Bernardo Vicente de Gálvez y Madrid, 1st Count of Gálvez (23 July 1746 – 30 November 1786) was a Spanish military leader and government official who served as colonial governor of Spanish Louisiana and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, and later as

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 Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. A career soldier since the age of 16, Gálvez was a veteran of several wars across Europe, the Americas, and North Africa. While governor of Louisiana, under the orders of the Spanish Crown he supported the colonists and their French allies in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, helping facilitate vital supply lines and frustrate British operations in the Gulf Coast. Under Gálvez's command, Spanish troops achieved several victories on the battlefield, most notably conquering West Florida and eliminating the British naval presence in the Gulf. This campaign led to the formal return of all of Florida to Spain in the Treaty of Paris, which he played a role in drafting. Gálvez's actions aided the American war effort and made him a hero to both Spain and the newly independent United States. The U.S. Congress endeavored to hang his portrait in the Capitol, finally doing so in 2014. He was granted many titles and honors by the Spanish government, which in 1783 appointed him viceroy of one of its most valuable territories, New Spain, succeeding his father Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo. He served until his death from

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

. While somewhat forgotten in the United States, Gálvez remains in high esteem among many Americans, particularly in the southern and western states that once formed part of Spain's North American territory. Gálvez Day is celebrated as a local holiday in Pensacola, and several places bear his name, including

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

and Galvez, Louisiana. In 2014, Gálvez became one of only eight people to have been awarded honorary U.S. citizenship.

Origins and military career

Bernardo de Gálvez was born in Macharaviaya, a mountain village in the province of Málaga,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, on 23 July 1746. He was the son of Matías de Gálvez and his wife María Josefa de Madrid, who died when Bernardo was only 2 years old. He studied

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

s at the ''Academia de Ávila'' and at the age of 16 participated in the Spanish invasion of Portugal, which stalled after the Spanish had captured Almeida. Following the conflict he was promoted to infantry

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. He arrived to the Viceroyalty of

(present day Mexico plus several U.S. states) in 1769. As a captain, he fought the Apaches, with his Opata Indian allies. He received many wounds, several of them serious. In 1770, he was promoted to commandant of arms of Nueva Vizcaya and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, northern provinces of New Spain. In 1772, Gálvez returned to Peninsular Spain with his uncle, José de Gálvez. Later, he was sent to Pau, France, where he served with the Royal Cantabria regiment, an elite Franco-Spanish unit, for three years. There, he learned to speak French, which would serve him well when he became governor of Louisiana. Gálvez was transferred to

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

in 1775, and then participated in Alejandro O'Reilly's disastrous expedition to Algiers, where he was seriously wounded during the Spanish assault on the fortress that guarded the city. Afterward he was appointed a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

at the military academy of Ávila and promoted to lieutenant colonel; he was made colonel in 1776.

Spanish governor of Louisiana

On 1 January 1777, Bernardo de Gálvez became the new governor of the formerly French province of Louisiana, ceded to Spain in 1762 as compensation for the loss of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to Britain, after Spain was urged to enter the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

on the French side. In November 1777, Gálvez married Marie Félicité de Saint-Maxent d'Estrehan, the Creole daughter of the French-born Gilbert Antoine de Saint-Maxent and the Creole Elizabeth La Roche, and young widow of Jean Baptiste Honoré d'Estrehan, the son of a high ranking French colonial official. This marriage to the daughter of a Frenchman won Gálvez the favor of the local Creole population. They had three children, Miguel, Matilde, and Guadalupe. As governor, Gálvez enacted an anti-British policy, taking measures against British smuggling and promoting trade with France. He damaged British interests in the region and kept it open for supplies to reach

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's army during the American Revolutionary War. He founded Galvez Town in 1779, promoted the colonization of '' Nueva Iberia'', and established free trade with

and Yucatán. Galvez Street in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

is named for him. In 1779, Gálvez 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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

American Revolutionary War

In December 1776, King Charles III of Spain decided that covert assistance to the United States would be strategically useful, but Spain did not enter into a formal alliance with the U.S. In 1777, José de Gálvez, newly appointed as minister of the Council of the Indies, sent his nephew, Bernardo de Gálvez, to New Orleans as governor of ''Luisiana'' with instructions to secure the friendship of the United States. On 20 February 1777, the Spanish king's ministers in Madrid secretly instructed Gálvez to sell the Americans desperately needed supplies. The British had blockaded the colonial ports of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

