Tomás Brizuela (c. 1800 – 20 June 1841 ) was a soldier and ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin language, Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of Personalist dictatorship, personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it ...

'' in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He was a lieutenant of

Facundo Quiroga Juan Facundo Quiroga (27 November 1788 – 16 February 1835) was an Argentine caudillo (military strongman) who supported federalism at the time when the country was still in formation. Early years Quiroga was born in San Antonio, La Rioja ...

in his home province of

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, and governor of La Rioja between 1836 and 1841, Brizuela died fighting against the dictatorship of

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

Early career

Tomás Brizuela was born in the Province of La Rioja around 1800. He was known as the "Zarco" for his blue eyes. As a young man he joined the

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

forces. He accompanied Quiroga in the Battle of El Tala against

Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid Comandante General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid (or "de La Madrid"; 28 November 1795 in San Miguel de Tucumán – 5 January 1857 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine military officer and briefly, governor of several provinces like Córdoba, ...

, and as infantry leader in the Battle of Rincón de Valladares, where he earned promotion to Colonel. He later fought in the Federal defeat of the

Battle of La Tablada A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. When the province was invaded by Lamadrid, after the Federal defeat in the Battle of Oncativo he was taken prisoner by Lieutenant Colonel Melián. Lamadrid ordered him shot, but Melián saved his life. In late 1830 Brizuela joined the fight to recover La Rioja for his party, and occupied the provincial capital. On 3 February 1831 he was briefly appointed governor. Soon after the news came of the victory of Quiroga in the Battle of Rodeo de Chacon, which gave him control of Cuyo. Brizuela joined forces with Quiroga and was commander of the provincial army during the following years. On 15 January 1836 he repulsed the invasion of San Juan Governor

Martín Yanzón Martín Yanzón (1799 – 29 July 1842 ) was an Argentina, Argentine soldier and ''caudillo'' who died fighting against the supporters of the dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas. Early years Martín Yanzón was born in San Juan, Argentina in 1799. He ...

and counterattacked, occupying the city of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

and forcing Yanzón to flee. On 20 May 1837 he was appointed governor of La Rioja by the provincial legislature.

Later years

In early 1840, the Liberals and Unitarians of the northern provinces formed the Northern Coalition and invited Brizuela to join. He was named commander of the Coalition, but nobody accepted his orders. The Unitarian officers who arrived from Chile such as Colonel Juan Esteban Pedernera, sent to be his chief of staff, and those who come later with Lavalle, despised him for being an alcoholic and leader of irregular

montoneras The Montoneras originally were known as the armed civilian, paramilitary groups who organized in the 19th century during the Spanish American wars of independence, wars of independence from Spain in Hispanic America. They played an important rol ...

units. Taking his role seriously, he tried to convince the Santiago leader

Juan Felipe Ibarra Juan Felipe Ibarra (1 May 1787 - 15 July 1851) was an Argentine soldier and politician. He was one of the ''caudillos'' who dominated the Argentine interior during the formation of the national state, and ruled the province of his birth for dec ...

to join him, but Ibarra refused and remained true to

. After his defeat in the

Battle of Quebracho Herrado The Battle of Quebracho Herrado, fought on 28 November 1840 in the east of Córdoba Province, Argentina, was a victory for the Argentine federal army, led by former Uruguayan president, Brigadier Manuel Oribe over the Unitarian army led by Brigad ...

, the Unitarian General

Juan Lavalle Juan Galo Lavalle (; 17 October 17979 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure from the Unitarian Party. Early life and education Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Laval ...

retreated northward. La Rioja was invaded without difficulty by

Nazario Benavídez José Nazario Benavídez (27 July 1802 – 23 October 1858) was an Argentine soldier who rose to the rank of Brigadier General and played a leading role in the Argentine Civil Wars. He was Governor of San Juan Province, Argentina, for almost twen ...

and

José Félix Aldao José Félix Esquivel y Aldao (11 October 1785 - 19 January 1845) was an Argentine Dominican friar and soldier who became a general and then the undisputed Federalist ''caudillo'' of Mendoza Province. His ability as a warrior and his brutality be ...

with 1,500 men, threatening Brizuela and Lavalle. Lavalle abandoned the province for Catamarca, pursued by Oribe, while Aldao advanced towards Brizuela. Still commanding 600 men, Brizuela retreated to the Famatina valley, in the west of the province. He reached Sañogasta, where he was defeated. During the battle, on 20 June 1841 he was shot in the back by one of his officers, and died before being taken to the presence of Aldao.

References

Notes Citations Sources * Further reading * Bazán, Armando R., ''Historia de La Rioja'', Ed. Plus Ultra, Bs. As., 1991. * Quesada, Ernesto, ''Lamadrid y a la Coalición del Norte'', Ed. Plus Ultra, Bs. As., 1965. * Reyes, Marcelino, ''Bosquejo histórico de la provincia de La Rioja''. * Robledo, Víctor Hugo ''Los Generales de Quiroga'' * Saldías, Adolfo, ''Historia de la Confederación Argentina'', Bs. As., 1892. * Zinny, José Antonio, ''Historia de los gobernadores de las Provincias Argentinas'', Ed, Hyspamérica, 1987. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brizuela, Tomas 1800s births People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata 1841 deaths Argentine generals People from La Rioja Province, Argentina Deaths by firearm in Argentina