Escobedo, Mariano (1826–1902)

Mariano Escobedo (b. January 1826; d. 1902), Mexican Liberal army commander. Born in Galeana, Nuevo León, Escobedo fought as an ensign in the national guard against U.S. forces in 1846–1847, becoming a lieutenant in 1852. He supported the Plan of Ayutla and fought under Santiago Vidaurri in 1854–1855. He became a lieutenant-colonel in the cavalry in 1856. During the Civil War of the Reform (1858–1861), he again fought alongside Vidaurri in the north central states. During the French Intervention, he fought at Puebla in 1862 and 1863, when he was captured.

Escobedo opposed Vidaurri's defection to the empire in 1864. He played the major role in the resurgence of Liberal forces in late 1865, capturing Maximilian, Miguel Miramón, and Tomás Mejía at Querétaro in 1867 and convening the summary military tribunal that sentenced them to death. A close friend of Sebastián Lerdo, he became a senator in September 1875 and minister of war in 1876. He fought against Porfirio Díaz in the rebellion of Tuxtepec (1876) and conspired to restore Lerdo in 1877–1878. He was a federal deputy at the time of his death.

See alsoDíaz, Porfirio; Vidaurri, Santiago.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cavasos Garza, Israel. Mariano Escobedo: El glorioso soldado de la República. Monterrey: Gobierno del Estado de Nuevo León, 1949.

López Gutiérrez, Gustavo. Escobedo, republicano demócrata benemérito de Chiapas, 1826–1902. Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas: 1968.

Taibo, Paco Ignacio. El general orejón ese Mexico City: Grupo Editorial Planeta, 1997.

                                        Brian Hamnett