Toribio Losoya

José Toribio Losoya, (April 11, 1808 – March 6, 1836) was a former Mexican soldier, a Texian military participant in the Siege of Bexar and Battle of the Alamo defender.

Toribio Losoya
Statue of Toribio Losoya by William Easley in San Antonio, Texas
Born
José Toribio Losoya

(1808-04-11)April 11, 1808
San Antonio de Béjar, Texas, Viceroyalty of New Spain
DiedMarch 6, 1836(1836-03-06) (aged 27)
Alamo Mission, San Antonio, Texas
NationalitySpanish (1808–1821) and Mexican (1821–1836)
OccupationSoldier

Early life and family

Losoya was born in San Antonio on April 11, 1808, to Ventura Losoya and Concepción de Los Angeles Charlé. Their old stone house was a former Alamo Indian dwelling. His parents, brother Juan, sister Maria and Toribio all lived in the two room building near the southwest corner of the mission compound. Losoya married Concepción Curbier and they had three children.[1]

Career

Toribio Losoya was a private in the Mexican Army, serving at the Alamo with the Second Flying Company of San Carlos de Parras under Lt. Col. José Francisco Ruiz. During 1830, his company had built Fort Tenoxtitlán on the west bank of the Brazos River, 100 miles (161 km) above San Felipe. Losoya and his family were stationed at the fort until September 1832, whereupon he returned to San Antonio. Losoya was among the many Mexican soldiers who didn't like the centralist policies exercised by Antonio López de Santa Anna.[2]

Texas Revolution

In late 1835, he had deserted the Mexican army and joined Juan Seguín's company of Tejanos, participating in the siege of Bexar. While the town was under siege for many months by the Texians, so was their home and many others, as the house to house fighting progressed.

When Santa Anna's troops retook San Antonio and laid siege to the Alamo in 1836, Losoya and family entered the Alamo for safety. Losoya, Esparza, and 14 of Seguín's men would remain behind, as Seguín rode from the Alamo to recruit reinforcements.[3] Losoya's mother and three children remained in the mission during the siege of the Alamo.[4] Losoya was killed in the March 6 battle of the Alamo. His body was discovered by Francisco Ruiz in the chapel and was burnt on the pyres along with the other Alamo defenders.[5]

Losoya survivors of the Battle of the Alamo

His mother, Concepcion Losoya, brother Juan Losoya, and sister, Juana Melton were spared and are listed as official non-combatant survivors of the Battle of the Alamo.[6]

Commemoration

A life-size statue of Losoya, sculpted by William Easley, stands across Losoya Street from the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the Paseo del Alamo in San Antonio. The Adolph Coors Company gifted the sculpture of "an unsung hero of the Alamo" to commemorate the Texas Sesquicentennial celebration.[7]

The Alamo's west wall was excavated in 1979-80 and the Losoya home basework was located and photographed thus showing the layout of the family's two-room residence.[8]

See also

Citations
  1. Groneman (1990), p. 74
  2. TARIN, RANDELL G. (June 15, 2010). "LOSOYA, JOSE TORIBIO". tshaonline.org.
  3. Lindley (2003), p. 94.
  4. Todish (1998), p. 91.
  5. Todish (1998), p. 82.
  6. Groneman, Bill. "ALAMO NONCOMBATANTS". Handbook of Texas Online (Texas State Historical Association). Retrieved April 26, 2011.
  7. Martinez (1986), p. B3
  8. http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/adp/history/mission_period/valero/valero_Images/enhanced/ex004_13h_gs150.jpg

References
  • Groneman, Bill (1990), Alamo Defenders, A Genealogy: The People and Their Words, Austin, TX: Eakin Press, ISBN 0-89015-757-X
  • Lindley, Thomas Ricks (2003), Alamo Traces: New Evidence and New Conclusions, Lanham, MD: Republic of Texas Press, ISBN 1-55622-983-6
  • Todish, Timothy J.; Todish, Terry; Spring, Ted (1998), Alamo Sourcebook, 1836: A Comprehensive Guide to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution, Austin, TX: Eakin Press, ISBN 978-1-57168-152-2
  • Martinez, James (December 1, 1986). "Monument honors Alamo hero Losoya". San Antonio Light. p. B3.

Media related to Toribio Losoya at Wikimedia Commons

Tejano volunteers under Juan Seguín

Tejano volunteers under the command of Juan Seguín for all or part of their service in the Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas. Note that Seguin's men at the Alamo were scouts/couriers going in and out, between San Antonio and nearby Gonzales, the rallying point for volunteers.

Sources:

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