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José Mires (Ireland, around 1785 –
Samborondón
Samborondón is a canton in Ecuador’s Guayas province. It has 105 localities and two urban parishes (''La Puntilla'') and Samborondón Town (Cabecera cantonal) and one rural parish (''Tarifa''). La Puntilla's parish is one of the most exclusiv ...
From an early age he settled in Venezuela where he enthusiastically embraced the cause of independence from Spain. In 1810, he joined the Patriot army and fought tirelessly in the campaigns of
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and Venezuela.
After the fall of the First Republic of Venezuela in 1812, he was captured and sent along with other Patriots to the dungeons of the Spanish prisons in Ceuta, Africa, from where he managed to escape to immediately return to South America and continue his fight for freedom.
In 1821 he arrived in Guayaquil as second officer of General Antonio José de Sucre, and on 19 August of that same year he led the Patriot troops that defeated the Royalists in the
Battle of Yaguachi
The Battle of Yaguachi or Battle of Cone was a military confrontation that occurred on 19 August 1821 between Guayaquil independence troops and Gran Colombia, Grancolombian reinforcements, led by Antonio José de Sucre, against Royalist troops le ...
. Shortly afterwards, on 12 September, he was taken prisoner in the
Second Battle of Huachi
The Second Battle of Huachi was a confrontation that occurred on 12 September 1821 between pro-independence troops led by General Antonio José de Sucre and Royalist troops led by General Melchor Aymerich, president of the Real Audiencia of Quit ...
.
After regaining his freedom, he rejoined the Patriot army and intervened in the Battle of Pichincha, which definitively sealed the Ecuadorian independence. Later he was sent to the north to participate in the Pasto Campaign, whose population he managed to subdue. After the end of the war, he returned to Guayaquil where he tried to settle permanently.
During the Gran Colombia–Peru War, Mires, as a former Division General, was given the position of commander of the then insignificant village of
Samborondón
Samborondón is a canton in Ecuador’s Guayas province. It has 105 localities and two urban parishes (''La Puntilla'') and Samborondón Town (Cabecera cantonal) and one rural parish (''Tarifa''). La Puntilla's parish is one of the most exclusiv ...
, having no more under his command than a lieutenant (Luna) and twenty-five recruits. There he was attacked by a Peruvian column commanded by a certain Bustamante, who ordered his capture and immediate execution.