Santos Degollado Collection

The Santos Degollado Collection forms part of the Genaro García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García. The Santos Degollado Collection was described by the Benson Latin American Collection's Mexican Archives Project in December 1993.

The physical extent of the collection is one inch. The collection is in Spanish; its bulk dates are 1856-1861. It is also available on microfilm.

The following guide is available in Rare Books Reference: Castañeda, Carlos E. and Jack Autrey Dabbs, eds., Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1939.

Documents from the collection were published by Genaro García in his Colección de documentos inéditos o muy raros para la historia de México (volume 11), Mexico, Vda. de C. Bouret, 1907.

The suggested citation for the collection is "Santos Degollado Collection, 1856-1907, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin." For more information pertaining to Santos Degollado please see the papers of his sons in the Joaquín and Mariano Degollado Collection, also held by the Benson Latin American Collection.

Military and political leader. Born 1811 in Guanajuato; died 1861 on the plains of Salazar, Mexico state. Scribe for a notary and for the Haceduría of the Cathedral in Morelia (1828-?). Imprisoned twice for insurgency (1836-1839?). Secretary of the Junta Subdirectora de Estudios of Michoacan and President of the Junta Directiva de Fomento de Artesanos (1846). Secretary of the Colegio de San Nicolas. Fought against Santa Anna and became a General. Deputy for the District of Michoacan at the Constitutional Congress of 1856-57. Governor of Jalisco (1857). Fought on the side of Benito Juarez in defense of the 1857 Constitution. Minister of War and Navy, General in Chief of the Federal Army (1858). Noted for his great organizational skill but not his military strategy, Degollado suffered many military defeats. His armies finally were victorious under the direction of Jesús González Ortega. Involved in the confiscation for military purposes of funds being sent out of the country by businessmen, Degollado was discharged from military command. He obtained reinstatement to avenge the execution of Melchor Ocampo and was killed in ambush by the forces of Leonardo Márquez on June 15, 1861.

Correspondence, literary productions, and decrees relating to Degollado's military and political career. Correspondence pertains primarily to Mexican military and political affairs, mostly from 1856 to 1861. Several letters in the collection, dated after Degollado's death, are addressed to Jesús González Ortega. A few items relate to the 1876 controversy between Santos Degollado's son, Mariano Degollado, and the son of Benito Juárez, also called Benito Juárez, concerning blame for the death of the elder Degollado. Literary productions describe Degollado's life and death. Two decrees dated 1858 and 1859 are from his tenure as Secretary of War and Navy and General-in-Chief of the Federal Army.

The Santos Degollado Collection was arranged into series by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed the processing of the collection in December 1994. The documents are arranged chronologically within series.

1. Mariano Degollado wrote to El Monitor imputing responsibility for his father's death to an unnamed, highly placed official. (This letter is not in the collection).

2. Benito Juárez (son) sent González and Chavero to ask M. Degollado to defend his statement on the field of honor. They summarized the results of this meeting in a letter to Juárez.

3. Juárez wrote to the Federalista and made public his view of the situation and events.

4. González and Chavero wrote to El Monitor and explained the peaceful resolution to the dispute. (Juárez backed down). According to the text of this letter, they also wrote to the Federalista.

Return to Mexican Archives Project-Index