José López Uraga

Biography

López Uraga entered the Mexican–American War at the Battle of Palo Alto. At Monterrey, he commanded the Fortín de la Ciudadela, the only external fort the Americans did not take; General Pedro de Ampudia ordered him to surrender it, and López Uraga complied against his own wishes. He later promoted the Tolimán Plan, was captured, and escaped to the United States. When the Reform War broke out, he returned to fight for the Liberals, lost a leg in combat, and was taken prisoner by Conservatives in Guadalajara.

General Pedro Ogazón praised his service in Jalisco. On November 29, 1851, he captured the village of Camargo. Released on April 13, 1853, he became ambassador to Prussia, presenting credentials to King Friedrich Wilhelm IV on September 3, 1853, and establishing relations with King Johann of Saxony on October 23, 1853; his mission ended November 12, 1855. In 1857, Benito Juárez granted him the Islas Marías on condition he never sell or rent them to a foreign power.

At the start of the Second French intervention, he commanded the Army of the East but was removed on February 9, 1862, and replaced by Ignacio Zaragoza. In 1864, he served as commanding general in Jalisco and general in chief of the Army of the Center. After personal conflicts with Colonel Antonio Rojas, he returned to Mexico City. On July 26, 1864, he switched sides to the Second Mexican Empire.

When Carlota of Mexico left for Europe, López Uraga escorted her, which led to his being branded a traitor and losing the Islas Marías. After the Republican victory, the Amnesty Law of Benito Juárez restored the islands to him in 1878. He sold them in 1879 to Manuel Carpena of Tepic, Nayarit for 45,000 pesos. He later lived in exile and died in San Francisco, California on February 4, 1885.