Anastasio Torrejón (c. 1802 – 1861) was a Mexican Army officer who commanded troops during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Second Federal Republic of Mexico, Mexico f ...

Biography

Torrejón was born in Llanos de Apan in the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Ame ...

, becoming a cadet lieutenant at the age of 14. He fought on the Royalist side during the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

and by the early 1820s had been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1823, with New Spain now ruled by the

Mexican Empire Mexican Empire may refer to: * First Mexican Empire, the regime under Agustín de Iturbide (Agustín I) from 1821 to 1823 * Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy est ...

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín de Iturbide (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), full name Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu and also known as Agustín of Mexico, was a Mexican army general and politician. During the Mexican War of Independence, he built ...

, Torrejón backed

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

's Plan of Casa Mata that made Mexico a republic and as a Brigadier General in 1845 overthrew

Jose Joaquin de Herrera Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya * Jose the Galil ...

's government in favor of Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga. On the eve of the outbreak of hostilities with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, Torrejón commanded the 3rd Cavalry Brigade of Brigadier-General

Mariano Arista José Mariano Arista (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician. He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening battles of the Mexican American War: the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Resaca de la ...

's Army of the North, and on 24 April 1846 he forded the Río Bravo del Norte during the

. At Rancho Carricitos he attacked Captain Seth Thornton's two companies of American dragoons and defeated them in the " Thornton Affair", the start of the war between the U.S. and Mexico. His attempt to block the Point Isabel Road and to attack General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

's supply trains failed and in the 1847

Battle of Buena Vista The Battle of Buena Vista (February 22–23, 1847), known as the Battle of La Angostura in Mexico, and sometimes as Battle of Buena Vista/La Angostura, was a battle of the Mexican–American War. It was fought between the US invading forces, l ...

his cavalry nearly drove the Americans back, but in doing so placed them in front of the American artillery. Torrejón participated in the battles for Mexico City soon after, covering the retreat of the Mexican army to defend the capital in the

Battle of Contreras The Battle of Contreras, also known as the Battle of Padierna, took place on 19–20 August 1847, in one of the final encounters of the Mexican–American War, as invading U.S. forces under Winfield Scott approached the Mexican capital. Americ ...

. He later engaged the Americans at San Cosme Gate. After the Mexican-American War, Torrejón became the commanding general at Michoacán in 1854, and he died around 1861.

References

*Tucker, Spencer, James R. Arnold, Roberta Wiener, Paul G. Pierpaoli, Thomas W. Cutrer, and Pedro Santoni. "Anastasio Torrejon." ''The Encyclopedia of the Mexican-American War: A Political, Social, and Military History''. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2013. 657-58. Print

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torrejon, Anastasio Mexican soldiers 1802 births 1861 deaths