Degollado, Santos (1811–1861)

Santos Degollado (b. 1811; d. 1861), Mexican liberal general and cabinet minister. Degollado was born in the city of Guanajuato during the wars for Mexico's independence from Spain. Since his father was a supporter of the insurgency, the Spanish government confiscated his property. On the death of his father, an uncle took Degollado to Mexico City. In October 1828, Degollado moved to Morelia, where he took a job as a notary's clerk and studied in his spare time. Recognizing Degollado's organizational skills, the governor of Michoacán, Melchor Ocampo, named him secretary of the Colegio de San Nicolás, and in 1846 Degollado served briefly as a substitute for Ocampo.

As a foot soldier, Degollado dedicated himself to the struggle against Santa Anna and rose through the ranks to general. After the triumph of the Revolution of Ayutla (1854), he was elected to the Constitutional Convention of 1856–1857 as a representative of the state of Michoacán. In 1857, he was elected governor of that state but served only a few months before resigning to join the forces of Benito Juárez in the War of the Reform. On 27 March 1858, Juárez named Degollado his minister of war and general of the federal army. Degollado also served briefly as minister of foreign relations during the first months of 1860. A talented and tireless organizer of armies, Degollado was notably less successful as their leader in battle. After his subordinate, Manuel Doblado, confiscated silver from British mine owners, Degollado took responsibility and promised repayment. Then, without authorization, he sought a negotiated settlement to the war, with a British official, George W. Mathew, as mediator. Juárez reacted to this step by removing Degollado from his command and replacing him with Jesús González Ortega, who led the army Degollado had organized to victory over the conservatives in late 1860. González Ortega paid homage to Degollado when the liberal army marched into Mexico City. Degollado received another command in Michoacán to pursue the guerrillas who had killed Melchor Ocampo, but he was ambushed, captured, and executed by the conservatives.

See alsoSanta Anna, Antonio López de .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Walter V. Scholes, Mexican Politics During the Juárez Regime, 1855–1872 (1957).

Richard N. Sinkin, The Mexican Reform, 1855–1876: A Study in Liberal Nation-Building (1979); Diccionario Porrúa de historia, biografía y geografía de México, 5th ed. (1986).

                                        D. F. Stevens