Tejano History
Ugalde, Juan De
Tejanos |
UGALDE, JUAN DE (1729–1816). Juan de Ugalde, Indian fighter, son of Brig. Gen. Miguel and Doña Catalina (González) de Ugalde, was born in Cádiz, Spain, on December 9, 1729. He joined the Spanish army in 1738 and first saw action as a captain in 1743 against the Austrians in northern Italy. From 1749 to 1757 he fought against the Moors in North Africa and, during the Seven Years' War (1756–63), against the Portuguese. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and dispatched in 1764 to South America, where he served as corregidor of Cochabamba, Bolivia, until 1772. He returned to Spain in 1774 and was promoted to colonel, and on March 26, 1776, King Charles III appointed him governor of the province of San Francisco de Coahuila in northern New Spain. Before leaving Spain, Ugalde was also appointed a knight in the Order of Santiago. He officially took office as governor on November 23, 1777. His primary charge was to protect Coahuila from Indian attacks, specifically from the Lipan and Mescalero Apaches. Between May 3, 1779, and March 9, 1783, Ugalde conducted four campaigns against the Mescaleros in northern Coahuila and the Big Bend and Pecos River regions of Texas. Although only nineteen Apaches were killed and sixty-seven taken prisoner, many others were forced to flee or make peace.
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Full article on the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas Online
Courtesy of the Texas State Historical Association.
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