Hilario Marcó (1827 – October 1869) was a Paraguayan Colonel of the Paraguayan War. He was known as a primary commander at the Battle of Tuyutí and one of the main leaders of the

1868 San Fernando massacre The San Fernando massacre ( es, Matanza de San Fernando), was an episode that took place on 21 December 1868, on the eve of the Battle of Lomas Valentinas, during the Pikysyry Campaign in the Paraguayan War, which consisted of the summary trial a ...

which executed alleged conspirators against President Francisco Solano López.

Early career

Hilário Marcó started his career in a newspaper office called the ''Imprenta del Estado'' in 1845. In 1850 though, he became an ensign in the

Paraguayan Army To win or to die , march= Marcha al Mariscal Lopez , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= War of the Triple AllianceChaco WarParaguayan People's Army insurgency , anniversaries= 24 of July (Mariscal Lopez Birthday) , decorations= , ba ...

within Battalion Nº 1 based in

Paso de Patria Paso de Patria is a town in the Ñeembucú department of 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. ...

. With the rank of captain, Hilario Marcó became the commander of the police force in the Paraguayan capital

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 of ...

in October 1858.

Paraguayan War

When the war broke out, Marcó already held the rank of lieutenant colonel and participated in several battles, notably within the Battle of Tuyutí on May 24, 1866, where he commanded a column of 4300 men that would force an attack on the center of the allied camp. During the battle, Marcó lost his left hand. For his performance in the battle, he received the distinction of the National Order of Merit. He would later command the firing squad against alleged conspirators of Solano López during the

. Marcó would be sentenced to death after being accused of conspiring with to overthrow Solano López along with 16 other officers. He was shot in October 1869 after weeks of torture.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcó, Hilario 1827 births 1869 deaths Paraguayan journalists People from Paraguarí Department Paraguayan military personnel of the Paraguayan War Paraguayan military personnel killed in action