, and consequently the route from

up the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

was an effective alternative. Gálvez worked with Oliver Pollock, an American patriot, to ship gunpowder, muskets, uniforms, medicine, and other supplies to the American colonial rebels. On October 31, 1778, the Continental Congress issued a resolution thanking de Gálvez for his "spirited and disinterested conduct towards these states". Although Spain had not yet joined openly the American cause, when an American raiding expedition led by James Willing showed up in New Orleans with booty and several captured British ships taken as prizes, Gálvez refused to turn the Americans over to the British. In 1779, Spanish forces commanded by Gálvez seized the province of West Florida, later known as the Florida Parishes, from the British. Spain's motive was the chance both to recover territories lost to the British, particularly Florida, and to remove the ongoing British threat. On 21 June 1779, Spain formally declared war on Great Britain. On 25 June, a letter from London, marked secret and confidential, went to General John Campbell at Pensacola from King George III and Lord George Germain. Campbell was instructed that it was the object of greatest importance to organize an attack upon New Orleans. If Campbell thought it was possible to reduce the Spanish fort at New Orleans, he was ordered to make preparations immediately. These included securing from Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Parker as many fighting ships as the fleet at

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

could spare, gathering all forces in the province that could be assembled, recruiting as many loyal Indians as the Superintendent could provide, and drawing on His Majesty's Treasury through the Lords Commissioners to pay expenses. As an unfortunate twist of fate for Campbell, upon which his whole career was decided, the secret communication fell into the hands of Gálvez. After reading the communication from King George III and Germain, Gálvez, as Governor of Louisiana, swiftly and secretly mobilized the territory for war. Gálvez carried out a masterful military campaign and defeated the British colonial forces at Fort Bute,

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, and Natchez in 1779. The Battle of Baton Rouge, on 21 September 1779, freed the lower Mississippi Valley of British forces and relieved the threat to the capital of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. In March 1780, Gálvez recaptured Mobile from the British at the

Battle of Fort Charlotte The Battle of Fort Charlotte, also known as the siege of Fort Charlotte, was a two-week siege conducted by Spanish general Bernardo de Gálvez against the Kingdom of Great Britain, British fortifications guarding the port of Mobile, Alabama, Mo ...

. Gálvez's most important military victory over the British forces occurred 8 May 1781, when he attacked and took by land and by sea Pensacola, the British (and formerly, Spanish) capital of West Florida from General John Campbell of Strachur. The loss of Mobile and Pensacola left the British with no bases along the Gulf coast. In 1782, forces under Gálvez's overall command captured the British naval base at Nassau on New Providence Island in the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

without a shot being fired. However, Gálvez's was angry that the operation had proceeded against his orders and ordered the arrest and imprisonment of Francisco de Miranda, aide-de-camp of Juan Manuel Cajigal, the commander of the expedition. Miranda later explained Gálvez's actions as stemming from jealousy of Cajigal's success. On May 9, 1783, the Congressional Congress issued a resolution to display a portrait painting of de Gálvez which was obtained by Oliver Pollock "...in the room in which Congress meet." Gálvez received many honors from Spain for his military victories against the British, including promotion to lieutenant general and field marshal, governor and captain general of Louisiana and Florida (now separated from Cuba), and the command of the Spanish expeditionary army in America, and titles of Viscount of Gálvez-Town and Count of Gálvez. As evidenced by the insignia that he wore in most every official portrait painting of him, de Gálvez was also awarded the Order of Charles III. However, his insignia was different from the Knight's Cross Order of Charles III; on his, the medallion was connected to the ribbon by a crown device, whereas the Knight's Cross was connected via a wreath. The American Revolutionary War ended while de Gálvez was preparing a new campaign to take Jamaica. From the American perspective, Gálvez's campaign denied the British the opportunity of encircling the American rebels from the south and kept open a vital conduit for supplies. He also assisted the American revolutionaries with supplies and soldiers, much of it through Oliver Pollock, from whom he received

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

concerning the British in West Florida. For France and Spain, Gálvez's military success in the American war effort led to the inclusion of provisions in the

Peace of Paris (1783) The Peace of Paris of 1783 was the set of treaties that ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the ...

that officially returned Florida, now divided into two provinces,

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and West Florida, to Spain. The treaty recognized the political independence of the former British colonies to the north, and its signing ended their war with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Viceroy of New Spain

In 1783, Bernardo de Gálvez was ennobled to the rank of count, promoted to lieutenant-general of the army, and appointed governor and captain-general of Cuba. He was given the titles Count of Gálvez ("conde de Gálvez") and Viscount of Gálvez-Town ("vizconde de Gálvez-Town") by Carlos III on May 20, 1783. He returned to the Indies in October of the following year to assume his new office. Shortly after he arrived in Havana, his father, Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo (then the viceroy of New Spain), died in November, and Bernardo de Gálvez was appointed to fill the position. He arrived in Vera Cruz, on 21 May 1785, and made his formal entry into

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

in June. During his administration two great calamities occurred: the freeze of September 1785, which led to famine in 1786, and a typhus epidemic that killed 300,000 people the same year. During the famine, Gálvez donated 12,000 pesos of his inheritance and 100,000 pesos he raised from other sources to buy maize and beans for the populace. He also implemented policies to increase future agricultural production. In 1785, Gálvez initiated construction of

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle () is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". It is located at the entrance to Chapultepec park, at a he ...

