Evaristo Fernández de San Miguel
Evaristo Fernández de San Miguel, duque de San Miguel | |
---|---|
Federico Madrazo (Museo del Prado, Madrid) | |
Born | 26 October 1785 Gijón (Asturias), Spain |
Died | 29 May 1862 Madrid, Spain | (aged 76)
Service/ | Spanish Army |
Rank | Captain general |
Battles/wars | Peninsular War (several battles) |
Evaristo José Fernández San Miguel y Valledor, Duke of San Miguel (26 October 1785–29 May 1862) was a Spanish soldier, politician and writer.
He was a deputy in the Cortes Generales in the legislatures of 1841, 1846, 1854-1856. He was named Senator for life in 1851[1] and Captain General in 1856.[2]
Military career
After having studied Mathematics at the Real Instituto Asturiano in Gijón, and Humanities at Oviedo University,[3] San Miguel joined the Army as a cadet in May 1805 in the Regimiento Primero de Voluntarios de Aragón, together with his brother Santos, who would later be promoted to lieutenant general. At the start of the Peninsular War, San Miguel was a sub-lieutenant in the Regimiento de Voluntarios del Estado, charged with holding the red de San Luis in Madrid, post he was forced to abandon when attacked by superior French forces.[2]
He returned to Asturias to join the defensive plans of the historic General Junta of the Principality of Asturias.[2]
Taken prisoner after the defeat at Peña del Castillo (Santander) in July 1809, he was sent France, where he was held until the signing of the Treaty of Valençay (1813).[2]
Back in Spain, he joined the Regimiento Asturias, part of the expeditionary force, the Ejército Expedicionario de Ultramar, which had been quartered at Cádiz since 1816 in preparation for being sent over to America to quell the remaining rebellions.[2]
A mason, going under the name "Patria",
During the Trienio Liberal, he was an active member of the tertulias held at The Fontana de Oro,[4] in Madrid, one of several cafés de tertulia that were used as meeting places in Spain for the sociedades patrióticas (patriotic societies).[6]
In July 1822, when four battalions of
He joined Francisco Espoz y Mina's forces in Catalonia, and fought at the Battle of Tramaced on 8 October 1823, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. Thanks to the mediation of the French Marshal Lauriston, he was taken to Agen. In May 1824, he was released on condition that he left the country and he went to London.[3]
He returned to France in 1830 but failed in his attempt to enter Spain, finally being able to do so in May 1834.[3]
He was promoted to brigadier in July 1836 after participating at the Battle of Mendigorría, where he was wounded and for which he was awarded the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand.[3]
As General-in-chief of the Ejército del Centro, he prepared the attack on the Carlist forces based at Cantavieja y Beceite (Teruel).[3]
Journalism and writings
San Miguel was a prolific writer, publishing several works, as well as writing the lyrics to the Himno de Riego,[2] in honour of Rafael del Riego, which was declared the national anthem of Spain in 1822, remaining so until the overthrow of the liberal government the following year and would also become one of the popular anthems used in the First Spanish Republic (1873–1874) and, with even more prominence, during the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939).
While at San Fernando, together with Alcalá Galiano, he drew up La Gaceta Patriótica del Ejército Nacional.[2] He was also responsible for the proclamations, signed by Quiroga, that Riego made public following the pronunciamiento.[2]
In 1821, he founded El Espectador (15 April 1821 – 31 March 1823), an important liberal newspaper in its day.[3]
While exiled in London, he collaborated with newspapers and published Elementos del arte de la guerra (London, 1826).[3]
References
- ^ (in Spanish). "Fernández San Miguel y Valledor, Evaristo." Senado de España. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n (in Spanish). Feito Rodríguez, Honorio. "Evaristo José Fernández San Miguel y Valledor." Diccionario Biográfico electrónico (DB~e). Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g (in Spanish). Gil Novales, Alberto (2010). Diccionario biográfico de España (1808-1833): A/F, pp. 1077-1079. Fundación Mapfre. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ a b (in Spanish). "Evaristo Fernández San Miguel y Valledor. Duque de San Miguel". Congreso de los Diputados. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ (in Spanish). Martín-Lanuza, Alberto. "Felipe del Arco-Agüero Yolif." Diccionario Biográfico electrónico (DB~e). Real Academia de la Historia. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ Ricketts, Monica (2017). Who Should Rule?: Men of Arms, the Republic of Letters, and the Fall of the Spanish Empire, p. 175. Oxford University Press. Google Books. Retrieved 28 April 2023.