[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6883-6884]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 IN HONOR OF GENERAL IGNACIO ZARAGOZA SEGUIN, THE HERO OF PUEBLA, AND 
                      THE GOLIAD ZARAGOZA SOCIETY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RUBEN HINOJOSA

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 2, 2001

  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a true hero who gave 
his life to free his country from foreign oppression. Ignacio Zaragoza 
Seguin was born in 1829 at Bahia Del Espiritu Santo, Mexico near what 
is now Goliad, Texas in my Congressional District. He was the son of a 
soldier, but was educated as a priest. When the United States invaded 
Mexico, he tried to enlist but was rejected because of his youth. He 
was a businessman for a short time, but his passionate support of 
Mexico's struggle to create a fledgling democracy, made him a soldier. 
During the years of the War of the Reform in 1857 to 1860, he joined 
with Benito Juarez and fought in numerous battles including the battle 
of Calpulalpan, which ended the war.
  In April 1861, General Zaragoza was appointed Minister of War and the 
Navy. When Mexican President Juarez was forced to declare a moratorium 
on Mexico's European debt in order to salvage the bankrupt economy, 
Spain sent a fleet and forced the surrender of Veracruz. France and 
England joined Spain in the invasion of Mexico. General Zaragoza 
resigned from the ministry to lead the Army of the East. Although the 
English and Spanish reached an agreement with President Juarez and 
withdrew, the French landed troops and marched toward Mexico City. They 
met the Mexican forces at the City of Puebla in a battle that lasted 
the entire day of May 5, 1862. Under General Zaragoza's leadership that 
vastly outnumbered Mexican army and Puebla townspeople forced the 
withdrawal of Napoleon III's Army, the premier army in the world. 
Napoleon's army suffered heavy losses, but Mexican casualties were few. 
Although the French ultimately captured Mexico City the next year and 
put Napoleon's nephew on the throne, the costly delay in Puebla and the 
subsequent guerrilla war waged by Benito Juarez shortened the French 
intervention. It also helped preserve the American Union, as it kept 
the French too occupied to directly aid the Confederacy with troops in 
the U.S. Civil War, which was being waged at the time.
  General Zaragoza received a hero's welcome in Mexico City. While 
visiting his sick troops, he contracted typhoid and died on September 
8, 1862 at the age of 33. He received a state funeral and on September 
11, 1862, President Juarez declared May 5, Cinco de Mayo, a national 
holiday.

[[Page 6884]]

  Today Cinco de Mayo is celebrated throughout Mexico and around the 
world. This weekend I will be joining in the festivities being 
sponsored by the Goliad Zaragoza Society at the birthplace of this 
great man.
  The Goliad Zaragoza Society was founded in 1944 by a group of Mexican 
Americans to pay tribute to the legacy of General Zaragoza by showing 
respect and pride for their culture. Today the Society's primary 
mission is providing scholarships to help students pursue their 
education.

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