Ráfael Vásquez was a 19th-Century General in the Mexican Army during the Mexican rebellion against the centralist style rule of government.

Early life

Vásquez was born in Mexico City in 1804. His first military endeavor was on February 20, 1827, as Captain of Patriots of the Hacienda de Ciénega de Mata, Jalisco, Mexico. He was appointed brevet brigadier general in 1839.

Mexican political rebellions

Vásquez was a major figure in the suppression of the Mexican insurgents, who opposed the centralization of the Mexican government under General Antonio López de Santa Anna

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...

. The states of Coahuila

Coahuila

Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...

, Nuevo León

Nuevo León

Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...

, and Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas

Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...

 had advocated rebellion and sought secession from Mexico and declared a new Republic of the Rio Grande

Republic of the Rio Grande

The Republic of the Rio Grande was an independent nation that insurgents against the Central Mexican Government sought to establish in northern Mexico. The rebellion lasted from January 17 to November 6, 1840 and the Republic of the Rio Grande was never officially recognized.- Background :After a...

. Vásquez led a force to subdue Antonio Canales Rosillo

Antonio Canales Rosillo

Antonio Canales Rosillo was a 19th century politician, surveyor, and military officer.- Career:...

 and his Texan - Mexican troops into an ambush near Saltillo, Mexico. Assisting Canales was Colonel Samuel W. Jordan. Jordan led a group of federalist troops that had secretly been infiltrated by centralist supporters. However, he still managed to rout the centralists forces who quickly fled to Saltillo.

Texas invasion

On March 5, 1842, General Vásquez invaded Texas with about 700 men and occupied San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

. The Texan forces were surprised and overwhelmed. After a few skirmishes, they were unable to defend the town and evacuated to Seguin, Texas

Seguin, Texas

Seguin is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,011; the July 1, 2009 Census estimate, however, showed the population had increased to 26,842...

. Vásquez deemed it a surrender and took control of San Antonio. He raised the Mexican flag and thus declared Mexican laws in effect. On March 7, Vásquez fled San Antonio, while pursued by Texan forces. He crossed the Rio Grande and returned to Mexico. The Vásquez expedition was one of the events that led to retaliations by the Texans through the Mier Expedition

Mier Expedition

The Mier Expedition, was an offshoot that developed originally out of the Somervell Expedition, which was a unsuccessful military operation launched in November 1842 by a Texian militia against Mexican border settlements. It included a major battle at Ciudad Mier on December 26 and 27, 1842 which...

 and Somervell Expedition.

Later life

Later in 1851 and 1852, Vásquez was commandant general of the state of Jalisco, Mexico . He died on March 9, 1854, in Mexico City.