Pedro
Herrera

by Randell Tarin

Pedro Herrera was a member of Juan N. Seguín's company of Tejanos who fought at San Jacinto. He was born in the Villa de San Fernando on October 15,1806 to Vicente de Herrera and Margarita Vargas.

By 1830, Herrera served as a private in the Mexican cavalry company of Alamo de Parras under the command of Lt. Col. José Francisco Ruíz. That year the company built and occupied Fort Tenoxtitlán on the banks of the Brazos River.

In August of 1831, Herrera and a young son were reported missing from the fort and presumed dead. It was commonly believed that Herrera had fallen victim to hostile Indians, when in fact he had deserted. He remained undetected for several years.

In December of 1835, he aligned himself with Texas's growing forces and participated in the storming of Béxar. By February 22,1836 he enlisted as a private in Juan N. Seguin's company of Tejanos. He remained with Seguin until July of that year and served directly under Seguin's command at the battle of San Jacinto. Herrera reenlisted on November 5,1836 into Captain Manuel Flores Cavalry Company and was discharged on February 20,1838 having attained the rank of 4th Sergeant.

For his participation in the revolution he received bounty warrants and donation grants for several hundred acres of land in Angelina, Bandera, Kendall and Medina Counties. Herrera died after 1853.

© 1996 Texas State Historical Association

Bibliography

Muster Rolls of the Texas Revolution. (Austin, TX: Daughters of the Republic of Texas, 1986) Printed by Craftsman Printers, Inc., Lubbock, TX. (Hereafter cited as DRT).

Leal, John Ogden. Baptismals [sic] of the San Fernando Church, Book 3, 1788- 1824. trans. (San Antonio, TX: unpublished ms., c.1977).

Lozano, Ruben Rendon, Viva Tejanos, The Story of the Tejanos, the Mexican-born Patriots of the Texas Revolution. With new material added by Mary Ann Noonan Guerra.(San Antonio,TX: Alamo Press, c.1936,1985).

McLean, Malcolm D., Papers Concerning Robertson's Colony In Texas. (Arlington, TX: UTA Press, c.1977.) Vols 5 & 6.

______, Tenoxtitlán, Dream Capital of Texas, Southwestern Historical Quarterly, (Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association, July 1966) Vol.LXX, No.1, pp.23-33.

Miller, Thomas Lloyd, Bounty and Donation Land Grants of Texas, 1835 - 1888. (Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1967).

Audited Military Claim to the Republic of Texas, #8612, file of Pedro Herrera, Texas State Archives, Lorenzo de Zavala State Library, Austin Texas (Hereafter cited as TSA.)