Ureta, in Sharp's version, is Huerta (presumably Victoriano Huerta). Santy Anna, he explains, was Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (1795-1876), a Mexican general, politician, and conspirator. He defeated the Spanish at Zampico, and led the defense of Vera Cruz against the French. He was badly beaten by Taylor and Scott at the outset of the war with the United States (1846) and exiled. He proceeded to live an adventurous life thereafter.