Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/394

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370
ESCOBEDO
ESCOBEDO Y ALARCON

prisoners, as a reprisal for the execution of Mexi- can otficers alter the imperial decree of 3 Oct., 1865, declaring republicans under arms outlaws. For this victory Escobedo was promoted to general of division, and appointed commander-in-chief of all the republican armies. Juarez established his government in San Luis de Potosi, and ordered Escobedo to advance on Queretaro, where the rest of the dispersed troops of Miramon had joined the imperial army, consisting of more than 8,000 picked men. After an obstinate fight on the heights of San Gregorio, Escobedo, with an array of over 20,000 men, surrounded Queretaro in the begin- ning of March, establishing intrenchments and batteries on the hills of Cimatario and Cuesta- China, and on 12 March a regular siege began, which lasted till 15 May, when, after a vigorous as- sault, the city was taken, as is generally believed, by treachery of Col. Miguel Lopez, the chief of the emperor's body-guard. The emperor, together with Mejia and Severo del Castillo, was taken prisoner, and, on surrendering his sword, offered his word of honor to Escobedo to leave the country immediately if conducted to the nearest port by an escort; but Escobedo refused to grant him this liberty, under express orders from .Jiuxrez. It is said that he had previously refused brilliant offers that were made to him by European princes to allow Maximilian to escape from Queretaro. A court-martial was instituted at Queretaro by Juarez's order, and the emperor was condemned and executed. At the end of June, Escobedo left for the city of Mexico, but after the re-establishment of the republican govern- ment in the capital he retired to his country seat, where he remained, except during a short service in 1868 against the revolutionists of Sinaloa, till Lerdo de Tejada assumed the presidency in 1873. When a revolutionary movement, encouraged by the church party, broke out toward the end of that year in Michoacan, Escobedo was sent to quell it, and suc- ceeded in doing so in November, 1874. In 1875 he was appointed commander-in-chief of the frontier department of the east, when the rising of Gen. Diaz broke out. Escobedo, by order of the secre- tary of war, Mejia, delivered his command to Gen. Corona, but the latter did not succeed in quelling the movement, which culminated in February, 1876, in the " Plan de Tuxtepec." Lerdo de Tejada then removed Mejia and appointed Escobedo secretary of war. Notwithstanding that the army was filled with sedition, Escobedo took the most active meas- ures, sending Gen. Alatorre with a strong force to the eastern and Gen. Ceballos to the western states, but they were unable to stem the tide; and when the revolution was triumphant at Los Llanos de Tecoac, and Lerdo resolved to abandon the cap- ital, Escobedo collected the garrison and a troop of rural guards, and with them, on 26 Nov., pro- tected the departure of the president and his min- isters toward the Pacific coast, as the roads to the Gulf were intercepted. After several days the party was surprised and captured by a bandit, Pioquinto Huato, of Diaz's party, and only re- leased on payment of a ransom of $30,000. After this they reached Acapulco in safety, and proceeded thence to New York. Escobedo remained there till February, 1878, when he went to San Antonio, Texas, and published a manifesto, proposing the overtlirow of Diaz and the reinstallation of Lerdo. This document was signed by Cols. Winter, Mon- roy, and Cristo, who, passing the frontier, invaded Mexican territory. But the authorities took active measures, and when Escobedo ventured personally to enter Mexico, he was arrested at Lampazos and sent as a prisoner to the capital. He was tried by a court-martial, but, notwithstanding the exertions of the government, was declared not guilty, and again retired to his estate in San Luis Potosi. Fearing attempts on his life, he came to the capi- tal, where, although at liberty in his residence, he was continuously under espionage, and, in fact, a prisoner, being forced to present himself frequently to the authorities. To escape these persecutions, he obtained a medical certificate, and, under pre- text of restoring his health, came to New York toward the end of 1879, but in August, 1880, re- turned to Mexico and accepted an office from the government. This action was a surprise, as short- ly before this he had been planning a new con- spiracy against Diaz, and had compromised many persons. " In 1882 Gonzalez appointed him presi- dent of the supreme military court of justice, and, after holding this office till 1883, he retired finally into private life.


ESCOBEDO Y AGUILAR, Pedro Jose Alcantara, Mexican physician, b. at Queretaro, 19 Oct., 1798; d. in Jalapa. 28 Jan., 1844. He was graduated at the University of Mexico, and studied medicine there at the National school of surgery, and at the San Andres hospital. He was one of the founders of the Academy of practical medicine, and occupied the special chair of surgery there in 1826-'8. In 1832 he joined the medical staff of the military canton established at Jalapa, and rendered valuable services. In 1833 he returned to the capi- tal, and was appointed professor of surgery at the College of medical sciences, and was afterward its vice-director. In 1844 he labored to improve the institution under his direction, established boards of health, and, with a credit which he obtained from the government, facilitated the printing of the Parmacopea Mexicana," He spent his salary in books and instruments for the college of medicine, in which he took great interest. Dr. Escobedo was for some time in congress, and was a member of learned societies in Mexico and Europe. He was the author of many treatises and articles on medicine.


ESCOBEDO Y ALARCON, Jorge, Spanish jurist, b. in Jaen, Spain, in February, 1748; d. in Madrid in March, 1806. He entered'the college of Cuenca in 1762, and afterward studied law at Sala- manca, where, in 1769, he occupied the chair of moral philosophy. In 1776 he was sent to Peru by the king as judge of the superior court of Charcas. Afterward he was appointed political and military governor of Potosi, and was superintendent of the mint, the bank, the mines, the taxes, and of the royal treasury. In 1779 he incorporated the gov- ernment bank of purchases and barter, which, un- der Bscobedo's direction, yielded a large revenue to the exchequer, and provided for the wants of the miners. He defended Potosi during the Revo- lution of 1780, organizing the troops in that city, and ordering the casting of cannon and the manu- facture of arms. He was then appointed criminal judge of the supreme court of Lima, and in 1782 Charles III, made him inspector of the courts of justice and royal treasury of the vice-royalties of Lima and Buenos Ayres, and superintendent sub- delegate of the treasury of Peru, with the same honorary rank in the council of the Indies. He was also appointed political governor of Lima, and from 1785 till 1787 presided over the city corpora- tion. In that period he founded the superior junta of the treasury, of which he was president. In all these public offices he introduced many reforms, and at the same time co-operated in the pacifica- tion of Peru. In February, 1788, he returned to Spain, and Soon afterward was elected president of the supreme council of the Indies. Escobedo