Simón de Herrera facts for kids

Simón de Herrera y Leyva (1754–1813) was an important leader for Spain. He spent his life working in politics and the military. He mostly worked in lands known as New Spain (which included parts of modern-day Mexico and the United States). Sometimes, he also traveled to Europe. He served as a temporary governor of Spanish Texas in San Antonio and also as a governor of Nuevo León.

Early Life and Military Career

Simón de Herrera was born in the Canary Islands in 1754. He started his military journey very young. At just nine years old, on September 12, 1763, he joined the Guimar Militia as a sub-lieutenant. By the age of 15, on August 2, 1769, he had already become a captain.

In 1776, he went to South America. There, he helped capture towns and ports that belonged to Portugal (now part of Brazil). Later, in Spain, he worked as a special messenger to France. He also took part in the Great Siege of Gibraltar until 1781.

In 1782, he fought alongside Bernardo de Gálvez in Guárico, Venezuela. During this time, he met George Washington. From 1788 to 1794, he served in Colotlán and Guadalajara, in a region called Nueva Galicia. After that, he took on a leadership role in the military in Nuevo León.

Governing Nuevo León and Texas

On April 7, 1795, Simón de Herrera became the political and military governor of Nuevo León. He was successful in leading his troops against large groups of Apaches and Comanches in 1797. He also helped protect the border region of Texas.

Moving to Texas

In 1806, Herrera was given a new job as commandant of the Louisiana frontier. He traveled to San Antonio on May 31, 1806. The Commandant General of the Internal Provinces, Nemesio Salcedo y Salcedo, ordered him to patrol the area between the Sabine River and the Arroyo Hondo. He took control of Bayou Pierre to prepare for possible actions from American forces led by General James Wilkinson.

In November 1806, Herrera and Wilkinson reached an agreement called the Neutral Ground agreement. This agreement created a neutral zone between Spanish Texas and the United States. It was respected until the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819. After 1806, Herrera focused on making Texas's defenses stronger.

Challenges and Return to Governorship

During a rebellion led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Herrera was captured in 1811. This happened during the Casas Revolt in San Antonio. Herrera and Governor Manuel María de Salcedo were taken to Ignacio Elizondo's hacienda in Coahuila. These two Spanish loyalist prisoners convinced Elizondo to switch sides and support the Spanish crown. Elizondo then captured Hidalgo and his followers, who were on their way to make San Antonio the center of their revolt in New Spain.

In July 1811, Herrera returned to San Antonio as a temporary governor. He held this position for six months until Salcedo took over again in December. Salcedo and Herrera then faced the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition. This was a group of adventurers who captured Nacogdoches and La Bahía in November 1812. Herrera and Salcedo began a three-month siege of La Bahía. However, they couldn't get the rebels to surrender, so they retreated to San Antonio in February.

Capture and Death

The Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition followed them. Herrera and Salcedo's forces suffered a tough loss at the Battle of Rosillo Creek. On March 29, in less than an hour, an army of over a thousand soldiers was defeated by an army half its size. They surrendered San Antonio to the republican army on April 1, 1813. The Spanish leaders were taken prisoner.

Two days later, on April 3, 1813, Governor Herrera and Salcedo, along with several other leaders, were sadly killed by some of the revolutionaries as they were being marched out of town. Their bodies were left on the ground. However, Father José Dario Zambrano later found them and buried them at the San Fernando Cathedral on August 28.

See also

In Spanish: Simón de Herrera y Leyva para niños