Silvestre De León was born 1802 in Texas. He served as third alcalde and with his brother-in-law Plácido Benavides was a captain of the militia defense against hostile Karankawas, Tonkawas, and Comanches. Silvestre joined his brother Fernando De León, brothers-in-law Plácido Benavides and José M. J. Carbajal, and John J. Linn in gathering local support for the Texas revolt against Antonio López de Santa Anna. De León contributed provisions, livestock, and military equipment to the Texas army and joined Benavides’s company of thirty Mexican rancheros who participated in the Siege of Béxar in December 1835. Upon the occupation of Guadalupe Victoria by Gen. José de Urrea, De León was arrested by the Mexican army as a traitor; he was released after the Texan victory at San Jacinto but then fell victim to the severe prejudice directed against all Texans of Mexican descent. Forced to flee with the De León, Carbajal, and Benavides families to Louisiana, he lost his land, livestock, and most possessions to fortune hunters, though he later resettled in Victoria County. While returning from selling horses, mules, and cattle in Louisiana he was ambushed, murdered, and robbed in 1842.
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