Basilio Antonio García y Velasco ( Ventosa, 1791 -

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, 1844), known as "''Don Basilio de Logroño''" in the newspapers of that time, was a Spanish soldier and

Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

military commander. Guias de Navarra-album

First campaigns

He fought 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 ...

. During the

Trienio Liberal The , () or Three Liberal Years, was a period of three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael del Riego against the absolutist rule ...

he remained opposed to the liberals and later, during the

Ominous Decade The Ominous Decade (Spanish language: ''Década Ominosa'') is a term for the last ten years of the reign of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, dating from the abolition of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, on 1 October 1823, to his death on 29 Septemb ...

, he was the Commissioner of War in the province of

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...

. In 1833, he took up the Carlist cause, proclaiming Carlos María Isidro de Borbón to be the King in Logroño. From 1834 to 1836, he made several short expeditions from

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

(which was dominated by the Carlists), harrying villages in the valleys of the

Cordillera A cordillera is a chain or network of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly used in physical geogra ...

. On one of these expeditions, he lost his son and his lieutenant/chaplain nicknamed "''Caloyo''", who became a prisoner and was shot by a firing squad in Logroño. During the "Expedición Real" (a campaign in the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

), he served on the staff of the

infante Infante (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as "infant" or translated as "prince", is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to the ...

don

Sebastián Sebastian (; ) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians. He was initially tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows, though this did not kill h ...

, receiving the rank of General for his actions during the Battle of Villar de los Navarros.

Failed efforts

Following the failure of the "Expedición Real" and without sufficient food for his men, he decided to break away from the main army and join the forces of Ramón Cabrera in the

Maestrazgo The Maestrazgo () or Maestrat () is a natural and historical mountainous region, located at the eastern end of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range, in Spain. It encompasses the north of the Autonomous Community of Valencia, in Castellón provinc ...

. He never met up with Cabrera, having been forced to change his route by pursuing government forces. Later, he managed to unite with other Carlist forces and took

Úbeda Úbeda () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located in the Province of Jaén (Spain), province of Jaén, Andalusia. The town lies on the southern ridge of the so-called Loma de Úbeda, a Table (landform), table sandwiched in bet ...

. He once again went his own way, as a result of which he was beaten by government troops in a battle at Baeza. After regrouping, he entered the village of

Calzada de Calatrava Calzada de Calatrava is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Ciudad Real, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. It belongs to the Campo de Calatrava traditional '' comarca''. In 2024 it had 3,742 inhabitants. History Betwe ...

, burning a church where members of the National Militia had taken refuge with their families. He continued his desperate march, but was surprised in

Valdepeñas Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is also the seat of the judicial district that covers the localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso d ...

by the troops of General

George Flinter George Dawson Flinter (died 1838), was an adventurer and a mercenary. Life Flinter, an Irishman by birth, entered the British Army in 1811 as an ensign in the 7th West India regiment of foot, and was advanced to the rank of lieutenant on 22 Jul ...

, which was his final undoing. He continued with his few remaining men back to Navarre, where he soon found himself among those who were jeered at for being "ojalateros" (a contemptuous term for men who sat out the war on the sidelines, complaining instead of fighting. It was derived from the word "ojalá"..."I hope")

Opposition to Maroto

In 1839 he obtained the title of "Supreme Advisor for the War", but conflicts with General

Rafael Maroto Rafael Maroto Yserns (October 15, 1783 – August 25, 1853) was a Spanish general, known both for his involvement on the Spanish side in the wars of independence in South America and on the Carlist side in the First Carlist War. Childhood ...

forced him to seek self-exile in France. Disturbed by the malaise he had seen among the troops in Navarre, he soon decided to return and coordinate plans against Maroto. These plans failed and, after the

Convention of Vergara The Convention of Vergara (, ), entered into on 31 August 1839, was a treaty successfully ending the major fighting in Spain's First Carlist War. The treaty, also known by many other names including the Embrace of Vergara (), was signed by Bald ...

was signed, he fled towards France with soldiers of the Sixth Battalion who had rebelled against the Convention and assassinated General

Vicente González Moreno Vicente González Moreno (9 December 1778, Cádiz – 6 September 1839) was a Spanish general who supported the Carlists during the First Carlist War. He was appointed commander of Carlist forces after the death of Zumalacárregui. As a cad ...

. Taking advantage of the confusion caused by the encounter between the soldiers and the border guards, he was able to cross into France. He died in poverty on 26 May 1844, in Toulon.

Sources

Google Books: Annual Register for 1838 (Chapter XX)

First campaigns

Failed efforts

Opposition to Maroto

Sources

Further reading