Germán Edelmiro Mayer (28 May 1834 – 4 January 1897) was an Argentine soldier, writer and statesman who fought in the

Argentine Civil Wars The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of civil conflicts of varying intensity that took place through the territories of Argentina from 1814 to 1853. Initiation concurrently with the Argentine War of Independence (1810–1820), the conflict pr ...

, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and against the French intervention in Mexico. Mayer was the third governor of the national territory of Santa Cruz, being in office from 1893 until his death in 1897.

Early life

Mayer was born in Buenos Aires in 1834, the son of a Hungarian typographer and a Spanish mother. At the age of 18, he settled along with his family in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

City, where he lived until 1858. Back to Argentina, he joined the

State of Buenos Aires The State of Buenos Aires ( es, Estado de Buenos Aires) was a secessionist republic resulting from the overthrow of the Argentine Confederation government in the Province of Buenos Aires on September 11, 1852. The State of Buenos Aires was nev ...

army and took part in the battles of Cepeda and Pavon against the

Argentine Confederation The Argentine Confederation (Spanish: ''Confederación Argentina'') was the last predecessor state of modern Argentina; its name is still one of the official names of the country according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35. It was the name ...

, where he reached the rank of captain and later of mayor.La increíble historia de Edelmiro Mayer

by Sergio Torres After a dispute between his superiors, General Wenceslao Paunero and

Bartolome Mitre Bartolome is a Tagalog surname and may refer to: * Donnalyn Bartolome (1994), Filipina internet personality, vlogger, singer, songwriter and rapper * Heber Bartolome Heber Gonzalez Bartolome (November 4, 1948 – November 15, 2021) was a Filipi ...

, regarding promotions, Mayer resigned to the army and in late 1861 he returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where his uncle owned a store.

American Civil War

Hired by his uncle, he soon left business life for

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, where he was appointed a military instructor. There, he became a friend of

Robert Todd Lincoln Robert Todd Lincoln (August 1, 1843 – July 26, 1926) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician. He was the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. Robert Lincoln became a business lawyer and company presid ...

, son of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. Mayer left the military academy to work in Lincoln Sr's law office. During the early stages of the civil war, Mayer took sides with

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

, and wrote several articles in

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

, stressing the role of African slaves' descendants in the South American Independence wars. He helped to establish a number of colored regiments. He joined the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in July 1863 as a captain. Promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, he fought with distinction in

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

Olustee Olustee may refer to: * Olustee, Alabama, a populated place near in Pike County, Alabama * Olustee, Florida, a town in Baker County, Florida **Battle of Olustee, the largest battle fought in Florida during the American Civil War ** Olustee Creek, ...

and the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

, commanding the 45th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment.Brebbia (2006), p. 251 At the time of

Lincoln's assassination On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth, while attending the play ''Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head ...

, Mayer and his men were at a party along with his friend Robert Lincoln. Mayer attended Abraham Lincoln's funeral, comforting his friend and family.

French intervention in Mexico

From the United States, Mayer moved to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where he became a general in

Benito Juarez Benito may refer to: Places * Benito, Kentucky, United States * Benito, Manitoba, Canada * Benito River, a river in Equatorial Guinea Other uses * Benito (name) * ''Benito'' (1993), an Italian film See also * '' Benito Cereno'', a novella by ...

's army. Regarded as a "

gringo ''Gringo'' (, , ) (masculine) (or ''gringa'' (feminine)) is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner, usually an English-speaking Anglo-American. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. In Latin America, it is ge ...

" by some of his subordinates, he killed his second in command in the course of a pistol duel. After he saved the life of French-appointed General

Leonardo Márquez Leonardo Márquez Araujo (8 January 1820 – 5 July 1913) was a conservative Mexican general. He led forces in opposition to the Liberals led by Benito Juarez, but following defeat in the reform war was forced to guerilla warfare. Later, he help ...

in the aftermath of the

siege of Querétaro The siege of Querétaro was the culminating battle of the Second French intervention in Mexico and the Second Mexican Empire. It took place between Republican and Imperial armies from 6 March to 15 May 1867. After the French departed, the remainin ...

, in 1867, Mayer was set for execution by firing squad for treason. His own life was spared by the intervention of former President

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (; born Domingo Faustino Fidel Valentín Sarmiento y Albarracín; 15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was an Argentine activist, intellectual, writer, statesman and the second President of Argentina. His writing s ...

, then Argentina's ambassador to the United States.

Return to Argentina

Mayer went back to Argentina in 1873, after a long trip across the United States (where he met

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n patriot

Jose Marti Jose is the English transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Gree ...

), Mexico, and Britain. His rank of general was recognized by Carlos Tejedor, governor of

Buenos Aires province Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

, and in 1875 he commanded the rebel artillery during an uprising against the federal government, led by President

Nicolas Avellaneda Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

. Following the suppression of the revolt, Mayer was forced to resign to the army. He then became a successful writer, publishing works about his military experiences, translations of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

and even a musical dictionary in 1888, where one of the first definitions of

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

as a music genre is found.

Governor of Santa Cruz

Undeterred by a number of ill-fated investments in shore facilities and railways, Mayer eventually purchased a ranch in Santa Cruz, then a

federal territory A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

region. His influence and experience led President

Carlos Pellegrini Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini Bevans (October 11, 1846 – July 17, 1906) was Vice President of Argentina and became President of Argentina from August 6, 1890 to October 12, 1892, upon Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman's resignation (see Rev ...

to appoint him as governor in 1893, after the resignation of Ramon Lista. Mayer played a key role in populating Santa Cruz. His policy was to expand settlements to the west, close to the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, in order to avoid the overpopulation of the coast. He promoted activities such as

animal fat Animal fats and oils are lipids derived from animals: oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides. Although many animal parts and secretions may yield oil, in commercial p ...

s industry,

ship management Ship management is the activity of managing marine vessels. The vessels under management could be owned by a sister concern of the ship management company or by independent vessel owners. A vessel owning company that generally has several vesse ...

and the manufacture of bricks. During his time in office, several scientific expeditions were carried out through the territory led by Carlos Burmeister,

Otto Nordenskjold Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', '' Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded f ...

, Clemente Onelli and

Carlos Ameghino Carlos Ciriaco Ameghino (16 June 1865 – 12 April 1936) was an Argentine paleontologist and explorer who accompanied his brother Florentino Ameghino throughout Argentina searching for fossils. Scientific career Carlos Ameghino was educated ...

. Mayer died suddenly while working at his office in

Rio Gallegos Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

on 4 January 1897.

Early life

American Civil War

French intervention in Mexico

Return to Argentina

Governor of Santa Cruz

References

Further reading