Biography of José Francisco de San Martín, Latin American Liberator

Biography of Josà © Francisco de San Martà ­n, Latin American Liberator Josà © Francisco de San Martà ­n (February 25, 1778–August 17, 1850) was an Argentine general and governor who led his nation during the wars of Independence from Spain. He is counted among the founding fathers of Argentina and also led the liberations of Chile and Peru. Fast Facts: Josà © Francisco de San Martà ­n Known For:  Leading or helping to lead the liberations of Argentina, Chile and Peru from Spain.Born: February 25, 1778 in Yapeyu, Province of Corrientes, Argentina.Parents: Juan de San Martà ­n and Gregoria Matorras.Died:  August 17, 1850, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.Education: Seminary of Nobles, enrolled as cadet in the Murcia infantry regiment.Published Works:  Antologà ­a.Spouse: Marà ­a de los Remedios de Escalada de la Quintana.Child: Marà ­a de las Mercedes Tomasa de San Martà ­n y Escalada.Notable Quote: The soldiers of our land know no luxury, but glory. Early Life Josà © Francisco de San Martin was born on February 25, 1878 in Yapeyu in the Province of Corrientes, Argentina, the youngest son of Lieutenant Juan de San Martà ­n, the Spanish governor. Yapeyu was a beautiful town on the Uruguay River, and young Josà © lived a privileged life there as the governors son. His dark complexion caused many whispers about his parentage while he was young, although it would serve him well later in life. When Josà © was seven years old, his father was recalled to Spain and returned with his family. In Spain, Josà © attended good schools, including the Seminary of Nobles where he showed skill in math and joined the army as a cadet at the young age of eleven. By seventeen he was a lieutenant and had seen action in North Africa and France. Military Career with the Spanish At the age of 19, he was serving with the Spanish navy, fighting the British on several occasions. At one point, his ship was captured, but he was returned to Spain in a prisoner exchange. He fought in Portugal and at the blockade of Gibraltar, and rose swiftly in rank as he proved to be a skilled and loyal soldier. When France invaded Spain in 1806, he fought against them on several occasions, eventually rising to the rank of Adjutant-General. He commanded a regiment of dragoons, very skilled light cavalry. This accomplished career soldier and war hero seemed the most unlikely of candidates to defect and join the insurgents in South America, but thats exactly what he did. Joining the Rebels In September of 1811, San Martin boarded a British ship in Cadiz with the intention of returning to Argentina, where he had not been since the age of seven, and joining the Independence movement there. His motives remain unclear  but may have had to do with San Martà ­ns ties to the Masons, many of whom were pro-Independence. He was the highest ranking Spanish officer to defect to the patriot side in all of Latin America. He arrived in Argentina in March of 1812 and at first, he was greeted with suspicion by Argentine leaders, but he soon proved his loyalty and ability. San Martà ­n accepted a modest command, but made the most of it, ruthlessly drilling his recruits into a coherent fighting force. In January of 1813, he defeated a small Spanish force that had been harassing settlements on the Parana River. This victory - one of the first for Argentines against the Spanish - captured the imagination of the Patriots, and before long San Martà ­n was head of all of the armed forces in Buenos Aires. The Lautaro Lodge San Martà ­n was one of the leaders of the Lautaro Lodge, a secretive, Mason-like group dedicated to complete liberty for all of Latin America. The Lautaro Lodge members were sworn to secrecy and so little is known about their rituals or even their membership, but they formed the heart of the Patriotic Society, a more public institution which consistently applied political pressure for greater freedom and independence. The presence of similar lodges in Chile and Peru aided the independence effort in those nations as well. Lodge members often held high government posts. Argentinas Army of the North, under the command of General Manuel Belgrano, had been fighting royalist forces from Upper Peru (now Bolivia) to a stalemate. In October 1813, Belgrano was defeated at the Battle of Ayahuma and San Martà ­n was sent to relieve him. He took command in January of 1814 and soon mercilessly drilled the recruits into a formidable fighting force. He decided it would be foolish to attack uphill into fortified Upper Peru. He felt that a far better plan of attack would be to cross the Andes in the south, liberate Chile, and attack Peru from the south and by sea. He would never forget his plan, even though it would take him years to fulfill. Preparations for the Invasion of Chile San Martà ­n accepted the governorship of the Province of Cuyo in 1814 and set up shop in the city of Mendoza, which at that time was receiving numerous Chilean Patriots going into exile after the crushing Patriot defeat at the Battle of Rancagua. The Chileans were divided even amongst themselves, and San Martà ­n made the fateful decision to support Bernardo OHiggins over Jose Miguel Carrera and his brothers. Meanwhile, in northern Argentina, the Army of the north had been defeated by the Spanish, clearly proving once and for all that the