Santos Benavides

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker on Santos Benavides tells it, and I'll do my best to give it the telling it deserves. Now, some names carry weight before you even get to the deeds — and Santos Benavides is one of them. He was born in Laredo on November 1, 1823, the son of Jose Jesus and Marguerita Benavides.

And if that weren't enough of a foundation, he was the great-great grandson of Tomas Sanchez, the very founder of Laredo. The town was practically in his blood. He married Augustina Villareal in 1842, and by 1843 he had already been appointed procurador of Laredo — that's the administrative agent, the man who kept the machinery of local governance turning.

And he did not shy from hard decisions. When forces under Mirabeau B. Lamar occupied Laredo during the Mexican War — that's 1846 to 1848 — Benavides openly cooperated with them in an effort to pacify the region.

Openly. That word is doing a lot of work there. This was not a man who dealt in half-measures.

The people of Laredo took notice. They elected him mayor in 1856, then again in 1857. Then in 1859 they sent him up to serve as chief justice of Webb County.

He was, by any measure, the kind of figure a community leans on. Then came the Civil War — and that is where the story shifts into a register all its own. Benavides raised a company of cavalry at Laredo.

In 1861, that company rode out and defeated Juan Cortina at the Battle of Carrizo. He kept rising, eventually becoming a colonel in command of his own regiment — known, fittingly, as Benavides' Regiment. And then came March 19, 1864.

On that date, his regiment defended Laredo against a Union force of more than 200 men. Benavides held the town with only 42. Forty-two men.

The math on that day was not in his favor, and Laredo held anyway. After the war, he turned his considerable energy toward commerce and land. Through the late 1860s and the 1870s, he engaged in mercantile and ranching activities alongside his brother Cristobal.

In the 1880s he served in the Texas Legislature. And in 1884 he was appointed Texas Commissioner to the world's Cotton Exposition. He also helped found the Guarache party — a faction of Laredo's Democratic Party — because apparently governing, ranching, legislating, and defending a city with 42 men had not been quite enough.

Santos Benavides died in Laredo on November 9, 1891. The same city where he was born. The same city he had governed, defended, and helped shape across a lifetime of public life.

Laredo was his inheritance, and by any account, he more than honored it.

What the marker says

Santos Benavides, son of Jose Jesus and Marguerita Benavides and great-great grandson of Laredo founder Tomas Sanchez, was born in Laredo on November 1, 1823. He married Augustina Villareal in 1842. Benavides, appointed procurador (administrative agent) of Laredo in 1843, openly cooperated with the forces of Mirabeau B. Lamar which occupied Laredo during the Mexican War (1846-48) in an effort to pacify the region. He was elected mayor of Laredo in 1856 and 1857 and chief justice of Webb County in 1859. During the Civil War Benavides raised a company of cavalry at Laredo which defeated Juan Cortina in the Battle of Carrizo in 1861. He became a colonel in command of his own regiment known as Benavides' Regiment. On March 19, 1864, his regiment successfully defended Laredo with only 42 men against a Union force of more than 200 men. During the late 1860s and 1870' Benavides engaged in mercantile and ranching activities with his brother Cristobal. He served in the Texas Legislature during the 1880s and in 1884 was appointed Texas Commissioner to the world's Cotton Exposition. Benavides helped found the Guarache party, a faction of Laredo's Democratic Party. He died in Laredo on November 9, 1891. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995