Benito de San Juan (1727 – 7 January 1809) was a Spanish military officer and a notable commander of the Spanish forces during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. He was commanding officer of the Spanish forces at the

Battle of Somosierra The Battle of Somosierra took place on 30 November 1808, during the Peninsular War, when a combined Franco-Spanish- Polish force under the direct command of Napoleon Bonaparte forced a passage through a Spanish Divison stationed at the Si ...

Career

Benito de San Juan started his military career as a Lieutenant Colonel of the hussars of Estremadura during the

War of the Oranges The War of the Oranges ( pt, Guerra das Laranjas; french: Guerre des Oranges; es, Guerra de las Naranjas) was a brief conflict in 1801 in which Spanish forces, instigated by the government of France, and ultimately supported by the French mil ...

(1801). Noticed by

Manuel Godoy Manuel Godoy y Álvarez de Faria, Prince of the Peace, 1st Duke of Alcudia, 1st Duke of Sueca, 1st Baron of Mascalbó (12 May 17674 October 1851) was First Secretary of State of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many t ...

, he was promoted to colonel and in 1802 was named commander of Godoy's personal guard. He was promoted to

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

followed by his promotion in 1805 to the rank of ''Mariscal'' (field marshal). He then became general inspector of Spanish infantry and

line cavalry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

. During the Peninsular War, he assumed command over some 12,000 troops, defending the passes of Guadarrama, Fonfría, Navacerrada and Somosierra in the mountain range to the north of

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. Knowing the weakness of his forces, much inferior to the French army (considered the best fighting force of its time), he prepared a plan of indirect defence of the Spanish capital by defending the road leading to the

Somosierra Somosierra is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain, located at 83 km north of Madrid, in the mountain pass with the same name, at an elevation of 1433 metres above sea level, being the northernmost town of Community of Madri ...

Pass, some 100 kilometres to the north of the capital. At the resulting battle, he lost most of his artillery and his force was dispersed. San Juan himself was wounded several times during the charge of the

Polish cavalry The Polish cavalry ( pl, jazda, kawaleria, konnica) can trace its origins back to the days of medieval cavalry knights. Poland is mostly a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment. The knights and heav ...

and was forced to escape to Segovia, allowing Napoleon to pass and establish his field headquarters at Buytrago. San Juan finally managed to withdraw with the remnants of his routed forces to

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in th ...

, where he attempted to rally his troops. However, the demoralisation of the Spanish army, composed in a large part of untrained conscripts and peasant volunteers, led to a mutiny. On 7 January 1809, the mutineers (apparently led by a local fray) captured San Juan who attempted to reason with them and to fight them only to be forcefully disarmed, shot him three times as he tried to jump out of a window; after which his corpse was hung from a tree and shot several more times.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Juan, Benito de Year of birth uncertain 1809 deaths Executed Spanish people Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Spanish generals

Career

See also

References