Evaristo José Fernández San Miguel y Valledor, Duke of San Miguel (26 October 1785–29 May 1862) was a Spanish soldier, politician and writer. He was a deputy in the

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets ...

in the legislatures of 1841, 1846, 1854-1856. He was named

Senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

in 1851 and Captain General in 1856. Feito Rodríguez, Honorio
"Evaristo José Fernández San Miguel y Valledor." ''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico'' (''DB~e'').
''

Real Academia de la Historia The Real Academia de la Historia (RAH, 'Royal Academy of History') is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the diff ...

''. Retrieved 30 December 2022.

Military career

After having studied Mathematics at the Real Instituto Asturiano in Gijón, and Humanities at

Oviedo University The University of Oviedo ( es, Universidad de Oviedo, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón ...

,Gil Novales, Alberto (2010)
''Diccionario biográfico de España (1808-1833)'': A/F, pp. 1077-1079.
Fundación Mapfre. Retrieved 31 December 2022. San Miguel joined the Army as a cadet in May 1805 in the Regimiento Primero de Voluntarios de Aragón, together with his brother Santos, who would later be promoted to lieutenant general. At the start of the Peninsular War, San Miguel was a sub-lieutenant in the Regimiento de Voluntarios del Estado, charged with holding the red de San Luis in Madrid, post he was forced to abandon when attacked by superior French forces. He returned to Asturias to join the defensive plans of the historic

General Junta of the Principality of Asturias The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias (in Spanish: ''Junta General del Principado de Asturias'', in Asturian: ''Xunta Xeneral del Principáu d'Asturies'') is the parliament of Asturias, an autonomous community of Spain. Its Statute of ...

. Taken prisoner after the defeat at Peña del Castillo (Santander) in July 1809, he was sent France, where he was held until the signing of the Treaty of Valençay (1813). Back in Spain, he joined the Regimiento Asturias, part of the expeditionary force, the Ejército Expedicionario de Ultramar, which had been quartered at Cádiz since 1816 in preparation for being sent over to America to quell the remaining

rebellions Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

. In July 1819, San Miguel, now a lieutenant colonel and active in a regiment that was especially noteworthy for supporting the revolutionary winds blowing across Spain, was arrested, together with other fellow officers, including

Antonio Quiroga Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

, Felipe del Arco-Agüero,

Demetrio O'Daly Field Marshal Demetrio O'Daly (January 26, 1780 – 1837), was the first Puerto Rican to reach the rank of Field Marshal in the Spanish Army. O'Daly was awarded the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Laureate Cross of Saint Fernand), the highest mi ...

and Antoine de Roten.Martín-Lanuza, Alberto
"Felipe del Arco-Agüero Yolif." ''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico'' (''DB~e'').
''

''. Retrieved 30 December 2022. He was held prisoner, along with his brother Santos and Arco Agüero, at the Castle of San Sebastián, in Cádiz, from which they managed to escape the following January, a week after

Rafael del Riego Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician, who played a key role in the outbreak of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish). Early life Riego was born on 7 April ...

had announced his

pronunciamiento A ''pronunciamiento'' (, pt, pronunciamento ; "proclamation , announcement or declaration") is a form of military rebellion or ''coup d'état'' particularly associated with Spain, Portugal and Latin America, especially in the 19th century. Typol ...

. Quiroga, chosen by his fellow officers as head of the revolutionary movement, organized his forces in San Fernando where, faced by the Royalist troops led by José O’Donnell, decided to resist in San Fernando, while the

Columna Móvil Columna may refer to: * ''Columna'' (gastropod) a genus of snails * ''The Column'' (film), a 1968 Romanian historical film directed by Mircea Drăgan . * ''Columna Lactaria The ''Columna Lactaria'' ("Milk Column") was a landmark in ancient Rome ...

, under the direct command of Riego, would deploy itself throughout Andalusia to garner support for the revolution, at the same time acting as a rearguard, if necessary. San Miguel was named commander-in-chief of this Column Móvil. In July 1822, when four battalions of Guardias Reales tried to overthrow the liberal government by attacking Madrid, San Miguel, at the head of the so-called Batallón Sagrado, which included leading figures, such as Ramón Narváez,

Bravo Murillo Juan Bravo Murillo (24 June 1803 – 11 February 1873) was a Spanish politician, jurist and economist. He was president of the council of ministers of Spain (equivalent to the present-day position of prime minister / president of the govern ...

, and

Fermín Arteta Fermín or Fermin may refer to: * Fermin, Spanish saint * Fermin (name), Spanish name and surname * Fermin IV Fermin (also Firmin, from Latin ''Firminus''; Spanish ''Fermín'') was a legendary holy man and martyr, traditionally venerated as the c ...

, went to the Council of Madrid requesting arms to be distributed for defending Madrid. He joined

Francisco Espoz y Mina Francisco Espoz Ilundáin (17 June 1781 – 24 December 1836), being better known as Francisco Espoz y Mina, was a Spanish guerrilla leader and general. Biography He was born in Idocin in Navarre. His father, Juan Esteban Espoz y Mina, and hi ...

's forces in Catalonia, and fought at the Battle of Tramaced on 8 October 1823, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. Thanks to the mediation of the French

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

Lauriston Lauriston ( ) is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park. Lauriston is the former locatio ...

, he was taken to

Agen The communes of France, commune of Agen (, ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. ...

. In May 1824, he was released on condition that he left the country and he went to London. He returned to France in 1830 but failed in his attempt to enter Spain, finally being able to do so in May 1834. He was promoted to brigadier in July 1836 after participating at the

Battle of Mendigorría The Battle of Mendigorría Grand was a battle of the First Carlist War. It occurred on July 16, 1835 south of Mendigorría, Navarre. The Carlists were commanded by Vicente González Moreno, who assumed this post after the death of Zumalacárreg ...

, where he was wounded and for which he was awarded the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand. As General-in-chief of the Ejército del Centro, he prepared the attack on the

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

forces based at

Cantavieja Cantavieja is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality had a population of 740 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Maestrazgo comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) ...

y Beceite (Teruel).

Journalism and writings

San Miguel was a prolific writer, publishing several works, as well as writing the lyrics to the '' Himno de Riego'', in honour of

, which was declared the national anthem of Spain in 1822, remaining so until the overthrow of the

liberal government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

the following year and would also become one of the popular anthems used in the First Spanish Republic (1873–1874) and, with even more prominence, during the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

(1931–1939). While at San Fernando, together with Alcalá Galiano, he drew up ''La Gaceta Patriótica del Ejército Nacional''. He was also responsible for the proclamations, signed by Quiroga, that Riego made public following the ''

''. In 1821, he founded '' El Espectador'' (15 April 1821 – 31 March 1823), an important liberal newspaper in its day. While exiled in London, he collaborated with newspapers and published ''Elementos del arte de la guerra'' (London, 1826).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernández de San Miguel, Evaristo Spanish generals Spanish soldiers 1785 births 1862 deaths Spanish politicians Spanish Freemasons Spanish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars University of Oviedo alumni