James Towers English (22 February 1782 – 26 September 1819) was an Anglo-Irish commander of

British Legions The British Legion () or British Legions were foreign volunteer units that fought under Simón Bolívar against Spain for the independence of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and José de San Martín for the independence of Peru in the Spanish Ameri ...

forces in the

Spanish American wars of independence The Spanish American wars of independence (25 September 1808 – 29 September 1833; es, Guerras de independencia hispanoamericanas) were numerous wars in Spanish America with the aim of political independence from Spanish rule during the early ...

. James Towers English was the son of a well-to-do Dublin merchant. He went into business supplying horses to the British Army until his company went bankrupt, then took a job with the army Commissariat as a clerk. In May 1817 he met Luis López Méndez, the representative of

Simon Bolívar Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

in London. Claiming to have been a cavalry lieutenant, he was made a captain in the '1st Venezuelan Hussars' and sailed for South America in December 1817. He fought with distinction at the battle of Ortiz on 26 March 1818, and was promoted to full colonel and appointed second-in-command of the British Guard of Honor led by James Rooke. In May 1818, he signed a contract with the Patriot government to recruit and equip a British force of 1,000 men, in return for which he was promised £50 per head and a General's commission. By painting a rosy picture of pay and conditions in South America, he succeeded in recruiting between 1,000 and 2,000 mercenaries, who sailed during the following months. English returned to Venezuela and landed on Margarita Island in mid-April, 1819 where he was confirmed in the rank of Brigadier General and was given command of all the foreign mercenaries, as subordinate to Venezuelan General

Rafael Urdaneta Rafael José Urdaneta y Farías (October 24, 1788 – August 23, 1845) was a Venezuelan General and hero of the Spanish American wars of independence. He served as President of Gran Colombia from 1830 until 1831. He was an ardent supporter ...

. In July 1819 he participated in storming the fortress of El Morro, which guarded the city

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. His troops looted the city, drank all the alcohol they could find and devastated their section of the town. On August 7 1819 Urdaneta's army attempted to storm

Maturín Maturín () is a city in Venezuela, the capital of the Venezuelan state of Monagas and a centre for instrumental exploration and development of the petroleum industry in Venezuela. The metropolitan area of Maturín has a population of 401,384 inha ...

but failed after grievous losses in their assault against Fort Agua Santa, while General English remained in the rear pleading sickness. With his authority destroyed, English was replaced as leader of the British Legion by Colonel

John Blossett Colonel John Blossett was an Irish soldier who led the second British Legion to aid Simon Bolivar in the wars of independence against Spain. Born in Ireland, the great-grandson of Huguenot Brigadier-General Salomon Blosset de Loche who had a ...

. English retired to

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on t ...

where he died of illness on 26 September 1819 and is buried in a cemetery overlooking Juan Griego Bay. His wife, Mary, remained in Colombia and married the English trader William Greenup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:English, James Towers 1819 deaths 1782 births People of the Spanish American wars of independence Venezuelan people of Irish descent