![Lorenzo_Barcala](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Lorenzo_Barcala.jpg)
Lorenzo Barcala (1793 in
Mendoza,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
– 1835 in
Mendoza, August), was an Argentine military commander who participated in the
Argentine civil wars on the side of the
Unitarian Party
Unitarianists or Unitarians (in Spanish, ''Unitarios'') were the proponents of the concept of a unitary state (centralized government) in Buenos Aires during the civil wars that shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in ...
, and one of the few black soldiers to reach the rank of colonel in that country.
Early military career
The son of slaves, he was also a slave during his childhood. He was released by the governor of
Cuyo, General
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 ...
, but for unknown reasons did not join the Army of the Andes. He began his military career in 1818 as a soldier of the Regiment of ''Pardos'' ("mulattoes").
In 1820 he participated in the turmoil produced by the so-called ''Anarquía del año 20'', which had one of its epicenters in Cuyo. He was part of the army of General Bruno Moron, who fought against Chilean General
José Miguel Carrera
José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impo ...
, and after the death of Moron, fought in the battle of Punta del Medano orders of José Albino Gutierrez.
In 1824 he participated in a failed attempt against Governor Gutierrez, and he fled to San Juan. Back in Mendoza, he joined Colonel
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo Lavalle (17 October 1797 – 9 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure.
Biography
Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Lavalle, general accountant of rents and t ...
's forces, who led a second uprising against Gutierrez, this time successful. Shortly afterwards he took part under the command of
José Félix Aldao in the suppression of the "ecclesiastical" revolution in
San Juan and the overthrow of governor
Salvador María del Carril.
In 1826 Barcala joined the army that fought in the
War of Brazil under the command of Colonel Ramon Bernabe Estomba and was taken prisoner. Spent several months in a prison in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, with the constant threat of being sold as a slave until he was released in a prisoner exchange.
The Confederation League
Barcala joined the campaign of General
José María Paz
Brigadier General José María Paz y Haedo (September 9, 1791 – October 22, 1854) was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil Wars.
Childhood
Born in Córdoba, Argentina, the son ...
against the federal interior in 1829, and under his command he fought in the Battle of San Roque, near today's vacation city of
Villa Carlos Paz
Villa Carlos Paz () is a city in the center-north of the province of Córdoba, Argentina, in the south of the Punilla Valley, lying on the western slope of the Sierras Chicas. It has a population of about 56,000 as per the . The area of Punilla i ...
. Barcala was commissioned to organize an infantry battalion of Afro-Argentines, freedom: a too expensive freedom, to be paid with many years of service in the army. He was loved by the people of African descent, especially because he denounced the humiliation and outrages what they suffered. He was a battalion commander at the battles of La Tablada, after which he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and Oncativo.
After this latest victory was promoted to colonel, and sent as second in command of the occupying army of
Mendoza, whose commander was
José Videla Castillo. He was appointed governor and remained as chief Barcala forefront. He fought in the
Battle of Rodeo Chacon as head of a wing of cavalry against the forces of
Facundo Quiroga, who beat them relatively easy.
He protected his boss Videla Castillo retreating northward, where they joined General Lamadrid's forces. Lamadrid was the new commander in chief of the Confederation League. He followed this army until their final defeat at the
Battle of La Ciudadela of
Tucumán. After the battle, Facundo Quiroga shot most of the officers, but decided to spare the life of Barcala and appointed him chief of staff.
Last years
When Quiroga retired from military activities, settling in
San Juan, Barcala settled there. He couldn't settle in Mendoza because Aldao had sworn to kill him, and even tried to convince Quiroga to have him shot dead.
He joined
Rosas' military campaign of 1833 against native tribes under the command of General Jose Ruiz Huidobro, and fought against the
Ranquel
The Ranquel or Rankülche are an indigenous tribe from the northern part of La Pampa Province, Argentina, in South America.Tapia, Alicia Haydée"Archaeological Perspectives on the Ranquel Chiefdoms in the North of the Dry Pampas, in the Eighteent ...
es of chieftain Yanquetruz in the battle of Acollaradas.
Quiroga was assassinated in 1835, his lieutenants began to dispute his inheritance, and there was a series of conflicts between Aldao, Mendoza,
Martín Yanzón, governor of the San Juan province, and Tomas Brizuela, of
La Rioja
La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...
. More independent and powerful than these, Tucuman Alejandro Heredia soon dominated the northwest. The intriguing Yanzón minister, Domingo de Oro, Aldao attempted escape by a conspiracy that led Barcala from San Juan. The plot was discovered and its leaders arrested and executed Mendoza.
After the danger, Aldao - who was not the governor, but the army chief - demanded the extradition of Barcala. Domingo de Oro, who was involved in the matter, decided to save his own life by handing Barcala over. After a trial lasting a month, Barcala was sentenced to death and shot in Mendoza.
His son
Celestino Barcala fought the federal rebellion of 1860 and was shot by rebel commander Felipe Varela shortly before the defeat of the latter at the Battle of Pozo de Vargas.
Barcala Sr. is mentioned by
Edelmiro Mayer, an Argentine officer in the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
, in an article he wrote for
Harper's Magazine in 1863, as an example of the role played by African slave descendants in the
South American independence wars and the
Cisplatine War
The Cisplatine War (), also known as the Argentine-Brazilian War () or, in Argentine and Uruguayan historiography, as the Brazil War (''Guerra del Brasil''), the War against the Empire of Brazil (''Guerra contra el Imperio del Brasil'') or t ...
.
References
* Newton, Jorge, ''José Félix Aldao, el fraile general''. Ed. Plus Ultra, Bs. As., 1972.
*
* Ruiz Moreno, Isidoro J., ''Campañas militares argentinas'', Tomo I, Ed. Emecé, Bs. As., 2004.
* Academia Nacional de la Historia, ''Partes de batalla de las guerras civiles'', Bs. As., 1977.
* Aráoz de Lamadrid, Gregorio, ''Memorias'', Bs. As., 1895.
* Bischoff, Efraín, ''Historia de Córdoba'', Ed. Plus Ultra, Bs. As., 1989.
* Bischoff, Efraín, ''Por qué Córdoba fue invadida en 1829'', Ed. Plus Ultra, Bs. As., 1975.
* Iriarte, Tomás de, ''La campaña del Brasil'', Ed. Hyspamérica, Bs. As., 1988.
* Paz, José María, ''Memorias póstumas''. Ed. Emecé, Bs. As., 2000.
* Cárcano, Ramón J., ''El general Quiroga''. Ed. Emecé, Bs. As., 1947.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barcala, Lorenzo
1793 births
1835 deaths
People from Mendoza, Argentina
Afro-Argentine people
Argentine colonels
Argentine prisoners of war
People executed by Argentina by firing squad
Argentine military personnel killed in the Argentine Civil War
Executed Argentine people
Unitarianists (Argentina)