José María Santocildes y Llanos (1771–1847) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

general during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

Early career

Peninsular War

He commanded the Spanish garrison at Astorga which, on 9 October 1809, repelled an attack by Carrier and for which Santocildes was promoted to brigadier. In January the following year, he carried out an attack at Puente de Órbigo (25 January 1810), but was forced to retreat to Astorga, where he was besieged by General Loison's division from 11 to 16 February 1810 and, some ten days later, by Marshal Clauzel who, on 26 February, invited Santocildes to capitulate before declaring a full siege on 21 March.. Martín-Lanuza, Alberto
"José María Santocildes y Llanos".
''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico'' (''DB~e'').]

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

. Retrieved 29 July 2023. The siege-train arrived on 15 April, and two days later, Clauzel's superior, General Junot, arrived to witness the final attack. After an "admirable" defence, Santocildes was forced to surrender on the 22nd, when his infantry only had thirty cartridges a head left. Oman, Charles (1908)
''A History of the Peninsular War'', Vol. III, pp. 220–226.
''Project Gutenberg''. Retrieved 29 July 2023. Taken prisoner, Santocildes was interned at

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

. Managing to escape in October, he reported for duty at Cadiz in February 1811. He was sent to the

Army of Galicia The Army of Galicia (Spanish: ''Ejército de Galicia'') was a Spanish field army that took part in the Peninsular War against Napoleon’s French Grande Armée. Created by the Supreme Junta towards the end of June 1808 to hold the Spanish left win ...

, where he again took command of the Regmiment of Santiago. In March 1811, he was appointed interim commander-in-chief of the 6th Army, overseeing the training and reorganising it into three infantry divisions and a Reserve division. By Summer 1811, he had 15,305 men present under arms, with Major-Generals Losada heading the 1st Division (Asturians); Taboada, the 2nd Division; Cabrera, the 3rd Division. Oman, Charles (1911)
''A History of the Peninsular War'', Vol. IV, p. 637.
''Project Gutenberg''. Retrieved 29 July 2023. Some 5,500 men were left to garrison Ferrol, Vigo, and Corunna. That August, Santocildes handed over his command to

Abadía Abadía () is a Spanish municipality located at an altitude of 442 metres above sea-level in the Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Extremadura, Estremadura, province of Cáceres (province), Cáceres. In 2001 its populati ...

, was promoted to field marshal.

Post-war career

During the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

, he was chief of staff of

Castaños Castaños is a city in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is ...

's Ejército de Observación de la Derecha, from April 1815 to January 1816. He was promoted to lieutenant general in 1816. He was captain general of Valencia from November 1832 to August 1833 and in November 1834 he was appointed interim

captain general of Catalonia The office of Captain General of Catalonia (; ) was created in 1713 by the Nueva Planta decrees of King Philip V of Spain to replace that of Viceroy of Catalonia. List of Captains General of Catalonia Under Philip V Under Ferdinand VI ...

References

Bibliography

*.
"El Coronel Santocildes: Un Heroe Humilde".
* Glover, Michael (2001). ''The Peninsular War 1807-1814''. London: Penguin. * Smith, Digby (1998). ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book''. London: Greenhill. {{DEFAULTSORT:Santocildes, Jose Maria 1771 births 1847 deaths Spanish generals Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel from Barcelona Captains General of Catalonia