Hispanic & Latino Military Heritage

Among the earliest non-indigenous residents of California were hundreds of people of African background who descended from slaves taken to Mexico during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. These Afro-Latinos, as they have come to be called, helped shape the character of California by blazing trails and establishing towns and ranches that grew into major cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Monterey, and San Jose.

Hernando de Soto landed in Florida with 620 men and 220 horses in May of 1539. By 1540, the conquistadors were making their way along the coast of Georgia, South and North Carolina, and into the Ridge and Valley Province of Tennessee, northwest Georgia, and north Alabama looking for gold. Learn more about this Spanish explorer, his journey to and through the Americas.

Though the United States did not officially declare war on Spain, its southern neighbor, during this era of conflict, border problems along the gulf frontier exacerbated tensions and prompted the Patriot War of 1812–13. During this regional conflict, American settlers living in Florida organized an uprising against Spanish rule and coaxed US forces to intervene on their behalf.

The Civil War was an American epic and an American tragedy. The bloodiest war in United States history claimed the lives of more than 620,000 Americans. Hispanics were very much a part of this conflict. They knew hardship, fear, death, and destruction. They experienced victory and defeat. Some performed acts of spectacular gallantry. Others provided steady service that attracted little comment or notice.

A testament to what two nations can accomplish when they work together to understand their differences and find common ground, Chamizal National Memorial commemorates the milestone in both nations' diplomatic relations and its influence over the United States' and Mexico’s shared heritage and border culture.