What was Ignacio Zaragoza’s full name, the Mexican commander at the Battle of Puebla?

Ignacio Zaragoza’s full name was Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín, the Mexican commander at the Battle of Puebla.

Zaragoza was born in 1829 in Bahía del Espíritu Santo, then part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. He entered military service during Mexico’s turbulent nineteenth century and supported the liberal government of Benito Juárez.

His best-known victory came on May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated a larger French army outside Puebla. The victory became the historical basis of Cinco de Mayo, although the holiday is celebrated more broadly in the United States than throughout Mexico.

Zaragoza died of typhoid fever in September 1862, only months after the Puebla victory. Puebla was later renamed Puebla de Zaragoza in his honor.