Tejano History
Ortiz Parrilla, Diego
Tejanos |
ORTIZ PARRILLA, DIEGO (ca. 1715–ca. 1775). Diego Ortiz Parrilla, an important military figure across the Spanish borderlands from Sonora to Florida, was the first commandant of San Luis de las Amarillas Presidio (also known as San Sabá Presidio) in Texas and leader of the Ortiz Parrilla Gulf Coast Expedition. He was born in Villa de Lúcar, bishopric of Almería, Spain, probably about 1715, the son of Tomás Ortiz Parrilla y Montoya and Doña Andrea Parrilla y Montana, “persons of distinguished nobility.” He entered royal service in 1734 as an alferez in the Almanza dragoon regiment and went immediately to Cuba. In 1746, when the count of Revilla Gigedo left the governorship of Cuba to become viceroy of New Spain, he took Ortiz with him to Mexico. As a dragoon captain at the fortress of Veracruz, Ortiz Parrilla was sent in January 1747 to Puebla de los Angeles to put down a native revolt. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel the following June.
Full article on the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas Online