding, Parrilla used the name "Corpus Christi Bay" for only a small bay. Before his trip, the whole body of water between Padre Island and the mainland was called Corpus Christi Bay. Even though he put the name in the wrong place, it stuck. The area has been known by that name ever since.

Parrilla and his men found no evidence of a foreign invasion. In his final report, Parrilla described Isla Blanca as "low and arid, without permanent waterholes." He said there were only signs that Native people sometimes lived there.

Before Parrilla could return to his fort, a Spanish official named Cayetano Pignatelli visited it. Pignatelli was checking the forts on the northern border of New Spain. He was upset that Parrilla was not there. But the viceroy explained Parrilla's important mission.

Parrilla's map also showed other interesting features:

• It recorded structures built by several Native groups on the northern barrier islands and southern Padre Island.
• Brazos Island and Mustang Island were drawn accurately.
• The mouth of the Nueces River was not connected to Corpus Christi Bay on his map.
• Baffin Bay and Galveston Island were completely missing.
• Matagorda Island was shown as a peninsula.
• The Matagorda Peninsula was shown as an island.
• The Arroyo Colorado was called the "Arroyo de San Miguel."
• Galveston Bay was called "San Bernardo Bay."
• Padre Island was called "Ysla de San Carlos de los Malaguitas."
• Copano Bay was called "Bahía de Santo Domingo" and had a small "phantom island."
• San José Island was called "Ysla de Santo Domingo."
• Matagorda Bay was incorrectly labeled as Espiritu Santo Bay.
• Trinity Bay was incorrectly labeled as "San Antonio Bay."

Later Years

Eleven years after he first asked, Parrilla was finally allowed to return to Spain. This was in December 1767. He needed to find a good commander to take his place first. It is not known if he went back to Spain at this time. By 1769, he was in San Antonio. He was preparing for another campaign against Native peoples. But it is unclear if he led any more actions.

On September 11, 1774, Parrilla asked to be moved to a post in Spain. He wanted to be in Valencia or another city. On October 1, the Viceroy was told Parrilla was being sent to Valencia. He arrived in Madrid by November 16. Sadly, his time in Spain was short. By the end of November 1775, Diego Ortiz Parrilla had died.