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. ...

Juan Mackenna (26 October 1771 – 21 November 1814) was an Irish-born, Chilean military officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence. He is considered to have been the creator of the Corps of Military Engineers of the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and ...

Early life

He was born John MacKenna (or Seán Mac Cionath in Irish) in

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Let ...

, Co. Monaghan, Ireland, the son of William MacKenna of Willville House near

town and Eleanora O'Reilly and, on his mother's side, a nephew to

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

Alejandro O'Reilly Alejandro O'Reilly, 1st Count of O'Reilly, KOA (; October 24, 1723 in Baltrasna, Co. Meath, Ireland – March 23, 1794 in Bonete, Spain), English: Alexander, Count of O'Reilly, Irish: ''Alastar Ó Raghallaigh, ''was an Irish-born military refo ...

. Count O'Reilly took an interest in the young Mackenna and took him to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

where he studied at the Royal School of Mathematics in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. He also trained in the Royal Military Academy as a Military Engineer between 1785 and 1791.

Military career

In 1787 he was accepted into the Irish Brigade of the

Spanish army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

, and joined the army fighting in

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territori ...

in northern Africa, under Lieutenant Colonel Luis Urbina, and was promoted to Second Lieutenant. In 1791 Mackenna resumed his studies in Barcelona and acted as liaison with mercenaries recruited in Europe. The following year he was promoted to Lieutenant in the Royal Regiment of Engineers. In the

War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portuga ...

against the French, Juan Mackenna fought in Rosselló under General Ricardos and there met the future liberator of Argentina,

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 ...

. For his exploits in defence of the Plaza de Rozas, he was promoted to captain in 1795.

Career in Chile

For the purpose of a new assignment, in October 1796, Juan Mackenna left Spain for South America. He arrived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and then travelled to Mendoza and to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

across the Andes and then to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. Once in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

, he contacted

Ambrosio O'Higgins Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins fa ...

, another Irishman, at that time

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

of Perú, who named him Governor of Osorno and put him in charge of the reconstruction works for this southern Chilean town. In this capacity, Juan Mackenna convinced the families of Castro, on the island of Chiloé, to move to Osorno to found a colony there. He built the storehouse and two mills, as well as the road between Osorno and present-day

Puerto Montt Puerto Montt (Mapuche: Meli Pulli) is a port city and commune in southern Chile, located at the northern end of the Reloncaví Sound in the Llanquihue Province, Los Lagos Region, 1,055 km to the south of the capital, Santiago. The commune ...

. His successful administration provoked jealousy from Chile's captain-general Gabriel de Avilés, who feared that Juan Mackenna and Ambrosio O'Higgins would create an Irish colony in Osorno. Both Irishmen were loyal to the Spanish crown, though Juan Mackenna had good relations with O'Higgins' son Bernardo, the future emancipator of Chile, and was also connected with the Venezuelan

Francisco de Miranda Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...

and his group of supporters of South American independence. When Ambrosio O'Higgins died in 1801, Avilés was appointed viceroy of Peru. It took him eight years to remove O'Higgins's protégé Juan Mackenna from Osorno.

Revolutionary wars

In 1809 Juan Mackenna married Josefina Vicuña y Larraín, an eighteen-year-old Chilean woman from a family with revolutionary connections, with whom he had three children: María del Carmen Dolores, Juan Francisco María del Tránsito, and Félix. After the Declaration of Chilean Independence in 1810, he adhered to the

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

side and was commissioned by the first Chilean government to prepare a plan for the defense of the country and oversaw the equipment of the new

. At this juncture he trained the first military engineers for the new army. The following year he was called to the defence committee of the new Republic of Chile, and in 1811 was appointed governor of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

. Owing to political feuds with

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 his brothers, Juan Mackenna was dismissed from the post and taken prisoner. He was a firm ally of

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Alth ...

, who appointed him as one of the key officers to fight the Spanish army of General Antonio Pareja. Mackenna's major military honour was attained in 1814 at the

Battle of Membrillar The battle of Membrillar occurred on 20 March 1814, during the War of Chilean Independence. Background Prior to the fall of Talca in early March, Juan Mackenna had been positioned along the rata Itata river with a small division of patriot ...

, in which the general assured a temporary collapse of the royal forces. As a reward for his victory, he was appointed commandant-general by Bernardo O'Higgins, but after a coup d'état led by

Luis Carrera Colonel Luis Florentino Juan Manuel Silvestre de los Dolores de la Carrera y Verdugo (1791 – April 8, 1818) was a Chilean military officer who fought in the Chilean War of Independence. Together with his brothers José Miguel and Juan José ...

he was exiled to

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 List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

in 1814, when Carrera took over power. Juan Mackenna died in

late in 1814, after a duel with

Public commemoration in Monaghan

A bust of General MacKenna was publicly presented to

County Museum on 5 August 2004 by his direct descendant :es:Luis Valentín Ferrada. At the presentation ceremony General MacKenna, the man "unreservedly regarded as the greatest of Co. Monaghan's exiles" was commemorated in speeches by Most Rev. Dr Joseph Duffy, Bishop of Clogher and by his descendant Senor Ferrada who declared, "In this city of Monaghan, very near to Willville House, the tombs of my ancestors are in the old cemetery. There, my own blood is interred in the sacred earth."

Family

Mackenna was the great-grandfather of Chilean composer Carmela Mackenna.

Notes

References

* *

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenna, Juan 1771 births 1814 deaths People from County Monaghan Irish emigrants to Chile Irish soldiers in the Spanish Army Irish military engineers Chilean Army officers 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Irish people People of the Chilean War of Independence Chilean independence activists Chilean emigrants to Argentina Duelling fatalities Deaths by firearm in Argentina Irish expatriates in Spain Expatriates in pre-independence Chile

Juan ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...