13 days of Glory: Honoring our Texas Hero's-Day 1 Blas Herrera

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Blas Herrera, a Tejano scout who rode to San Antonio 175 years ago to warn of the Mexican Army's approach, will be honored today by legislators in Austin.

Dozens of descendants, many from Bexar County, are expected to attend today's “Blas Herrera Day” recognition by Rep. John V. Garza, R-San Antonio. Herrera played other important roles in history, but he is best known for alerting the Alamo command in mid-February 1836 that Mexican Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna and his army were marching toward San Antonio.

Rudi Rodriguez, a descendant by marriage and founder of the Hispanic Heritage Center of Texas, said Herrera is one of many Tejanos whose contributions to the Texas Revolution are finally being recognized. Some 400 Tejanos served in the Texian army, comprising about one-sixth of the force, with many providing crucial ground intelligence, Rodriguez said.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Alamo-scout-s-ride-to-S-A-to-get-state-salute-1024034.php#ixzz1EhtpU55J

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More info:

During the siege of Bexar in late 1835, Herrera served under the command of Capt. Juan Nepomuceno Seguín and was a member of the assaulting force on December 5–9, 1835. Early in 1836 Seguín sent him to Laredo to keep surveillance on Mexican troop movements and to report any advance on San Antonio. About the middle of February, Herrera brought the information that Mexican general Antonio López de Santa Anna's troops were approaching the city. Herrera's next assignment was to escort and protect José Antonio Navarro and José Francisco Ruizqqv during their trip to Washington-on-the-Brazos, where they signed the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836.

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhe73

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Picture of Blas Herrera and wife