Enrique Castro was an Uruguayan general who served the Colorados throughout the 19th century. He participated 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 Uruguayan Civil War and the Paraguayan War and was known for organizing and starting the .

Biography

Castro was born on 1817 at the military camp of as the son of Mateo Castro. He accompanied Fructuoso Rivera in his uprising of 1836 and participated in the fight against the invasion of

Pascual Echagüe Pascual Echagüe, (16 May 1797 – 2 June 1867) was an Argentine soldier and politician. He served as Governor of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe provinces and Minister of War and Navy during the governments of Urquiza and Derqui. He participat ...

, in which he was seriously injured. In 1846, Castro was pierced by a spear but

Timoteo Aparicio Timoteo Aparicio was a Uruguayan politician and military figure that was a member of the National Party who was most notable for spearheading the Revolution of the Lances. Biography He spent a good part of his life in the Florida Department and ...

managed to save his life due to their personal friendship. Castro remained a prisoner of the Blancos and was sent to Entre Ríos where he joined the ranks of Justo José de Urquiza. He returned temporarily in 1851 during Urquiza's campaign against

Manuel Oribe Manuel Ceferino Oribe y Viana (August 26, 1792 – November 12, 1857) was the 2nd Constitutional president of Uruguay and founder of Uruguay's National Party, the oldest Uruguayan political party and considered one of the two Uruguayan "tr ...

and participated in the

Battle of Caseros The Battle of Caseros ( es, Batalla de Caseros) was fought near the town of El Palomar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas and the Grand Army (''Ejército ...

and the battles of Cepeda and Pavón, reaching the rank of colonel in the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander- ...

. When Venancio Flores began an uprising against President Bernardo Prudencio Berro on 1863, he invaded the country at the head of 250 men and was appointed Chief of Staff of the rebels. After the success of the rebellion, he was the political chief of Salto and later participated in the Paraguayan War, where he obtained the rank of general. Castro was made General Commander of the Campaign on 1870, replacing

José Gregorio Suárez José Gregorio Suárez Moreira was a Uruguayan Lieutenant Colonel and politician who participated in the Uruguayan Civil War, the Paraguayan War and other conflicts throughout the 19th century. He was known for his service during the Battle of ...

. He later had to fight the

Revolution of the Lances The Revolution of the Lances (''Revolución de las Lanzas'') occurred in Uruguay from September 12, 1870 to April 6, 1872. Parties Led by Timoteo Aparicio, leader of the National Party of Uruguay (the Blancos) and a former army officer, it wa ...

led by Timoteo Aparicio and was victorious in the

Battle of Manantiales The Battle of Manantiales was fought in southwestern Uruguay as part of the internal conflict between the Blancos and the Colorados that had been going on intermittently since the country's independence. The Blancos, led by Timoteo Aparicio, w ...

. He supported the election of

Lorenzo Latorre Lorenzo Latorre, full name Lorenzo Antonio Inocencio Latorre Jampen, (8 July 1844 – 18 January 1916) was a Uruguayan officer and politician, who was a dictator and President of Uruguay from 10 March 1876 until 15 March 1880. During his rule pol ...

and he was appointed commander of the troops located south of the

Negro River Río Negro (Spanish and Portuguese, 'Black River') may refer to: Rivers Brazil * Rio Negro (Amazon), tributary of the Amazon River * Rio Negro (Mato Grosso do Sul) * Rio Negro (Paraná) * Rio Negro (Rio de Janeiro) * Rio Negro (Rondônia) * ...

but his discrepancies with the dictator Máximo Santos separated him and he marched to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

where he collaborated with the preparations for the . He was appointed general in chief, together with his Blanco colleague,

José Miguel Arredondo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

and invaded the country on March 28, 1886. Defeated, he went into exile to Argentina but returned when the Reconciliation Cabinet was formed, and regained his position as general.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Enrique 1817 births 1888 deaths Uruguayan National Army generals Colorado Party (Uruguay) politicians National Party (Uruguay) politicians People from Florida Department Uruguayan military personnel of the Paraguayan War