Francisco Ramírez, also known as "Pancho" Ramírez as well as "El Supremo Entrerriano" (1786–1821), was an Argentine governor of Entre Ríos during the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de Argentina, links=no) was a secessionist civil war fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín ...

Concepción del Uruguay

Francisco Ramírez was born at

Concepción del Uruguay Concepción del Uruguay is a city in Argentina. It is located in the Entre Ríos province, on the western shore of the Uruguay River, some 320 kilometers north from Buenos Aires. Its population is about 80,000 inhabitants (). History The city ...

in 1786. The son of a

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. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

an merchant and a half-brother of Ricardo López Jordán, he achieved fame when young in the military of his birth town. He joined the patriots in 1810, working with Díaz Vélez and Rondeau. At the outbreak of the

May Revolution The May Revolution ( es, Revolución de Mayo) was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the terri ...

he served in the patriot army. In October 1811, the town's soldiers recaptured it for the patriots, directed by Ramírez among others. He acquired notoriety for fighting alongside the federal leader

José Gervasio Artigas José Gervasio Artigas Arnal (; June 19, 1764 – September 23, 1850) was a political leader, military general, statesman and national hero of Uruguay and the broader Río de la Plata region. He fought in the Latin American wars of in ...

with Ricardo López Jordán. They fought in the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental, or more fully Banda Oriental del Uruguay (Eastern Bank), was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay; the modern state of Rio Gra ...

against the Royalists. Faithful to Artigas, when the Buenos Aires Director declared his opposition to Artigas, Ramírez defended him, fighting under Eusebio Hereñú, Artigas' deputy in the region. After the defeat of the Baron von Holmberg, the commander of the centralist side, Ramírez joined Hereñú to defend the Banda Oriental against the Portuguese invasions. The Banda Oriental was finally conquered by the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

. Ramírez and Hereñú also took

Santa Fe Province The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R� ...

in alliance with Estanislao López.

Ramírez, general of Entre Ríos

Once governor of Entre Ríos, Ramírez allied with Estanislao López, from Santa Fe, against Buenos Aires. The Supreme Director

Juan Martín de Pueyrredón Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y O'Dogan (December 18, 1777 – March 13, 1850) was an Argentine general and politician of the early 19th century. He was appointed Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata after the Argentine ...

attempted a conciliatory policy and made a pact with Hereñú to reincorporate Entre Ríos into the Buenos Aires faction. Ramírez took arms against Hereñú and defeated him in 1817. He was in charge of the

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La M ...

region as a deputy for Artigas. The

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

and La Bajada region were officially in the hands of other men, but in practice they were run by Ramírez. With the eastern forces occupied by defending against the Portuguese, Ramírez had to face the directorial army that invaded his province in 1818. He defeated the colonel Luciano Montes de Oca. He attacked with his troops who had just landed in the vicinity of the Arroyo de la China, and on 9 March he blocked the invasion by General

Marcos González de Balcarce Marcos González de Balcarce (1777–1832) was an Argentine military commander and politician in the early 19th century. González de Balcarce was born in Buenos Aires. He was the son of General Francisco González de Balcarce and younger broth ...

near Paraná. Not long after, he had to defend against Iuso-Brazilian attacks in his own province. The same year he advanced across

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 ...

, deposing the governor who had been put in place by the Director. But the acute confrontation with the Buenos Aires forces made him highlight his half-brother Ricardo López Jordán who was helping Estanislao López, who had been attacked by

Juan Ramón Balcarce Juan Ramón González de Balcarce (16 March 1773 – 12 November 1836) was an Argentine military leader and politician. Biography Juan was the older brother of Antonio González de Balcarce and of Marcos González de Balcarce. He fought agai ...

, and a little later he found himself facing Hereñú again. Among the leaders of that time, Ramírez stands out as one of the most capable; he was never defeated, even after being betrayed and outnumbered. Various chroniclers testified that his troops were very disciplined, far better than those of Artigas or López, and they were regularly uniformed. They fought in perfect order and followed the orders of their superiors with more precision than the troops of other leaders, including those of the Director.

Biography

José de San Martín José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (25 February 177817 August 1850), known simply as José de San Martín () or '' the Liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru'', was an Argentine general and the primary leader of the southern and centr ...

prepared the

crossing of the Andes The Crossing of the Andes ( es, Cruce de los Andes) was one of the most important feats in the Argentine and Chilean wars of independence, in which a combined army of Argentine soldiers and Chilean exiles invaded Chile crossing the Andes r ...

José Miguel Carrera José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impo ...

, who was prevented from returning to Chile, joined

Carlos María de Alvear Carlos María de Alvear (October 25, 1789 in Santo Ángel, Rio Grande do Sul – November 3, 1852 in New York), was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815. Early life H ...

against Pueyrredón, and called both López and Ramírez in their support. San Martín refused to return with the

Army of the Andes The Army of the Andes ( es, Ejército de los Andes) was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Argentina) and mustered by general José de San Martín in his campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire. In 181 ...

to support Buenos Aires, and Ramírez and López prevailed at the Battle of Cepeda, signing the Treaty of Pilar with the city. Ramírez and López became rivals afterwards. López considered Ramírez a threat to national organization, as well as Bustos from Córdoba and Martín Rodríguez from Buenos Aires. Ramírez was still supported by Carrera. They prepared an attack to Santa Fe, but they were defeated. He was defeated again at Río Seco and escaped, but his wife was captured. Ramírez died in an ill-fated attempt to rescue her, he was killed and his body was beheaded.

Concepción del Uruguay

Ramírez, general of Entre Ríos

Biography

See also