José Miguel Pascual Negrete Novoa, commonly known as Miguel Negrete was a 19th-century Mexican Major General. He participated in the many Mexican Civil Wars, as well as 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, ...

and the

Second French intervention in Mexico The second French intervention in Mexico (), also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was a military invasion of the Republic of Mexico by the French Empire of Napoleon III, purportedly to force the collection of Mexican de ...

. Negrete was also the Governor of Puebla from October 13, 1863, to November 4, 1863, and the Minister of War and Navy of Mexico from March 16, 1864 to August 23, 1865.

Mexican–American War and Ayutla Revolution

He was the son of Cayetano Negrete and Aparicia Novoa. Miguel Negrete fought against the Americans during the

. In 1855 he took up arms in Zamora, Michoacán during the Ayutla Revolution in support of the liberal forces with the aim of overthrowing the dictatorship of

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 ...

and was promoted to colonel after these conflicts.

Reform War

After the pronouncement of Félix Zuloaga's Plan de Tacubaya against the government of

Ignacio Comonfort Ignacio Gregorio Comonfort de los Ríos (; 12 March 1812 – 13 November 1863), also known as Ignacio Comonfort, was a Mexican politician and soldier who was also president during La Reforma. He played a leading role in the liberal movement und ...

and the Federal Constitution of 1857, Negrete decided to join Zuloaga's faction, militating in these forces and embracing the ideals of the conservatives during the

Reform War The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...

. At the end of December 1857, the period of pronouncements against the conservative troops begins. With this, Miguel Negrete, after arriving in Santa Ana Chiautempan,

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala, is one of the 32 federal entities that comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tlaxcala, 60 municipalities and t ...

, showed himself in favor of the Constitution, putting it back into force in the state of Tlaxcala, taking the state capital and, immediately afterwards, attacking

Puebla City Puebla de Zaragoza (; ; ), formally Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, formerly Puebla de los Ángeles during colonial times, or known simply as Puebla, is the seat of Puebla Municipality. It is the capital and largest city of the state of Puebla, and t ...

. In April 1858 he switched sides again, this time with the Conservatives, and was therefore promoted to the rank of General at the behest of the Conservative General

Miguel Miramón Miguel Gregorio de la Luz Atenógenes Miramón y Tarelo, known as Miguel Miramón, (29 September 1831 – 19 June 1867) was a Mexican Conservative Party (Mexico), conservative general who disputed the president of Mexico, Mexican presidency with ...

. He participated together with

Leonardo Márquez Leonardo Márquez Araujo (8 January 1820 – 5 July 1913) was a conservative Mexican general. He led forces in opposition to the Liberals led by Benito Juárez, but following defeat in the Reform War was forced to guerrilla warfare. Later, he he ...

and José Joaquín Ayesterán on December 22, 1860, in the Battle of Calpulalpan. He was defeated by liberal troops commanded by

Jesús González Ortega Jesús González Ortega ( Valparaíso, Zacatecas, January 20, 1822 – Saltillo, Coahuila, February 28, 1881) was a Mexican soldier and politician; governor of Zacatecas who was a notable ally of President Benito Juárez during the War of Refo ...

in the plains of

Calpulalpan Calpulalpan officially as Heroic City of Calpulalpan, is a Mexican city, head and main urban center of the homonymous municipality, located to the west of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala Tlaxcala, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tla ...

State of Mexico The State of Mexico, officially just Mexico, is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Colloquially known as Edomex (from , the abbreviation of , and ), to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is the mo ...

. He retired to private life thanks to an amnesty offered by the Juárez government.

French intervention

During the

Second French Intervention in Mexico The second French intervention in Mexico (), also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was a military invasion of the Republic of Mexico by the French Empire of Napoleon III, purportedly to force the collection of Mexican de ...

, Negrete put aside his conservative ideology and participated in the defense of Mexican territory. Before the advance of the French troops towards the center of Mexico, Negrete reacted and sided with the liberal side with his famous phrase ''Yo tengo Patria antes que Partido'', ("I have a country before a party"). Negrete joined the republican army and under the orders of General

Ignacio Zaragoza Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín (March 24, 1829 – September 8, 1862) was a Mexican Army officer and politician. He is best known for leading a Mexican army of 3,791 men which defeated a 5,730-strong force of French troops at the battle of Puebla ...

, both covered themselves with glory in the Battle of Las Cumbres and the

Battle of Puebla The Battle of Puebla (; ), also known as the Battle of May 5 () took place on 5 May 1862, near Puebla de los Ángeles, during the second French intervention in Mexico. French troops under the command of Charles de Lorencez repeatedly failed to s ...

, coming to be considered as the second hero of said battle by defending

Fort Loreto Fort Loreto (Spanish: Fuerte de Loreto) is a fort in the city of Puebla, in the Mexican state of Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Ent ...

. Regarding this, Ernesto de la Torre comments: Around 1863, and being governor of the

State of Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centra ...

, before the advance of the French troops, he and

were entrusted with the defense of the Siege of Puebla. He was then captured by the French along with Jesús González Ortega, Felipe Berriozábal and

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

. All of them would be captured on the way to

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

and, after that, taken prisoners to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

but Negrete managed to escape. Placed under Benito Juárez, he was Minister of War and Navy of Mexico from March 1864 to August 1865. He took part in the capture of the cities of

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

and

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

Restored Republic

After the French intervention, he came to revolt against Juarez on two occasions, in which he was repelled and brought to order. The first was to support Julio Chávez López in Texcoco who had launched the Manifesto in Chalco to all the oppressed and poor of Mexico and the universe. Negrete managed to take the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe, but was soon apprehended and sentenced to death. General Porfirio Díaz granted him his pardon for his past participation in the battle and in the Siege of Puebla. In 1872 he supported the Plan de la Noria against the government of Juárez under the slogan "No re-election". Due to the unexpected death of Juárez,

Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada y Corral (; 24 April 1823 – 21 April 1889) was a Mexican liberal politician and jurist who served as the 31st president of Mexico from 1872 to 1876. A successor to Benito Juárez, who died in office in July 1872, ...

assumed the presidency and the Noria rebellion halted afterwards. Four years later, at the end of Lerdo de Tejada's presidential term, faced with the imminent attempt at re-election, Negrete participated, supporting Porfirio Díaz in the in 1876, again under the principle of "Let no Mexican perpetuate himself in the power and this will be the last revolution", as well as under the slogan "Effective suffrage, No re-election!".

Porfiriato

In 1879, during the

Porfiriato The Porfiriato or Porfirismo (, ), coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas, is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico under an Authoritarianism, authoritarian military dictatorship in the late 19th and e ...

, Negrete published a manifesto addressed to the nation, criticizing and accusing

of betraying the Constitution of 1857. He took up arms against President Porfirio Díaz in the states of

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

and

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...

. He joined the

Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...

socialist plan but was again defeated. He decided to retire to private life. He died on January 5, 1897, in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. His remains were interred at the Rotunda of Illustrious Persons on May 5, 1948. On December 5, 2007, in the Plenary Hall of the Legislative Assembly of the

Congress of Puebla The Honorable Congress of the State of Puebla () is the legislative branch of the government of the State of Puebla. It was constituted for the first time after the independence of Mexico on January 1, 1826. The Congress is the governmental del ...

, the name of the general poblano "Miguel Negrete" was written in gold letters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negrete, Miguel 1825 births 1895 deaths Liberalism in Mexico Conservatism in Mexico Mexican generals Military personnel from Puebla Politicians from Puebla 19th-century Mexican military personnel 19th-century Mexican politicians Governors of Puebla Burials at the Panteón de Dolores