LuÃs do Rego Barreto, Viscount Geraz Lima, (28 October 1777,
Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...
– 7 September 1840,
Vila Real
Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...
) better known as General Luis Rego, was a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
military officer and
colonial administrator
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
who distinguished himself in the fight against the
French invasion of Portugal
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
.
Early life
Natural son of António Rego Barreto - army officer,
adjutant of the 2nd Earl of Bobadela when he was Governor of weapons of Minho -was legitimized by his father in 1786, enlisted in 1790 at age 13, at the Infantry Regiment of Lippe, the Lisbon garrison, being lieutenant when the
French invaded Portugal in 1807.
Having asked to resign when the Portuguese army, it was reorganized in early 1808, he returned to
Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...
. When
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
rose against collaboration with the French occupiers, Luis organized a Provisional Government Junta in
Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...
, who promoted him to major and instructed to organize the 9th Infantry Regiment, garrison of the city.
Peninsular War
Organized the 4th Caçador Battalion of Beira, in
Viseu
Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabi ...
, having participated with him in the 1808-1811 campaigns, the
Battle of Buçaco
The Battle of Buçaco () or Bussaco, fought on 27 September 1810 during the Peninsular War in the Portuguese mountain range of Serra do Buçaco, resulted in the defeat of French forces by Lord Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army.
Having o ...
, in 1810, to
Battle of Pombal
The Battle of Pombal (March 11, 1811) was a sharp but ultimately indecisive skirmish fought at the eponymous town during Marshal Masséna's retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras, the first in a series of lauded rearguard actions fought b ...
, in the beginning of the withdrawal of the army of
Massena, and the
Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro
In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro (3–5 May 1811), the British–Portuguese Army under Wellington checked an attempt by the French Army of Portugal under Marshal André Masséna to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.
A bloody stalema ...
in 1811. participated in the
Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo
Sieges of Ciudad Rodrigo are a series of sieges of the Spanish town Ciudad Rodrigo.
Specific sieges are:
* Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1370)
* Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1707)
* Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1810)
* Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo (1812)
...
and, as commander of 15th Infantry Regiment, the
Siege of Badajoz. Was present at the
Battle of Salamanca
The Battle of Salamanca (in French and Spanish known as the Battle of Arapiles) on 22July 1812 was a battle in which an Anglo-Portuguese army under the Earl of Wellington defeated Marshal Auguste Marmont's French forces at Arapiles, ...
in 1812 and the
Battle of Vitoria
At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813) a British, Portuguese and Spanish army under the Marquess of Wellington broke the French army under King Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, eventually leadin ...
in 1813. Their performance in the
Siege of San Sebastián
In the siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813), part of the Peninsular War, Allied forces under the command of Arthur Wellesley, Marquess of Wellington failed to capture the city in a siege. However in a second siege the Alli ...
was critical, able to cross the gulf separating the allied army from the fortress with his regiment and scaled the walls, managing to take it in September 1813.
LuÃs commanded the 3rd Portuguese Brigade of the Army until 1815.
Governor of Pernambuco
In 1817 he was appointed governor of the
Captaincy of Pernambuco. He was hated by the local population, because he used violent methods to repress the separatist revolt that broke out there. He promoted hangings, quartering of bodies, firing squads, deaths by fire, desecration of corpses and rapes. Many of the executed individuals were innocents. With the change of government that took place in Portugal in 1820, he did fulfill the orders of constitutional government in Lisbon. Victim of an attempt of assassination he returned to Portugal in 1821.
Back in Portugal
LuÃs do Rego was appointed governor of weapons of Minho by constitutional government, he was in charge of crushing the revolt of the 2nd Count of Amarante, future Marquis de Chaves, who defeated Amarante in February 1823. With the ''
Vilafrancada Vilafrancada was an uprising led by prince Miguel I of Portugal in Vila Franca de Xira on 27 May 1823.
Origins
The liberal regime established in Portugal by the Liberal Revolution of 1820 did not enjoy the confidence of more traditional elements o ...
'' reimposing the absolutist regime in Portugal, he was removed from office and deported to
Figueira da Foz
Figueira da Foz (), also known as Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast, it is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, west ...
, and retired in the following year. He reentered the army during the regency of
Maria II of Portugal
, image = Queen Maria II by John Simpson.jpg
, caption = Portrait by John Simpson, 1835
, succession = Queen of Portugal
, reign =
, predecessor = Pedro IV
, successor = Miguel I
, reg-type = Regents
, regent ...
, he was promoted to
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in 1827.
Arrested during the reign of
King Miguel, he managed to escape to Spain, returning after the
Concession of Evoramonte
The Concession of Evoramonte, also known as the Convention of Evoramonte,Smith, p. 398 was a document signed on 26 May 1834, in Evoramonte, in Alentejo, between the Constitutionalists and the Miguelites, that ended the period of civil war (1828â ...
. Appointed member of the Supreme Council of Military Justice in 1834, he was reappointed governor of weapons of Minho during the ''Setembrismo'', who appointed him senator for
Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo () is a municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 88,725, in an area of 319.02 km². The urbanized area of the municipality, comprising the city, ...
, during the short duration of the 1838 Constitution.
The Setembrista government of
Maria II awarded him the title of Viscount Geraz Lima on April 27, 1835.
Promotions and Units
Sources
http://www.arqnet.pt/exercito/regobarreto.html (''translated'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barreto, Luis do Rego
1777 births
1840 deaths
Portuguese generals
Portuguese military commanders of the Napoleonic Wars
Portuguese military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Peninsular War
18th-century Portuguese people
19th-century Portuguese people
People from Viana do Castelo
Viscounts of Portugal