José Matías Zapiola (March 22, 1780 - June 27, 1874) was an Argentine brigadier. He was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

on March 22, 1780. He moved to Spain, and returned alongside

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 ...

in 1812.

From 1812 to 1814, he took part in the siege of Montevideo and fought in the battles of

Chacabuco Chacabuco is one of the many abandoned nitrate or "saltpeter" towns ("oficinas salitreras" in Spanish) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Other nitrate towns of the Atacama Desert include Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. Unlik ...

in 1817 and Maipu in 1818. He retired in 1829 but was the Minister of War for Buenos Aires in 1859.

He was probably one of the last living veterans of the Argentine War of Independence, though the naval commander

José María Pinedo José María Pinedo (21 June 1795 – 19 February 1885) was a commander in the navy of the United Provinces of the River Plate, one of the precursor states of what is now known as Argentina. He took part in the Argentine War of Independence, the ...

(1795-1885) lived well into the 1880s having enlisted in the Navy in 1816, though he never participated of any combat during the war.

References

Todo-Argentina: José Matías Zapiola (1780-1874)
People of the Argentine War of Independence People of the Chilean War of Independence Argentine brigadiers Military personnel from Buenos Aires 1780 births 1874 deaths {{Argentina-mil-bio-stub