Juan Vicente Folch y Juan (1754–1829)National Archives. Founders Online: To James Madison from William C. C. Claiborne and James Wilkinson, 27 February 1804
National Archives. was a Spanish military officer who served as the Governor of

West Florida West Florida ( es, Florida Occidental) was a region on the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico that underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. As its name suggests, it was formed out of the western part of former S ...

from June 1796 to March 1811.

Early years and military career

Vicente Folch was born in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is kno ...

, near Barcelona in the Catalan province of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...

,Olesti Trilles, Josep. Diccionari biogràfic de reusencs. Reus: l'Ajuntament, 1991, p. 267. on March 8, 1754. He was a nephew of the governor of

Spanish Louisiana Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...

Esteban Rodríguez Miró Esteban Rodríguez Miró y Sabater, KOS (1744 – June 4, 1795), also known as Esteban Miro and Estevan Miro, was a Spanish army officer and governor of the Spanish American provinces of Louisiana and Florida. Miró was one of the most popular ...

. Folch studied mathematics and engineering at the Royal Military Academy of Barcelona and on April 23, 1771, he was commissioned a sublieutenant in the 2nd Regiment of Light Infantry of Catalonia in the Spanish army. He rose through the ranks, and was promoted to Lieutenant colonel on October 5, 1802. After finishing his studies in 1774, Folch fought in military campaigns in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

for several years, including the Siege of Melilla (1774–75), the Invasion of Algiers, and the siege of Gibraltar (1780). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1780 and in 1786 he attained the rank of captain. Folch arrived in America in 1780 with the field army (''Ejército de Operaciones'') commanded by Victoriano de Navia, and worked his way through the ranks until he was promoted to captain on November 22, 1786. Seven months later, on June 19, 1787, he was appointed

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the post at

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

, where he organized discovery and punitive expeditions against the

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into separate creole cultures such as the Garifuna and the Mascogos. ...

. In August 1793, Folch was assigned a naval expedition to map the central part of the west coast of the province of

East Florida East Florida ( es, Florida Oriental) was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 to 1783 and a province of Spanish Florida from 1783 to 1821. Great Britain gained control of the long-established Spanish colony of ''La Florida'' in 1763 as part of ...

, the area around Tampa Bay. After successfully completing this arduous task, the governor of Louisiana, Baron Carondelet, appointed him to command two small vessels that he had outfitted to patrol the coast near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Folch performed this service from July, 1794, to July, 1795. On July 28, 1795, Carondelet then appointed Folch the new commandant of the fort of San Fernando de las Barrancas. This was a hardship post at Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi, the present-day site of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. Folch served there until September 1796. He was next assigned duty at

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

, where he served as commandant from September 30, 1795, through March 30, 1804. In June 1796 he was appointed governor of

Government of West Florida and final years

After visiting Baton Rouge several times, Governor Folch insisted on being received with the honors due his office when he went to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

on official business. He promoted road construction in Florida and the building of a road from Mobile to better protect Baton Rouge. He also reorganized and reinforced the troops stationed in the forts at

and Mobile. When he received notice of the Kemper brothers' rebellion in Baton Rouge and their incursion into West Florida on August 7, 1804, to incite a revolution, Folch was concerned that the insurrection was a serious threat to Spanish control of Florida. He sent a troop of 150 soldiers from Pensacola to suppress the revolt; they arrived in September,Cogliano, Francis D. (2013)
Failed Filibusters: The Kemper Rebellion, the Burr Conspiracy and Early American Expansion
and defeated the insurrectionists, who had failed to gain the support of local Anglo-American settlers, most of whom were satisfied with Spanish rule. In 1811, fearing the possibility that

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

would occupy Florida in its war against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Folch decided to cede West Florida to the United States temporarily. Folch was promoted to

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

in 1810, and replaced by his son-in-law Francisco Maximiliano Saint Maxent La Roche in March 1811 as governor of West Florida. He then went to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, where he served as a member of the ''Estado Mayor'' (General Staff) and as second to the Captain General of Cuba. He was appointed Field Marshal of the Spanish Royal Armies and decorated with the Grand Cross of the

Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild ( es, Real y Militar Orden de San Hermenegildo) is both a general military honor and a legion created by Ferdinand VII of Spain on 28 November 1814. The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermene ...

(''Real y Militar Orden de San Hermenegildo''). He died in 1829 in Havana.

References

External links

Correspondence with Vicente Folch, 1810
{{DEFAULTSORT:Folch, Vicente Royal Governors of La Florida 1754 births 1829 deaths