Enrique José O'Donnell y Anatar, conde de La Bisbal or (English: Henry Joseph O'Donnell) (1769 – 17 May 1834) was a Spanish general of Irish descent who fought in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

Biography

O'Donnell was born in San Sebastián, a descendant of the Irish noble dynasty of

O'Donnell of Tyrconnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...

who left Ireland after the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

, A member of the branch of the family that settled in Austria, General Karl O'Donnell Count of Tyronnel (1715–1771), held important commands during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

. His father was Joseph O'Donnell y O'Donnell (1722–1787), Colonel of the Spanish Infantry Regiment of Ireland, Lieutenant General of the Spanish Army, and his mother was Mariana de Anethan y Mareshal, of Luxemburg. Born in Spain, he early entered the Spanish army, fighting in 1793–1795 in the Convention War, and in 1810 became general, receiving a command in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, where in that year he earned his title and the rank of field-marshal. While fighting against General Gouvion-Saint-Cyr, (1764–1830), he managed to enter the besieged

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

and move troops to Vic. At the

Battle of La Bisbal In the Battle of La Bisbal on 14 September 1810 a Spanish division led by Henry O'Donnell (also known as Enrique José O'Donnell) and supported by an Anglo-Spanish naval squadron led by Francis William Fane and Charles William Doyle surprise ...

he defeated General Schwartz, earning thus the title of Count of La Bisbal although he was wounded in a leg. In 1811 he was appointed Captain General of

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and from 22 January 1812 to 7 March 1813 he was one of the members of the

III Council of Regency III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * In ...

, taking part as a sort of shady patron in the revolt in Catalonia led by Captain General

Luis Roberto de Lacy Brigadier-General Luis Roberto de Lacy, 11 January 1775 – 5 July 1817, was a Spanish professional soldier of Irish descent, who served in the Spanish and French Imperial armies. He played a prominent role in the 1808 to 1814 Spanish War of ...

( San Roque, executed by firing squad at the

Castle of Bellver Bellver Castle ( ca, Castell de Bellver, Balearic Catalan: ; ) is a Gothic-style castle on a hill 3 km to the west of the center of Palma on the Island of Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. It was built in the 14th century for King James I ...

, Palma de Mallorca, in 1817), and who was also descended from Irish-Spanish military people, and had tried to set up a Republic. He afterwards held posts of great responsibility under

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

. During the Liberal Triennium he supported the liberals despite his absolutist convictions, because he was against French intervention. The events of 1823 compelled his flight into France to Limoges where he was interned. When King Ferdinand VII of Spain died in 1834, O'Donnell died in Montpellier on the way back to Spain.

Family

O'Donnell was the brother of Carlos O'Donnell y Mareschal, the father of general and politician

Leopoldo O'Donnell Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris, 1st Duke of Tetuán, GE (12 January 1809 – 5 November 1867), was a Spanish general and Grandee who was Prime Minister of Spain on several occasions. Early life He was born at Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canar ...

y Jorris (invested as

Duke of Tetuan Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

and

Count of Lucena {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Count of Lucena (''Condado de Lucena'') is a Spanish hereditary comital title conferred on General Leopoldo O'Donnell y Joris by Queen Isabella II of Spain, on 25 July 1847. It was granted to him after defeating c ...

),Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th edition states that

was the second son of Henry O'Donnell . and father of Lieutenant General of the Spanish Army Enrique O'Donnell y Jorris.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Henry Joseph, Count Of La Bisbal 1769 births 1834 deaths Spanish generals Counts of Bisbal Spanish people of Irish descent Enrique Wild Geese (soldiers) Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars