Ignacio de la Llave Segura was an illustrious Mexican who stood out as general of the army and as governor of the Mexican state of Veracruz, this last position between 1861 and 1862. In his honor, the state of Veracruz by Ignacio de la Llave bears his name. He was born in Orizaba, Veracruz on August 26,1818. He participated in the Mexican-American War, in the revolution of Ayutla in 1854 against the dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna, in the War of Reform, and in the Second French Intervention against the Second Mexican Empire of Maximilian I of Mexico. He was the son of an old Spanish family whose origin goes back to the fifteenth century.
His first studies were made in his native land and at age 12 he entered the National School of Orizaba. Later he moved to Mexico City to study jurisprudence which ended with great success in 1841 at age 23. Back in Orizaba he was appointed Judge of the place and began to participate in the political life of the country highlighting his liberal inclinations. In 1844, he seconded the pronouncement initiated by Mariano Paredes Arrillaga against the santanista administration and joined the army, joining as a volunteer in the Orizaba National Guard with the rank of Second Lieutenant. In 1846 he was promoted to Captain by Governor Juan Soto and in that same year he occupied the local council for his District.
He fought against the American invaders organizing a force with which he moved to the port of Veracruz to contribute in his defense. There he met and established relations with Manuel Gutiérrez Zamora, after the battles of Veracruz and Cerro Gordo, he accompanied the Governor Juan Soto in his retreat to Huatusco and Misantla. At the end of the war of 1847, he returned to Orizaba again, serving as a Judge of Letters for several years. In 1852 his supporters pressured him to act as a federal deputy in Mexico City and was simultaneously promoted to the rank of Colonel of the National Guard. His differences with Antonio López de Santa Anna led him to banish him to Yucatan, but when he was taken to that location he managed to escape.
From then on he became a revolutionary taking refuge in the mountains of Atoyac and Chiquihuite to fight the santanist forces, a situation in which he was at the time of the revolution of Ayutla on March 1,1854. Ignacio de la Llave seconded the movement of the South and was recognized by Juan N. Alvarez as Chief of the same in the State. At the end of the struggle, on August 30,1855, he took office as Political Chief Restorer of the Freedom of the Department of Veracruz and remained in that position until November 2 of the same year, when he was succeeded by Juan Soto while he was heading to fight the revolt of Zacapoaxtla. In 1856, Ignacio Comonfort appointed him Minister of the Interior. In June of that year, he submitted his resignation to the position and later was appointed Magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation.
Ignacio de la Llave opposed the pronouncement of Veracruz in favor of the Tacubaya Plan and was elected Head of the Veracruz Forces. Later on, he was appointed Head of the Oriente Division and acted as Minister of War in the Juarista cabinet in the port of Veracruz during the War of Reform from 1858 to 1860. On the death of the Constitutional Governor Manuel Gutiérrez Zamora on March 21 of 1861, he held the governorship provisionally and in June of the same year after new elections were held, he was elected Constitutional Governor of the State, moments in which the French intervention began. In January of 1862 issued a decree declaring the state of siege in Veracruz and after being dissolved the three powers remained in front of the political situation of the entity with the character of General Commander.
He participated in the site of Puebla in the month of April 1863 as well as in the battle of May 5, and in the Battle of Cerro del Borrego. At the fall of the Puebla square he was taken prisoner and sent along with other defenders to Orizaba. There, aided by his fellow citizens from Veracruz, he escaped along with Generals González Ortega and Pattoni, with whom he tried to reach Benito Juárez and his cabinet in San Luis Potosí. In the course of this march he was wounded by the members of the escort who accompanied them, after having noticed these 500 ounces of gold they were carrying. He was transferred to San Felipe, from there to San Bartolo and later to the hacienda del Jaral, in Guanajuato, where he met his death on June 23,1863.