route to Peru through Upper Peru (Bolivia) would be too difficult. In July of 1816, San Martà ­n finally got approval for his plan to cross into Chile and attack Peru from the south from President Juan Martà ­n de Pueyrredà ³n. The Army of the Andes San Martà ­n immediately began recruiting, outfitting and drilling the Army of the Andes. By the end of 1816, he had an army of some 5,000 men, including a healthy mix of infantry, cavalry, artillerymen and support forces. He recruited officers and accepted tough Gauchos into his army, usually as horsemen. Chilean exiles were welcome, and he appointed OHiggins as his immediate subordinate. There was even a regiment of British soldiers who would fight bravely in Chile. San Martà ­n was obsessed with details, and the army was as well equipped and trained as he could make it. The horses all had shoes, blankets, boots, and weapons were procured, the food was ordered and preserved, etc. No detail was too trivial for San Martà ­n and the Army of the Andes, and his planning would pay off when the army crossed the Andes. Crossing the Andes In January of 1817, the army set off. The Spanish forces in Chile were expecting him and he knew it. Should the Spanish decide to defend the pass he chose, he could face a hard battle with weary troops. But he fooled the Spanish by mentioning an incorrect route in confidence to some Indian allies. As he had suspected, the Indians were playing both sides and sold the information to the Spanish. Therefore, the royalist armies were far to the south of where San Martà ­n actually crossed. The crossing was arduous, as flatland soldiers and Gauchos struggled with the freezing cold and high altitudes, but San Martà ­ns meticulous planning paid off and he lost relatively few men and animals. In February of 1817, the Army of the Andes entered Chile unopposed. The Battle of Chacabuco The Spanish soon realized they had been duped and scrambled to keep the Army of the Andes out of Santiago. The Governor, Casimiro Marcà ³ del Pont, sent all available forces out under the command of General Rafael Maroto with the purpose of delaying San Martà ­n until reinforcements could arrive. They met at the  Battle of Chacabuco  on February 12, 1817. The result was a huge patriot victory: Maroto was completely routed, losing half his force, while the Patriot losses were negligible. The Spanish in Santiago fled, and San Martà ­n rode triumphantly into the city at the head of his army. The Battle of Maipu San Martà ­n still believed that for Argentina and Chile to be truly free, the Spanish needed to be removed from their stronghold in Peru. Still covered in glory from his triumph at Chacabuco, he returned to Buenos Aires to get funds and reinforcements. News from Chile soon brought him hurrying back across the Andes. Royalist and Spanish forces in southern Chile had joined with reinforcements and were threatening Santiago. San Martà ­n took charge of the patriot forces once more and met the Spanish at  the Battle of Maipu  on April 5, 1818. The Patriots crushed the Spanish army, killing some 2,000, capturing around 2,200 and seizing all of the Spanish artillery. The stunning victory at Maipu marked the definitive liberation of Chile: Spain would never again mount a serious threat to the area. On to Peru With Chile finally secure, San Martin could set his sights on Peru at last. He began building or acquiring a navy for Chile: a tricky task, given that the governments in Santiago and  Buenos Aires  were virtually bankrupt. It was difficult to make Chileans and Argentines see the benefits of liberating Peru, but San Martà ­n had great prestige by then and he was able to convince them. In August of 1820, he departed from Valparaiso with a modest army of some 4,700 soldiers and 25 cannons, well supplied with horses, weapons, and food. It was a smaller force than what San Martà ­n believed he would need. March to Lima San Martà ­n believed that the best way to liberate Peru was to get the Peruvian people to accept independence voluntarily. By 1820, royalist Peru was an isolated outpost of Spanish influence. San Martà ­n had liberated Chile and Argentina to the south, and  Simà ³n Bolà ­var  and Antonio Josà © de Sucre had freed Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela to the north, leaving only Peru and present-day Bolivia under Spanish rule. San Martà ­n had brought a printing press with him on the expedition, and he began bombarding citizens of Peru with pro-independence propaganda. He maintained a steady correspondence with Viceroys Joaquà ­n de la Pezuela and Josà © de la Serna in which he urged them to accept the inevitability of independence and surrender willingly in order to avoid bloodshed. Meanwhile, San Martà ­ns army was closing in on Lima. He captured Pisco on September 7 and Huacho on November 12. Viceroy La Serna responded by moving the royalist army from Lima to the defensible port of Callao in July of 1821, basically abandoning the city of Lima to San Martà ­n. The people of Lima, who feared an uprising by slaves and Indians more than they feared the army of Argentines and Chileans at their doorstep, invited  San Martin  into the city. On July 12, 1821, he triumphantly entered Lima to the cheers of the populace. Protector of Peru On July 28, 1821, Peru officially declared independence, and on August 3, San Martà ­n was named Protector of Peru and set about