José Silvestre Aramberri

Childhood

Aramberri was born at the Hacienda of "La Soledad" near Valle de Río Blanco, Nuevo León, to Cosme Aramberri, founder of Villa Doctor Arroyo, and Dolores Lavín y Arenas. He studied at the Monterrey Seminary and completed his education in Mexico City, graduating as an engineer in 1851. On September 29 of that year, he married Rosario Lozano, widow of Juan Ignacio Prado, at the Monterrey Cathedral; the couple later had four children. In 1852, he served as commander of the canton of Galeana.

Military career

In 1855, Aramberri joined forces under Santiago Vidaurri to support the Plan of Ayutla, organizing troops in towns in the south of the state. He took part in the capture of Saltillo on July 23, defeating loyalist chief Francisco Güitián. Under Juan Zuazua, he participated in the siege of Anastasio Parrodi in San Luis Potosí on September 13, 1855. Returning to Monterrey as a colonel, he was appointed commander of the 6th Canton in southern Nuevo León.

During the Reform War, he led the 2nd Nuevo León Infantry Regiment with Mariano Escobedo, fighting at the Battle of Puerto de Carretas, where Zuazua mentioned him. He then joined the assault on Bufa Hill and the capture of Zacatecas under Julián Quiroga, attacked Chacón in Charcas, and after occupying San Luis Potosí, marched to recover Guanajuato, deposing the governor and imposing Verduzco. He fought at Silao, León, and Lagos de Moreno to intercept Miguel Miramón.

At the Battle of Ahualulco on September 29, 1858, he commanded 1,200 men alongside Jesús Fernández García and Máximo Campos.

Governor of Nuevo León and Coahuila

After Santos Degollado and Ignacio Zaragoza deposed Vidaurri, Aramberri assumed command of the state. During his scarce two months as governor of Nuevo León y Coahuila, he reorganized the army and used a faculty originally granted to Vidaurri in 1857 to found the Colegio Civil, whose chairs began on December 5, 1859. This included secondary or preparatory instruction and careers in Jurisprudence and Medicine, the latter lasting six years, founded on October 30, 1859, with Dr. José Eleuterio González as director, including a pharmacy. A referendum replaced him with Domingo Martínez.

Continuation of Conflicts

In Galeana, Aramberri joined Mariano Escobedo, Lázaro Garza Ayala, Jerónimo Treviño, and others in the Congresistas movement, but they were beaten at Santa Rosa and Saltillo and forced to leave the state. Colonel Antonio Pérez y Villarreal published Aramberri's Oja de Servicios in Bustamante on February 23, exposing negative aspects of his political aspirations. Aramberri then traveled to Matamoros to persuade Carvajal to hand over weapons from the United States.

On July 30, 1860, a column of his troops under Eugenio García attacked General Juan Zuazua's forces at the San Gregorio hacienda near Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila; Zuazua died instantly from a shot to the head. Incorporated into the Army of the North in San Luis Potosí, Aramberri was appointed second in chief. He participated in the Capture of Guadalajara from October 6 to 30, 1860, seizing the possessions of Santo Domingo, fought Leonardo Márquez at Zapotlanejo on November 1, and took part in the victory of Calpulalpan on December 22.

In January 1861, he entered Mexico City with the triumphant forces, ending the Three Years' War, and was promoted to brigadier general. He served as Governor of the Federal District from September 20, 1862, to January 23, 1863. He accompanied Juárez north during the Second French Intervention, reaching Matehuala. Seriously ill, he continued to the Hacienda del Canelo near Doctor Arroyo, where he was poisoned on January 27, 1864.