Ortega, Gonsalez

(1822-1881) was a liberal politician and military. As governor he defended the state of Zacatecas against attacks by the conservative forces, which he defeated in 1860. From that time on he was ‘hero of the state of Zacatecas’. In 1861 he was elected president of the Supreme Court. As commander of the Mexican forces he participated in the defense of Puebla and fought the French. In 1864, President Juárez granted permission to Ortega to take temporary leave from his duties. He went to the United States to raise support and supplies for the army. In 1865 Juárez decreed, that Ortega had failed his duties by abandoning the country and his troops without the permission of congress and the president. Upon his return to Mexico in 1867, Ortega was arrested and imprisoned in Saltillo. After his release from prison in 1868, he retired to private life in Saltillo, where he died in 1881.