Atlas of Hispanic-American History

fought at Gettysburg (1863) and Peters-

burg (1864–1865).

Some Hispanic Americans fought on

the Confederate side. Hispanic Americans

were concentrated in states and territories

that had formerly belonged to Spain—

states and territories that now, due to their

southern location, were predisposed to

join the Confederacy. Of these, the states

of Florida, Louisiana, and Texas all became

Confederate, while the new state of

California and New Mexico Territory

stayed in the Union. Hispanic Americans

in these regions were divided, some join-

ing the Union, some the Confederacy. In

Texas, an estimated 2,250 Tejano soldiers

fought for the Confederate army, and 950

for the Union Army.

The highest-ranking Mexican

American serving in the Confederate

army was Col. Santos Benavides, who

commanded the regiment that defended

Laredo, Texas, during the war and drove

Union forces back from Brownsville in

1864. Tejanos also served in the Con-
      federate cavalry. The 10th Texas Cavalry,
      commanded by Major Leonides M.
      Martín, a Tejano, was also notable for its
      large number of Hispanic members.

The Civil War

in the Southwest

Though remote from the Union and

Confederate capitals, the New Mexico

Territory became the focus of intense

fighting in the early part of the Civil War.

Right on the border of the Confederate

state of Texas, New Mexico was seen as a

gateway through which the Confederacy

could expand westward to Colorado and

108 ATLAS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY

IN HIS

FATHER’S

FOOTSTEPS

David Farragut followed in the military

tradition of his father, Jorge (or

George) Farragut. The elder Farragut

had come to North America in the

1770s from Minorca, a once-Spanish

colony that then belonged to Britain.

During the American Revolution,

Jorge Farragut joined the South

Carolina Navy as a lieutenant and

fought the British at Savannah (1779)

and in the second defense of

Charleston (1780). Jorge Farragut also

participated in the War of 1812.

Jorge Farragut was part of the small

community of Hispanic Americans

who lived in the Thirteen Colonies

prior to the Revolution. That commu-

nity also included Hispanic Jews who

settled in the Dutch colony of New

Amsterdam, the future New York, as

early as 1654.

David Farragut (Library of

Congress)

The Civil War in New Mexico