Juan de Ugalde

Who was Juan de Ugalde?

Juan de Ugalde later also known as Juan de Uvalde was born in Cádiz, Spain. He joined the Spanish army in 1738. In 1787 he was promoted to commanding general of Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Nuevo Santander. In 1790 he successfully led Spanish soldiers against Apache forces at Arroyo de la Soledad, which was renamed in his honor as Cañon de Ugalde. In the mid-19th Century American settlers altered this to Uvalde, which is the name of the present-day city there. After the Spanish government ordered him back to Spain, Ugalde continued in the service and was promoted to field marshal in 1797. In 1810 he was promoted to lieutenant general. Ugalde died in Cádiz in 1816.