. He also ordered the construction of the towers of the cathedral and paving of the streets, as well as the installation of streetlights in Mexico City. He continued work on the highway to

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

, and took measures to reduce the abuse of Indian labor on the project. He dedicated 16% of the income from the lottery and other games of chance to charity. Gálvez helped advance science in the colony by sponsoring the Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain, led by Martín Sessé y Lacasta. This expedition of botanists and naturalists resulted in a comprehensive catalog, a collaborative work published in Spain as the ''Flora Mexicana'', which catalogued the diverse species of plants, birds, and fish found in New Spain. On one occasion, when the viceroy was riding on horseback to meet with the Audiencia (according to his own report), he encountered a party of soldiers escorting three criminals to the

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

. He suspended the hanging, and later had the criminals freed. After the typhus epidemic of 1786 had abated in early autumn, Bernardo de Gálvez apparently became one of its last victims, and was confined to his bed. On 8 November 1786, he turned over all his governmental duties except the captain generalship to the Audiencia. On 30 November 1786, Galvez died at the age of 40 in Tacubaya (now part of Mexico City). Gálvez was buried next to his father at San Fernando Church in Mexico City. Bernardo de Gálvez left some writings, including ''Ordenanzas para el Teatro de Comedias de México'' and ''Instrución para el Buen Gobierno de las Provincias Internas de la Nueva España'' (Instructions for Governing the Interior Provinces of New Spain, 1786), the latter of which remained in effect until the colonial period ended. In his "Instructions", Gálvez advocated a policy of selling the Indians rifles and trade goods to make them dependent on the Spanish government, and sanctioned war against the Apache if these inducements failed to pacify them.

Legacy

, Galveston Bay, Galveston County, Galvez, Louisiana, and St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, were, among other places, named after him. The Louisiana parishes of East Feliciana and West Feliciana (originally a single parish) were said to have been named for his wife Marie Felicite de Saint-Maxent d'Estrehan. The Cabildo, a branch of the Louisiana State Museum located on Jackson Square in

, has a portrait of General Gálvez accompanied by a display of biographical information. Spanish Plaza, in the

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of the city, has an

equestrian statue An equestrian statue is a statue of a rider mounted on a horse, from the Latin ''eques'', meaning 'knight', deriving from ''equus'', meaning 'horse'. A statue of a riderless horse is strictly an equine statue. A full-sized equestrian statue is a ...

of Gálvez adjacent to the New Orleans World Trade Center. There is also a Galvez Street in New Orleans.

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, also has a Spanish Plaza with a statue of Gálvez. In

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

(present-day state capital), Galvez Plaza is laid out next to City Hall and used frequently as a site for municipal events. Also, the 13-story Galvez Building is part of the state government's administrative office-building complex in the Capitol Park section of downtown Baton Rouge. In 1911, the Hotel Galvez was built in Galveston Avenue P, where the hotel is located, is known as Bernardo de Galvez Avenue. The hotel was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on 4 April 1979. On December 16, 2014, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

conferred

honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

on Gálvez, citing him as a "hero of the Revolutionary War who risked his life for the freedom of the United States people and provided supplies, intelligence, and strong military support to the war effort." In 2019, the Spanish Government placed a statue of Galvez in front of the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C. Also, on December 9, 2014, a replica of a 1784 portrait of Gálvez by Mariano Salvador Maella—the replica of which was painted by Spanish artist Carlos Monserrate—was unveiled December 9, 2014, in Senate Foreign Relations Committee room (S-116 of the United States Capitol Building). This act fulfilled the May 9, 1783, resolution to display such a portrait of de Gálvez in Congress."When Gálvez Came to Congress",https://www.herenciahispanaoculta.com/77-when-galvez-came-to-congress.html/ In June 2024, the USS ''Galvez'' (FFG-67), a Constellation-class frigate, was named after him.

Heraldry

File:COA Count of Gálvez.svg, Coat of Arms as Count of Gálvez (1783–1786)

Notes

External links

at United States National Park Service
Bernardo de Gálvez
at Texas A & M University
Spain's Role in the American Revolution
at AmericanRevolution.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Galvez, Bernardo de 1746 births 1786 deaths Colonial United States (Spanish) Counts of Spain Governors of Louisiana (New Spain) Governors of the Bahamas People from the Province of Málaga Spanish colonial period of Cuba Spanish generals Spanish military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Spanish West Indies Viceroys of New Spain Viscounts of Spain Deaths from typhus Infectious disease deaths in Mexico Spanish Catholics