DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just doing my best to do it justice. Now settle in, because this is one of those lives that stretches so wide across Texas history it's almost hard to believe one man walked through all of it. We're talking about Juan Nepomuceno Seguin, born in 1806 in San Fernando de Bexar — the place the world would come to know as San Antonio — and he lived all the way to 1890.
That's eighty-four years of a Texas that was always changing underneath his boots. His father was Erasmo Seguin, a man whose own ancestors had come to this continent around 1700. So when young Juan stepped into the story of Texas, he wasn't stepping in cold — he was carrying generations with him.
As early as 1834, Juan and his father were already rallying fellow Texans against the dictator Santa Anna. The trouble was gathering on the horizon, and these two could read the sky. Then 1835 arrives, and Juan Seguin is raising Mexican-Texan troops and fighting in the Siege of Bexar.
That's just the opening act. When Colonel W. B.
Travis and his men are locked inside the Alamo, Seguin is out there providing horses for those soldiers and riding as a courier during the siege itself. He's the man moving between the walls and the wider world. Now here's where the pacing of history gets genuinely brutal.
The Alamo falls. And what does Juan Seguin do in the stretch between that catastrophe and the Battle of San Jacinto? He leads his Company A, 2nd Regiment, Texas Cavalry, as the rear guard for General Sam Houston — putting himself and his men between Santa Anna's advancing army and the civilians running for their lives ahead of it.
Think about what that job is. You're the last thing standing between an army and the people who can't fight back. His men and Moseley Baker's troops held San Felipe, and they prevented the Mexican Army from crossing the Brazos River right there.
They held that line. Then Seguin's unit joined General Sam Houston's army and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. And when it was over — when the smoke had cleared and Texas had its victory — Juan Seguin had one more thing left to do.
In May of 1836, he gave a military burial to the ashes of the heroes of the Alamo. That duty fell to him, and he carried it. From 1837 to 1840, he served the Republic of Texas as a Senator.
He had bled for this place, guarded its people, buried its dead, and now he was helping write its laws. And the people along the Guadalupe River, they knew what he was worth. On February 25th, 1839, the town of Walnut Springs changed its name to Seguin — to honor this man, right here, while he was still alive to hear it called.
Juan N. Seguin married Maria Gertrudis Flores, and when his long life finally ended, he was buried in Nuevo Laredo. And here's the detail that lands quietly but lands hard — his grave there is cared for by the citizens of the City of Seguin.
The town that took his name has never stopped claiming him.
What the marker says
(1806-1890) Born in San Fernando de Bexar (San Antonio), son of Erasmo Seguin, whose ancestors came to America about 1700. Juan N. Seguin and his father in 1834 rallied fellow Texans against dictator Santa Anna. Young Juan Seguin raised Mexican-Texan troops, and fought in Siege of Bexar, 1835. He provided horses for soldiers of Col. W. B. Travis, further aiding as a courier during the Siege of the Alamo. Between fall of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, he led his Co. A, 2nd Regiment, Texas Cavalry, as rear guard for Gen. Sam Houston, protecting the civilians fleeing in front of army of Santa Anna. His men and Moseley Baker's troops held San Felipe, preventing Mexican Army from crossing the Brazos there. Then Seguin's unit joined Gen. Sam Houston's army and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. In May 1836, Seguin gave military burial to the ashes of the heroes of the Alamo. From 1837 to 1840 he served the Republic of Texas as a Senator. Town of Walnut Springs, on the Guadalupe, changed its name, Feb. 25, 1839, to "Seguin", to honor this hero. Juan N. Seguin married Maria Gertrudis Flores. At his death he was buried in Nuevo Laredo, where his grave is cared for by citizens of City of Seguin. (1970)