User:Asiaticus/sandbox/Manuel de Jesus Castro

Manuel de Jesus Castro (1821-1885), Mexican soldier and influential government official in Alta California before and during the Mexican-American War. Military commander of the Frontier Company at Santo Tomas in Baja California from 1849 until 1852.

Manuel de Jesus Castro was born in 1821, the eldest son of José Simeon Nepomuncena Castro, a Spanish soldier at the Monterey Presidio from 1809. José Simeon was himself the son of a Spanish soldier Macario Castro, a native of Sinaloa that came to Alta California in 1784. José Simeon Castro had married Maria Antonia Pico before 1817 when they had the first of their nine children. Between 1825 and 1837 he acquired by various means the grants to assemble the Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo and was granted entire the Rancho Punta del Año Nuevo in 1842.

Manuel de Jesus Castro  In 1839, at the age of 18, he became secretary and customs collector at Monterery. From 1842 he became the secretary of the prefecture to 1843.

He was prime mover in the revolt against Micheltorena, taking an active part throughout in 1844-1845, being once captured and exchanged, and finally comisionado to make a treaty,

Under the new administration, he was made prefect of the Monterey district in 1845, being also made lieutenant of the Monterey Company, and took a most prominent part in public affairs, as representative of the civil authority and as a supporter of Governor Pio Pico against his cousin General José Antonio Castro in the north.

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In 1846, besides being promoted to Captain of the Santa Barbara Company, getting a land grant, having a Cat. claim of $10,000, and continuing his services as prefect,

Castro took a prominent and honorable part in the troubles with Fremont,

Castro was sent south in July as comisionado to effect a reconciliation between the general and governor

Castro was left in command at Los Angeles on General Castro's departure in August, but there is doubt whether he was one of the officers captured and paroled by Stockton's men.

On the outbreak of Flores' revolt in October, Castro was put in command of the northern division and commanded in the Natividad campaign and the Battle of Natividad.

Castro accompanied Flores in his flight to Mexico in 1847.

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In Mexico, Don Manuel continued his military services for several years, and in 1849 was put in command of the frontier company of Lower California, in place of Andres Castillero, taking charge of the military colony of Santo Tomas till 1852, when he had to yield to Castillo Negrete.

--- After 1852, Don Manuel Castro resided mostly in San Francisco until 1885, but never became a citizen of the United States, and retained his Mexican military rank as colonel in the Mexican Army. He never married.

Don Manuel was an abler man than his cousin, the general, and his public record in (,'al. down to '47 ni in most respects an excellent one. True to his country's cause, with no sympathy for foreign filibusters, he exerted himself, for the most part in vain, to heal foolish dissensions between Calif, chiefs and direct their force against the invaders. Of his later record not so much can be said in praise. Various 'ways that are dark ' are popularly attributed to him, and, while charges are doubtless exaggerated, it is possible that he has yielded somewhat to temptations offered by land litigation, politics, dislike of the Yankees, and chronic impecuniosity. But at least he has contributed grandly to the store of material for Cal. history. The Castro, Doc. Hist. Cal., in 3 vols, is a most important collection of original papers presented by him in '75; and a few years later he contributed a still larger and richer col. of Doc. Hist. Cal., with important L. Cal. material—somewhat unwillingly, it is true, some of my assistants having to adopt the policy of 'fighting the devil with fire;' and finally I obtained his Relation de Alta Cal., none the less valuable because after it had been written at my expense one of my wicked collaborators had to steal a copy for my use.