José Elizardo Aquino Jara was a Paraguayan general who was considered a hero of the

War of the Triple Alliance The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...

. He was one of the first senior Paraguayan military leaders to die in combat. Aquino was a lieutenant colonel at the time of being shot during the

Battle of Boquerón A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

Early years

José Elizardo Aquino was born in Zárate Isla, Luque in 1825. He was the fifth of eleven siblings of the marriage of the Spanish Patricio Aquino and the Paraguayan Rosa Isabel Jara. One of his sisters was named V Vicente.

Military career

In 1847 Aquino joined the

Paraguayan Army To win or to die , march= Marcha al Mariscal Lopez , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= War of the Triple AllianceChaco WarParaguayan People's Army insurgency , anniversaries= 24 of July (Mariscal Lopez Birthday) , decorations= , ba ...

as a member of Battalion No. 2 of Asunción.Segú
MEC.gov.py.
/ref> He was transferred to the

Paso de Patria Paso de Patria is a town in the Ñeembucú department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. ...

camp that was recently installed. Due to his handicraft conditions, he was put at a very young age in charge of the

Ybycuí Ybycuí is a Paraguayan rural community of the Paraguarí Department, department of Paraguari, located 120 km away from Asunción, and 40 km from the Ruta una (Route 1). Toponimics Its name means "Sandy" in Guarani language, Guaran� ...

iron foundry, where cannons and ammunition were manufactured for the army. Later he worked in the Shipyards of the Ribera, where he developed tasks as a naval carpenter. He collaborated (with his famous "chaflaneros") in the construction of the first Paraguayan railway, between

Areguá Areguá () is the capital of Central Department in Paraguay, located from the capital, Asunción. The city lies between Ypacaraí Lake to the east and hills to the west. Areguá is known for its colonial architecture and historic cobblestone s ...

and

Paraguarí Paraguarí (; gn, Paraguari) is a city, ''distrito'' and capital of Paraguarí Department in Paraguay, located 66 km from the country's capital, Asunción. At the 2002 census it had a population of 22,154.Paraguayan War began, Aquino (39 years old) was promoted to captain. He created the Corps of Sappers and worked on the fortification of Humaitá, where the Passage of Humaitá would take place. He embarked north under the command of General Barrios. In the Mato Grosso Campaign, he had a relevant performance that earned him special mentions from Marshal López. In 1865 he distinguished himself in the operations of the South commanded by General Bruguez. Aquino heroically participated in the Battles of Riachuelo,

Mercedes Mercedes may refer to: People * Mercedes (name), a Spanish feminine name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or last name Automobile-related * Mercedes (marque), the pre-1926 brand name of German automobile m ...

and Paso de Cuevas. His fearlessness earned him the nickname ''Tigre de la Vanguardia'', and earned him the National Order of Merit and promotion to lieutenant colonel. For his participation in the

Battle of Estero Bellaco The Battle of Estero Bellaco was one of the bloodiest battles of the Paraguayan War. The battle was fought on 2 May 1866 with the Paraguayan Army suffering 2,000 casualties among the dead and wounded. Likewise, 300 of their men were taken pris ...

on May 2, 1866, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. Before the

, under the orders of General José E. Díaz and Major Jorge Thompson, he organized the trenches in the fields of Boquerón and Sauce. In a memorable action on July 16, 1866, Aquino personally led the 6th, 7th and 8th battalions on a counterattack to regain lost positions. In one of the advances, when the

Imperial Brazilian Army The Imperial Brazilian Army (Portuguese: Exército Imperial Brasileiro) was the name given to the land force of the Empire of Brazil. The Brazilian Army was formed after the independence of the country from Portugal in 1822 and reformed in 1889, a ...

was retreating in complete disorder, Aquino threw himself mounted on an

overo Overo refers to several genetically unrelated pinto coloration patterns of white-over-dark body markings in horses, and is a term used by the American Paint Horse Association to classify a set of pinto patterns that are not tobiano. ''Overo'' is a ...

through the middle of the enemy soldiers. Aquino was shot on the stomach by a rifle bullet from another of the fleeing Brazilian soldiers. His assistants picked him up and took him to the Paso Pucú headquarters. There, Solano López promoted him to brigadier general on his deathbed. He died at age 42, three days later and his remains were buried near that barracks. One hundred and two years later, on November 27, 1968, the Luque municipal council, appointed by the dictator Alfredo Stroessner, had Aquino's remains transferred from the Paso Pucú military cemetery to Luque to be deposited in the mausoleum built in his honor in Elizardo Aquino square in the city of Luque. The architectural project of the mausoleum was carried out by the Luqueño architecture student César Vera, with the sponsorship of Dr. Reinerio Martínez Duarte.

Legacy

The Nueva Trinacria colony, a village populated by Italian immigrants, which is located 278 km northeast of

Asunción Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...

, was renamed

General Elizardo Aquino General Elizardo Aquino is a town in the San Pedro department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South ...

. Route 3 is also named after Aquino.

Family

In the history of this war, there was a Ensign with the surname of Aquino but it's unknown if he is one of Elizardo's brothers.

Early years

Military career

Legacy

Family

References

Further reading