setting up a government. His brief rule was enlightened and marked by stabilizing the economy, freeing slaves, giving freedom to the Peruvian Indians and abolishing such hateful institutions as censorship and the Inquisition. The Spanish had armies at the port of Callao and high in the mountains. San Martà ­n starved out the garrison at Callao and waited for the Spanish army to attack him along the narrow, easily defended coastline leading to Lima: they wisely declined, leaving a sort of stalemate. San Martà ­n would later be accused of cowardice for failing to seek out the Spanish army, but to do so would have been foolish and unnecessary. Meeting of the Liberators Meanwhile, Simà ³n Bolà ­var and Antonio Josà © de Sucre were sweeping down out of the north, chasing the Spanish out of northern  South America. San Martà ­n and Bolà ­var met in Guayaquil in July of 1822 to decide how to proceed. Both men came away with a negative impression of the other. San Martà ­n decided to step down and allow Bolà ­var the glory of crushing the final Spanish resistance in the mountains. His decision was most likely made because he knew that they would not get along and one of them would have to step aside, which Bolà ­var would never do. Retirement and Death San Martà ­n returned to Peru, where he had become a controversial figure. Some adored him and wanted him to become King of Peru, while others detested him and wanted him out of the nation completely. The staid soldier soon tired of the endless bickering and backstabbing of government life and abruptly retired. By September of 1822, he was out of Peru and back in Chile. When he heard that his beloved wife Remedios was ill, he hastened back to Argentina but she died before he reached her side. San Martà ­n soon decided that he was better off elsewhere, and took his young daughter Mercedes to Europe. They settled in France. In 1829, Argentina called him back to help settle a dispute with Brazil which eventually would lead to the establishment of the nation of Uruguay. He returned, but by the time he reached Argentina the tumultuous government had once again changed and he was not welcome. He spent two months in Montevideo before returning once again to France. There he led a quiet life before passing away in 1850. Personal Life San Martà ­n was a consummate military professional, who lived a  Spartan  life. He had little tolerance for dances, festivals and showy parades, even when they were in his honor (unlike Bolà ­var, who loved such pomp and pageantry). He was loyal to his beloved wife during most of his campaigns, only taking a clandestine lover at the end of his fighting in Lima. His early wounds pained him greatly, and San Martin took a great deal of laudanum to relieve his suffering. Although it occasionally clouded his mind, it did not keep him from winning great battles. He enjoyed cigars and an occasional glass of wine. He refused almost all of the honors and rewards that grateful people of South America tried to give him, including rank, positions, land, and money. Legacy San Martà ­n had asked in his will that his heart is buried in Buenos Aires: in 1878 his remains were brought to the Buenos Aires Cathedral, where they still rest in a stately tomb. San Martà ­n is the greatest national hero of Argentina and he is considered a great hero by Chile and Peru as well. In Argentina, there are statues, streets, parks, and schools named after him wherever you go. As a liberator, his glory is as great or nearly as great as that of Simà ³n Bolà ­var. Like Bolà ­var, he was a visionary able to see beyond the confining borders of his own homeland and visualize a continent free of foreign rule. Also like Bolà ­var, he was constantly stymied by the petty ambitions of the lesser men who surrounded him. He differs from Bolà ­var chiefly in his actions after independence: while Bolà ­var exhausted the last of his energies fighting to unite South America into one great nation, San Martà ­n quickly tired of backstabbing politicians and retired to a quiet life in exile. The history of South America might have been very different had San Martà ­n remained involved in politics. He believed that the people of Latin America needed a firm hand to lead them and was a proponent of establishing a monarchy, preferably led by some European prince, in the lands he liberated. San Martà ­n was criticized during his life for cowardice for failing to chase nearby Spanish armies or for waiting for days in order to meet them on a ground of his choosing. History has borne out his decisions and today his military choices are held up as examples of martial prudence rather than cowardice. His life was full of courageous decisions, from deserting the Spanish army to fight for Argentina to crossing the Andes to  free Chile  and Peru, which were not his homeland. San Martà ­n was an outstanding general, courageous leader, and visionary politician and is very deserving of his heroic status in the nations he liberated. Sources Gray, William H. â€Å"The Social Reforms of San Martin.† The Americas 7.1, 1950. 3–11.Francisco San Martà ­n, Jose. Antologà ­a. Barcelona: Linkgua-Digital, 2019.Harvey, Robert.  Liberators: Latin Americas Struggle for Independence  Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 2000.Lynch, John.  The Spanish American Revolutions 1808-1826  New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1986.