Refugio Benavides
Laredo, Webb County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A native of Laredo, Jose Del Refugio Benavides was a descendant of Tomas Sanchez, who founded the city in 1755. As a member of one of Laredo's most celebrated families, he was instrumental in the city's development during the 19th century. He was elected to the office of alderman in 1850 and mayor in 1859. During the Civil War Benavides and his brothers were active in defenses along the Texas-Mexico border. Rising to the rank of Captain, Refugio Benavides commanded a company in the 3rd Texas cavalry. His actions in defending the border against invasions by union troops and Mexican raiders led by Juan Cortina helped retain the valley's important role as a vital cotton-exporting site for the Confederacy. In 1873, following Reconstruction, Refugio Benavides was again elected mayor of Laredo and served three successive terms. Among the accomplishments of his political career were improved public schools, city sewage systems, and the revision of the city charter. Married twice, Benavides was the father of six children. He died in 1899 and was buried in the old Catholic cemetery. He was reinterred here during World War II. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A descendant of Laredo's 1755 founder Tomás Sánchez, Refugio Benavides was a pillar of one of the border city's leading families. He served as alderman and mayor before the Civil War, then rose to captain in the 3rd Texas Cavalry, commanding a company that defended the Rio Grande frontier and helped keep the valley open as a Confederate cotton-export route. After Reconstruction he returned to the mayor's office for three terms, improving schools, sewers, and the city charter.
Why it matters
His life shows how Tejano leaders shaped the Texas-Mexico borderland through the Civil War and its aftermath, bridging military service and civic reform.
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Related people
- · José del Refugio Benavides
- · Tomás Sánchez
- · Juan Cortina
Related events
- · American Civil War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Calvary Catholic Cemetery
Laredo, TX
As Laredo boomed in the late 1800s, the border city needed a fourth camposanto, but politics, money, and neighborhood objections delayed the new Catholic cemetery until 1901. Its grounds hold special sections for infants, for priests, and for the Marist brothers and four orders of nuns who served the city, alongside laity and soldiers. Among the notable dead are Civil War figures Santos and Refugio Benavides and Bishop Pedro Verdaguer of the Vicariate of Brownsville.
Juan Francisco Farías Residence
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This Laredo home traces to about 1840 and the family of Juan Francisco Farías, son of a Laredo alcalde and himself an alderman, mayor, and secretary to the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande. Built of locally fired brick clad in stucco, with two-foot walls, four fireplaces, and Corinthian porch columns, it stayed in the family for five generations until 1974. During the Civil War, Colonel Santos Benavides and Mayor Farías reportedly gathered here to plan Laredo's defense against Union forces.
Benavides Brothers
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The three Benavides brothers descended from Tomás Sánchez, who founded Laredo in 1755, and became the town's best-known Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Santos Benavides rose to colonel—the highest rank achieved by a Mexican-American in the Confederate army—while his brothers Refugio and Cristóbal earned captaincies; together they defeated a raiding party under Juan Cortina at Carrizo in 1862 and, badly outnumbered, held Laredo against Union sympathizers in 1864. Their victories helped keep open the vital Confederate cotton trade with Mexico, and they were leading merchants and politicians in Laredo.
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