Adrián Woll Adrián Woll ( December 2 , 1795 – February 1875 ) was a French soldier of fortune and mercenary who served as a general in the army of Mexico during the Texas Revolution and the Mexican - American War . Biography . Woll ( 1795 – 1875 ) was born in Saint Germain en Laye , about 10 kilometers , or 6 and 1 / 4 miles , west of Paris , on December 2 , 1795 . His military career began in 1813 , when he was 18 , when he served as a private in the 2nd Guard Regiment in the defense of Paris against the enemies of Napoleon in 1814 . By the time of the surrender of the city on March 31 , 1814 , he had been promoted to Sub Lieutenant and was transferred to the 4th Battalion , 10th National Guard Legion and promoted to Captain on April 17 , 1814 . He emigrated to the United States of America and enlisted in the army as Sergeant Major and was appointed as Field Adjutant to General Winfield Scott . Later in New York , he met Spanish General Francisco Javier Mina who gave him a position as a Lieutenant Colonel in July 1816 . He then participated in an expedition against New Spain and came ashore at the Soto la Marina sand bar on April 15 , 1817 , Woll was sent on to New Orleans aboard the " Congreso Mexicano " vessel to pick up and transport a body of volunteers . By the time he returned to Soto la Marina , General Mina had advanced into the interior of Mexico and the fort they had built at Soto la Marina had been captured by the Spaniards . Woll then converted the " Congreso Mexicano " into a raider . He later moved to Mexico and lived as a civilian until after the war for Mexican independence was won . On August 15 , 1830 , after Spain invaded Mexico , he was called into active service by the Mexican government for the duration of the war against Spain . Woll served as the Aide de Camp to the Commander in Chief of the Mexican troops , General Antonio López de Santa Anna . Woll took part in the assault on Tampico , the battle in Tamaulipas , and was wounded during the assault on the coastal fort on September 11 . He was then promoted to the rank of Colonel . In 1832 he served as the Second in Command of the Jalisco Division under General José de la Cuesta . He captured Zamora on November 13 , and in recognition of his actions , he was promoted to the rank of General . In 1836 Woll served with the Army of Operations of the Texas campaign , under the command of General Santa Anna , but after the disastrous Battle of San Jacinto , he was sent by General Vicente Filisola to the Texas camp , to hear the agreements made between Santa Anna and Sam Houston . Woll remained with the Army of the North as Commandant of the Second Division , and then was Second in Command and finally became the Commander in Chief . Woll then undertook his expedition against the then - Mexican town of San Antonio de Bexar . On September 11 , 1842 , after two hours of intense musket fire , his soldiers rounded up 150 prisoners . On his return march to his base camp on the Rio Grande , he was defeated by the Texans at the Battle of Salado Creek on September 17 , and also at the Battle of Hondo River on September 22 . The Mexican government awarded him with a plaque designed exclusively for him , which had a gold edged circle of dark blue enamel with a white 5 - point Texas star , with its top point broken off , all this surrounded with a burst of gold rays , 4 inches in diameter . Woll later retired from all public activity in France in 1865 , after he was sent to France on a special commission by Emperor Maximilian , and he never again returned to Mexico . After the fall of the French empire , he stayed in Montauban , France , where he died peacefully in 1875 , at the age of 80 .