Donaciano Vigil: The Life of a Nuevomexicano Soldier, Statesman, and Territorial Governor

Born in Santa Fe in 1802, Donaciano Vigil was an active participant in many of the critical events in New Mexico’s history in the nineteenth century. Vigil was witness to New Mexico’s transition from a Spanish province (1802–1821) to a Mexican department (1821–1846) and eventually to an American territory (1846–1877), and he was a key player in most of the events of that era. As a Hispano soldier and officer in the New Mexico Militia, he was instrumental in the Navajo Wars, the Rio Arriba i...