Mexican soldier, born in Galeana, Nueva Leon, on the 12th of January 1826. During the war with the United States (1847–48) he armed his subordinates, and attacked small bodies of the invaders; later he fought with the Mexican army at Palo Alto and Resaca de Guerrero. In 1861 Escobedo attained the rank of brigadier-general. In 1862, during the French interference in Mexican affairs, he fought at Puebla and at the hill of Cerro del Borrego. Later he took part in the defense of Puebla against the French forces. In June 1864, when the empire under Maximilian was established, Escobedo made a short resistance to the new order of things. In November 1865, he surprised the garrison of Monterey. In June 1866, the forces of Escobedo captured Saltillo, and in July Juárez established his government in that city. In December 1866, Escobedo marched on San Luis Potosi with an army of fifteen thousand men. On February 1, 1867, he attacked the imperial general, Miramón, and destroyed half his army. At Querétaro the Emperor Maximilian, with his two generals, Mejia and Castillo, became prisoners. A court-martial was held by order of Juárez, and the emperor promptly condemned and shot. In 1875 Escobedo was commander-in-chief of the frontier department of the east, and in 1876 he served as Secretary of War under Lerdo, but upon the triumph of Díaz he went to New York City, and later proceeded to San Antonio, TX, to renew Mexican agitation on his own behalf. From there he ventured to enter Mexico, where he was arrested, and sent as a prisoner to the capital. Here he was tried by court-martial, and narrowly escaped being declared guilty of conspiracy against the government. In 1879 he again went to New York City, on “private business,” but in August 1880, returned to Mexico. From 1882 until 1883 he was president of the supreme military court of justice, but in 1884 went into retirement.
