Francisco Isidoro Resquín Xara was a Paraguayan general during 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 considered to be one of the most brilliant generals of the war and his writings are one of the main primary sources on the conflict.
Biography
After completing his first studies at the school of his teacher Téllez in
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 o ...
, 1 in 1841, during the government of
Carlos Antonio López
Carlos Antonio López Ynsfrán (November 4, 1792 – September 10, 1862) served as leader of Paraguay from 1841 to 1862.
Early life
López was born at Manorá (Asunción) on November 4, 1792, as one of eight children. He graduated from Real C ...
, Resquín joined the
Paraguayan Army
To win or to die
, march= Marcha al Mariscal Lopez
, mascot=
, equipment=
, equipment_label=
, battles= War of the Triple AllianceChaco War Paraguayan People's Army insurgency
, anniversaries= 24 of July (Mariscal Lopez Birthday)
, decorations=
, b ...
.
In 1849 he was a captain and in 1859, was promoted to colonel. With his hierarchy, he was part of General López's entourage in his mediation before the
. Upon his return he was appointed commander of the Concepción garrison, where he organized a cavalry corps that would have an outstanding performance in the Mato Grosso campaign.
When General
Wenceslao Robles
Wenceslao Robles was a Paraguayan general of the Paraguayan War who led the Battle of Corrientes and was described as "the oldest and the most forgotten of the generals of the war of 64/70".
Biography
Wenceslao Robles was born at Santísima Tri ...
fell from grace, in June 1865, Resquín was promoted to brigadier general and appointed commander of the South Division. By order of the Marshal he retreated to Paraguay by crossing the
Paraná River with his troops and more than one hundred thousand heads of cattle from the
Corrientes Province
Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; gn, Taragui), officially the Province of Corrientes ( es, Provincia de Corrientes; gn, Taragüí Tetãmini) is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (fr ...
that were herded by his army.
His performance in the
Battle of Tuyutí
The Battle of Tuyutí (Tuiuti in Portuguese) was a Paraguayan offensive in the Paraguayan War targeting the Triple Alliance encampment of Tuyutí. It is considered to be the bloodiest battle ever in South America. The result of the battle was ...
earned him the
National Order of Merit and the functions of Chief of the General Staff of López.
He fought in the
Battle of Lomas Valentinas
The Battle of Lomas Valentinas (also known as the Battle of Itá Ybaté) was fought in the Central Department of Paraguay on December 21–27, 1868. The Paraguayan Army, led personally by president Francisco Solano López, were decisively defeat ...
on December 26, 1868. 1 He established the Headquarters in
Ascurra, Resquin assumed command of the 1st Army Corps and organized the withdrawal of López, his cabinet and entourage. He was promoted to major general in
San Estanislao {{Infobox settlement
, settlement_type = City & District
, official_name = San Estanislao de Kostka
, native_name =
, nickname = Santaní
, motto =
, image_skyline =
, imagesize ...
, Resquin continued in the vanguard of the retreat to organize the camp at
Cerro Corá.
Juan Crisóstomo Centurión
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
affirmed that with regard to the events of Cerro Corá, the Historical Relationship of Resquín is inaccurate and has little value because it is that of
However, the Paraguayan historian
Juan E. O'Leary affirms that:
He remained a prisoner of war in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
until his return to Paraguay, when President
Juan Bautista Gill
Juan Bautista Gill García (''Juan Bautista Gill Garcia del Barrio'') (October 28, 1840 – April 12, 1877) was President of Paraguay from November 25, 1874 to April 12, 1877 and the only Paraguayan President to be assassinated while in office.
...
entrusted him with the organization of the first postwar Paraguayan army.
General Resquín died in
San Pedro de Ycuamandiyú
San Pedro de Ycuamandiyú () is a city and distrito in Paraguay. It is the capital of the department of San Pedro.
The conquistador Aleixo Garcia, the first European to cross Paraguay and reach the Inca empire in 1524, is believed to have be ...
in 1882.
He was the only Paraguayan general of the war who left written testimony,
his work was titled ''Historical Data of the Paraguayan War against the Triple Alliance''.
A witness portrays him like this:
References
Bibliography
*''Fundadores del Partido Liberal''," Pesoa, Manuel, Asuncion: Archivo del Liberalismo, 1990
{{DEFAULTSORT:Resquín, Francisco Isidoro
1824 births
1882 deaths
Paraguayan military personnel
19th-century Paraguayan writers
Paraguayan military personnel of the Paraguayan War
Military personnel from Asunción