This is Texas Originals. From Humanities Texas, for the advancement of heritage, culture and education.
Plácido Benavides is called the "Paul Revere of Texas" for his role in the Texas Revolution.
Born in 1810 in Mexico, Benavides moved to Texas in 1828. He found work in Victoria with the family of empresario Martín De León. Benavides married De León's daughter Agustina and became the city's alcalde.
By 1835, Benavides had joined the Texians in opposing Mexican dictator Santa Anna. As head of Victoria's militia, Benavides stood up to Mexican soldiers trying to arrest suspected rebels. This defiance made him a rebel too.
Benavides helped take Goliad and San Antonio for the Texians. Soon after, he was among the men ambushed by the Mexican army near San Patricio. In the ensuing battle, he was dispatched to Goliad to alert others of the Mexican army's approach.
Benavides's ride to Goliad has been compared to Paul Revere's famous ride in the American Revolution, as both men spread the news of oncoming enemy assault.
It was on this ride that Benavides learned that Texas had declared independence. Though he opposed Santa Anna, Benavides was fighting for Texas as part of a federalist Mexico, not for Texas independence. His relations with the Texas rebels soon soured. After the Texian victory in 1836, Benavides and the De León family left Victoria for exile in New Orleans.
Benavides never returned to Texas. He died in 1837.
More information about Plácido Benavides and other Texas Originals is available at Texasoriginals.org. This program is produced by KUHF Houston Public Radio and Humanities Texas, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.