Emilio Sotomayor Baeza was a Chilean general and politician who was the

Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army This article lists the commanders-in-chief of the Chilean Army. The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land force of Chile. The Chilean Army dates back to 1810. The current Commander-in-Chief is Army General Javier Iturriaga del Campo ...

from January 4, 1884 to August 22, 1888 as well as a prominent military commander during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

Biography

Emilio was the son of farmer Justo Sotomayor y Elzo and Clara Baeza y Ojeda. He was the seventh of 12 sons, among whom

Rafael Sotomayor Baeza Rafael Sotomayor Baeza (13 September 1823 – 20 May 1880) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. As Minister of War and Navy he was the main organiser of Chilean forces during the War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, lin ...

was one of them. He married Rosa Leighton Frederick. After entering the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and ...

in 1845 and in 1846 he was already an officer in the National Guard. On August 17, 1847, before his 22nd birthday, he held the position of Alférez de Artillería. Although he did not graduate as a student at the , his culture and illustration allowed him to get promotions in his career. Three years after joining the Army, he was already a lieutenant . With that degree he faced the pipiola revolution in 1851, when Manuel Francisco Montt Torres arrived at the government. Under the command of General Juan Vidaurre-Leal he went to Coquimbo and fought in Petorca and besieged La Serena where he got wounded in the latter which got him promoted to Captain. He participated in the Chilean Revolution of 1851 against the liberals in the battles of Petorca and in the siege of La Serena. Eight years later he fought in the . In 1857 he requested retirement from service, but a year later he was appointed commander of the Municipal Guard of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, for which he had to request his reincorporation into active service, and was promoted in May of that same year to the rank of major. Under the orders of Vidaurre-Leal, he fought in the battle of Los Loros in 1859 and later in Cerro Grande, against the improvised army of Pedro León Gallo Goyenechea. The same year 1859 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and in charge of the artillery of Valparaíso. Along with 25 soldiers, he put down a mutiny that killed Vidaurre-Leal who was the mayor of Valparaíso. In 1865, during the

Chincha Islands War The Chincha Islands War, also known as Spanish–South American War ( es, Guerra hispano-sudamericana), was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia from 1865 to 1879. The ...

, he was appointed intendant of Chiloé. He then fortified the Bay of Ancud with heavy caliber artillery, the Spanish ships did not attack the archipelago in 1866. In 1869 he was appointed head of the Maestranza de Limache and in 1867, he was appointed honorary president of the Africa Institute based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. He was then made the director of the Escuela Militar del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins. He was also a founding partner of the Second Fire Company Bomba A. Edwards R. in Valdivia. He served as proprietary deputy for

Castro, Chile Castro is a city and commune on Chiloé Island in Chile. Castro is the capital of the Chiloé Province in the Los Lagos Region. The city is located on Estero de Castro on the eastern coast of central Chiloé Island. This position provides Castro ...

from 1870 to 1873, and was a member of the Permanent War and Navy Commission. In 1872 he traveled to Europe as head of the Military Commission in order to buy weapons, at which time he also took the opportunity to study and perfect himself. The result of the trip was the purchase of 12,000 Comblain II rifles that were the regular weapon of the army during the War of the Pacific . In 1879 he was sent to occupy the town of

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...

during the

. In 1880, he was promoted to Brigadier General and delegated inspector of the Army in operations against

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and Bolivia. He also participated in the

Occupation of Lima , common_languages = Spanish , religion = , stat_year1 = , stat_area1 = , stat_pop1 = , title_leader = President , leader1 = Aníbal Pinto , year_leader1 ...

, when Chilean troops triumphantly entered the Peruvian capital on January 17, 1881 and served as the first political chief during the occupation. On February 28, he agreed to the position of general in chief due to the absence of General

Manuel Baquedano Manuel Jesús Baquedano González (; January 1, 1823 – September 30, 1897) was a Chilean soldier and politician, who served as Commander-in-chief of the Army during the War of the Pacific, and briefly as President of Chile during the civil war ...

. In 1856 he entered the Grand Lodge of Chile, where from 1870 he held the position of ''Venerable Master of the Lodge "Duty and Constancy" No. 7''. He directed the Escuela Militar del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins in 1868, 1878 and 1880 but in 1888. After more than 40 years of service, he definitively retired from the Army. He died at his home in Santiago on March 17, 1894, as a victim of a strange disease and was buried at the Santiago General Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotomayor Baeza, Emilio 1826 births 1894 deaths People from Melipilla Province Chilean military personnel of the War of the Pacific Chilean Army generals Chilean Freemasons Members of the Senate of Chile 19th-century Chilean politicians Chilean military personnel of the Chincha Islands War