Filisola, Vicente

Born: 1789-XX-XX Ravello, Italy

Died: 1850-07-23 Mexico City, Mexico

Filisola moved to Spain when he was very young and enlisted in the Spanish Army in 1804. He became an officer in 1810 and was assigned to Mexico the following year. A supporter of Agustín de Iturbide, Filisola became a general in the Mexican Army, helping Iturbide secure and expand his Mexican Empire. After the fall of Iturbide in 1823, he remained in the service of the new republic and eventually received a grant to settle eastern Texas, although that settlement ultimately failed. Antonio López de Santa Anna appointed Filisola as his second-in-command during the Texas Revolution, making him full commander after Santa Anna’s capture at San Jacinto. He supervised the retreat of Santa Anna’s forces from Texas and ratified the Treaty of Velasco that ended the revolution and granted Texas independence. Due to criticisms of his actions, Filisola resigned his position after returning to Mexico and retired to Saltillo. He was subsequently subjected to court martial but defended himself, and the charges were dismissed in 1841.

Vicente Filisola, Memoirs for the History of the War in Texas (Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 1985); Richard G. Santos, Santa Anna's Campaign Against Texas, 1835-1836 (Waco, TX: Texian Press, 1968).