Gutierre de Hevia y Valdés, 1704 to 2 December 1772, was a Spanish naval officer who reached the rank of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and became commander of the

Spanish Marine Infantry The Spanish Naval Infantry ( es, Infantería de Marina) is the Marines, naval infantry unit of the Spanish Navy () responsible for conducting amphibious warfare by utilizing naval platforms and resources. The Marine Corps is fully integrated in ...

. He was court-martialled for his role in the 1762 capture of Havana but reinstated three years later.

Biography

Born at

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, he joined the Spanish Navy in 1720. In Cadiz, he was involved in a duel and killed his opponent. He was tried but acquitted, and left for the Americas. He entered service in the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

, and was the third man to set foot on enemy territory during the recapture of Oran in 1732. During the

War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...

in 1741, he served in the successful defence of

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

and in 1747 received his first command, the warship ''Nueva España''. In 1759 he commanded the ''Fenix'', part of the convoy that brought the new monarch,

Charles III of Spain it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_d ...

, from

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

to Spain. For this service, he received the titles of ''Marqués del Real Transporte and Vizconde del Buen Viaje'', was promoted ''Capitán de navío'', and confirmed as Commandant General of the

. In 1761, Hevia and his fleet of 12 ships was dispatched to Havana, to defend the city against an expected assault by the British, as Spain had entered the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

that year on the side of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 6 June 1762 a powerful British invasion force under the

Earl of Albemarle Earl of Albemarle is a title created several times from Norman times onwards. The word ''Albemarle'' is derived from the Latinised form of the French county of ''Aumale'' in Normandy (Latin: ''Alba Marla'' meaning "White Marl", marl being a ty ...

began the

Siege of Havana The siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with Fr ...

. Hevia's ships played no part in the battle, as all the guns and men were disembarked and used to defend the forts. When the city was taken on 13 August, the British confiscated Hevia's entire fleet, which he had neglected to burn. Hevia and the surviving Spanish sailors and marines were transported to Spain. On his arrival, the Madrid government court-martial him. He was stripped of his titles and condemned to house arrest for 10 years but thanks to the influence of his father-in-law

Juan José Navarro ''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 ...

, who was

Captain general of the Navy Captain general of the Navy ( es, Capitán general de la Armada) is a Five-star rank, five-star naval officer rank and the highest rank of the Spanish Spanish Navy, Navy (''Armada Española''). The five-star NATO rank code is OF-10, the routine ...

, Hevia was pardoned on 17 September 1765 on the occasion of the wedding of Charles, the Prince of Asturia and reinstated in his previous titles. He died on 2 December 1772 at

Isla de León The Isla de León is a historical name for the piece of land between the city of Cádiz and the Iberian peninsula, in Spain. In 1813, it was renamed San Fernando in honor of King Fernando VII of Spain for his courage in the defense of the cit ...

Sources

Biografía de don Gutierre de Hevia ó Evia y Valdés (Spanish)
{{authority control Year of birth unknown 1772 deaths Spanish admirals People who were court-martialed Recipients of Spanish royal pardons People from Tortona