Question: What famous Mexican general was honored with a statue near Goliad?
Answer: Ignacio Seguín Zaragoza, hero of the 1862 Battle of Puebla, which is commemorated as Cinco de Mayo. Zaragoza, a relative of Texas revolutionary Juan Seguín, was born near Goliad in 1829, but his family moved to Matamoros after Texas won its independence from Mexico. He fought against Santa Anna’s forces during Mexico’s War of Reform, and he was appointed the country’s minister of war following the dictator’s defeat.
Zaragoza was hailed a national hero when he defended the town of Puebla against a French invasion on May 5, 1862. In the 1960s, the General Zaragoza State Historic Site was established, featuring a reconstructed three-room stone house. In 1980, a 3,000-pound bronze statue provided by the state of Puebla was installed at the site.
