Antoine de La Torré (29 September 1787 – 8 February 1851) was a Spanish-born

French officer The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, French Ai ...

who participated in the

French conquest of Algeria The French conquest of Algeria (; ) took place between 1830 and 1903. In 1827, an argument between Hussein Dey, the ruler of the Regency of Algiers, and the French consul (representative), consul escalated into a blockade, following which the Jul ...

Early life

According to the 1898 memoirs of

François Certain de Canrobert François Marcellin Certain de Canrobert (; born François Certain Canrobert; 27 June 1809 – 28 January 1895) was a French Marshal of France, Marshal. He demonstrated ability during the Second French Empire while participating in the Battle of ...

, when he served under de La Torré in Algeria in 1842, it was rumoured that de La Torré was an illegitimate son of

Manuel Godoy Manuel de Godoy y Álvarez de Faria Ríos (12 May 1767 – 4 October 1851), 1st ''Prince of the Peace'', 1st ''Duke of Alcudia'', 1st ''Duke of Sueca'', 1st ''Baron of Mascalbó'', was the First Secretary of State of the Kingdom of Spain from ...

and that his irascibility was because he was educated as

whipping boy A whipping boy was a boy educated alongside a prince (or boy monarch) in early modern Europe, who supposedly received corporal punishment for the prince's transgressions in his presence. The prince was not punished himself because his royal sta ...

for the future

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

. Fighting for Spain in the

Spanish War of Independence The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, de La Torré was taken prisoner by the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

after either the

Battle of Tudela The Battle of Tudela (23 November 1808) saw an Imperial French army led by Marshal Jean Lannes attack a Spanish army under General Castaños. The battle resulted in the complete victory of the Imperial forces over their adversaries. The c ...

or the

Battle of Ocaña The Battle of Ocaña was fought on 19 November 1809 between French forces under Marshal Jean-de-Dieu Soult against the Spanish army under General Juan Carlos de Aréizaga, which suffered its greatest single defeat in the Peninsular War. ...

. He then enlisted in the

troupes coloniales The ''Troupes coloniales'' (, "Colonial Troops") or ''Armée coloniale'' (,"Colonial Army"), commonly called ''La Coloniale'', were the colonial troops of the French colonial empire from 1900 until 1961. From 1822 to 1900, these troops wer ...

as an officer in Joseph Napoleon's Regiment.

French conquest of Algeria

De La Torré was put on leave from military rank on 8 October 1830. He was then appointed

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in the occupied city of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

on 11 May 1831 during the French conquest of

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. De La Torré proved himself during three military campaigns on Algerian soil: the first lasting from 11 June 1831 to 27 October 1834, the second from 10 January 1836 to 25 February 1839, and the third from 12 April 1840 to 21 March 1845. Each fight against the Algerian resistance fighters presented him a new opportunity to show his bravery and to give the measure of his military value on

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n soil.

Citations

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 ...

during the

First Battle of Boudouaou The First Battle of Boudouaou in 25–26 May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria, pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg against the troops of Kabylia of the '' Igawawen''. Historical Context When E ...

(25–30 May 1837), de La Torré was awarded the ''General Order of the African Army'' on 2 June and 22 June 1837. His name is cited in the Governor-General of Algeria's special report (27 June 1840) and again in the report of the general commanding the province of

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

and in the agenda of the same date (1 December 1840).

First Battle of Boudouaou

The fight of

Boudouaou Boudouaou, during French colonialism known as L'Alma (or Alma) is a town in the western part of Boumerdès, Algeria. It is a coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea. Its population in 2008 was 56,398. It is located 18 miles east of the capital Alg ...

, a notorious strategic battle for the conquest of

Kabylia Kabylia or Kabylie (; in Kabyle: Tamurt n leqbayel; in Tifinagh: ⵜⴰⵎⵓⵔⵜ ⵏ ⵍⴻⵇⴱⴰⵢⴻⵍ; ), meaning "Land of the Tribes" is a mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is ...

during the French wars in

, granted La Torré the opportunity of a promotion. The Boudouaou victory earned de La Torré the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 3 September 1837 and the colonel of the 13th Light Infantry Regiment on 20 June 1840.

Awards

De La Torré was decorated with the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

on 4 October 1823, promoted to

on 30 May 1837 after the

, and then decorated with the title of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

on 2 October 1842. Colonel de La Torré was naturalized a French citizen by the ordinance of 21 December 1844; he was then appointed on 26 February 1845 as first class commander in

Death

After retiring from the French Army on 27 May 1845, Colonel de la Torré died at the age of 64 in the city of

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million File:Damrémont par Julien.jpg,

Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont Charles-Marie Denys, comte de Damrémont (8 February 1783 – 12 October 1837) was a French general and military governor of French Algeria. He was killed in combat during the siege of Constantine. Early life Charles-Marie Denys was born in Chaum ...

File:Buste du général Perregaux.jpg,

Alexandre Charles Perrégaux Alexandre Charles Perrégaux (21 October 1791 – 6 November 1837) was a French Army officer who participated in the French conquest of Algeria. Family Alexandre Charles Perrégaux was born in Neuchâtel on 21 October 1791, the second son of ...

File:Colonel Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg 4.jpg, Maximilien Joseph Schauenburg File:Col de Ténia.jpg,

Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha The Expedition of the Col des Beni Aïcha, or the Expedition of Thénia, or simply Beni Aïcha Expedition, was a expedition in May 1837, during the French conquest of Algeria. This event pitted the troupes coloniales under Colonel Maximilien Jos ...

(1837) File:Photo boudouaou marine 08102014.jpg,

(1837)

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de La Torré, Antoine 1787 births Spanish military personnel 1851 deaths French Army officers French people of colonial Algeria 1830s in Algeria Knights of the Legion of Honour Commanders of the Legion of Honour