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

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

Biography

Torrejón was born in Llanos de Apan in the

Viceroyalty of New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, 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 (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

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 Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy af ...

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...

, 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. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

Plan of Casa Mata In the history of Mexico, the Plan of Casa Mata () was a plan formulated to elect a new constituent congress, which the monarchy of Agustín de Iturbide had dissolved in 1822. The Plan of Casa Mata sought to establish a republic. In December ...

that made Mexico a republic and as a Brigadier General in 1845 overthrew Jose Joaquin de Herrera'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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

Mariano Arista José Mariano Martín Buenaventura Ignacio Nepomuceno García de Arista Nuez (26 July 1802 – 7 August 1855) was a Mexican soldier and politician who also became president of Mexico. He was in command of the Mexican forces at the opening batt ...

's Army of the North, and on 24 April 1846 he forded the

Río Bravo del Norte The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States and in northern M ...

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 officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

'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 U.S. forces, largely vol ...

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. Ameri ...

. 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 1800s births 1861 deaths