Evaristo José Fernández San Miguel y Valledor, Duke of San Miguel (26 October 1785–29 May 1862) was a Spanish soldier, politician and writer. He was a deputy in the

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

in the legislatures of 1841, 1846, 1854-1856. He was named

Senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , five Italian senators out of 205, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

in 1851 and Captain General in 1856.. Feito Rodríguez, Honorio
"Evaristo José Fernández San Miguel y Valledor." ''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico'' (''DB~e'').
''

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

''. Retrieved 30 December 2022.

Military career

After having studied Mathematics at the Real Instituto Asturiano in Gijón, and Humanities at

Oviedo University The University of Oviedo (, Asturian: ''Universidá d'Uviéu'') is a public university in Asturias (Spain). It is the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres. History The ...

,. Gil Novales, Alberto (2010)
''Diccionario biográfico de España (1808-1833)'': A/F, pp. 1077-1079.

Fundación Mapfre Fundación is a town and municipality of the Colombian Department of Magdalena. Its people are known as Fundanenses. The primary economic activity is livestock-raising, for production of both meat and milk. Other crops are: corn, yuca, o ...

. Retrieved 31 December 2022. San Miguel joined the Army as a cadet in May 1805 in the Regimiento Primero de Voluntarios de Aragón, together with his brother Santos, who would later be promoted to lieutenant general. At the start of the Peninsular War, San Miguel was a sub-lieutenant in the Regimiento de Voluntarios del Estado, charged with holding the red de San Luis in Madrid, post he was forced to abandon when attacked by superior French forces. He returned to Asturias to join the defensive plans of the historic

General Junta of the Principality of Asturias The General Junta of the Principality of Asturias (in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Junta General del Principado de Asturias'', in Asturian Language, Asturian: ''Xunta Xeneral del Principáu d'Asturies'') is the parliament of Asturias, an autonomou ...

. Taken prisoner after the defeat at Peña del Castillo (Santander) in July 1809, he was sent France, where he was held until the signing of the Treaty of Valençay (1813). Back in Spain, he joined the Regimiento Asturias, part of the expeditionary force, the Ejército Expedicionario de Ultramar, which had been quartered at Cádiz since 1816 in preparation for being sent over to America to quell the remaining

rebellions Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

. A mason, going under the name "Patria",
"Evaristo Fernández San Miguel y Valledor. Duque de San Miguel".

Congreso de los Diputados The Congress of Deputies () is the lower house of the , Spain's legislative branch, the upper house being the Senate. The Congress meets in the Palace of the Parliament () in Madrid. Congress has 350 members elected from fifty-two constituencie ...

. Retrieved 28 April 2023. in July 1819, San Miguel, now a lieutenant colonel and active in a regiment that was especially noteworthy for supporting the revolutionary winds blowing across Spain, was arrested, together with other fellow officers, including

Antonio Quiroga Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular m ...

, Felipe del Arco-Agüero,

Demetrio O'Daly Field Marshal Demetrio O'Daly (January 26, 1780 – 1837) was the first Puerto Rican to attain the rank of Field Marshal in the Spanish Army. He was awarded the Cruz Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Laureate Cross of Saint Fernando), the highest ...

and Antoine de Roten.. Martín-Lanuza, Alberto
"Felipe del Arco-Agüero Yolif." ''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico'' (''DB~e'').
''

''. Retrieved 30 December 2022. He was held prisoner, along with his brother Santos and Arco Agüero, at the Castle of San Sebastián, in Cádiz, from which they managed to escape the following January, a week after

Rafael del Riego Rafael del Riego y Flórez (7 April 1784 – 7 November 1823) was a Spanish general and liberal politician who played a key role in the establishment of the Liberal Triennium (''Trienio liberal'' in Spanish). The failure of the Cádiz army to se ...

had announced his

pronunciamiento A is a form of military rebellion or coup d'état particularly associated with Spain, Portugal and Ibero-America, especially in the 19th century. Typology The is one category of praetorianism: the practice of military figures acting as pol ...

. Quiroga, chosen by his fellow officers as head of the revolutionary movement, organized his forces in San Fernando where, faced by the Royalist troops led by José O’Donnell, decided to resist in San Fernando, while the Columna Móvil, under the direct command of Riego, would deploy itself throughout Andalusia to garner support for the revolution, at the same time acting as a rearguard, if necessary. San Miguel was named commander-in-chief of this Column Móvil. 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 was an active member of the ''tertulias'' held at The Fontana de Oro, in Madrid, one of several ''cafés de tertulia'' that were used as meeting places in Spain for the ''sociedades patrióticas'' (patriotic societies).Ricketts, Monica (2017)
''Who Should Rule?: Men of Arms, the Republic of Letters, and the Fall of the Spanish Empire'', p. 175. Oxford University Press.
''Google Books''. Retrieved 28 April 2023. In July 1822, when four battalions of Guardias Reales tried to overthrow the liberal government by attacking Madrid, San Miguel, at the head of the so-called Batallón Sagrado, which included leading figures, such as Ramón Narváez, Bravo Murillo, and Fermín Arteta, went to the Council of Madrid requesting arms to be distributed for defending Madrid. He joined Francisco Espoz y Mina's forces in Catalonia, and fought at the Battle of Tramaced on 8 October 1823, where he was wounded and taken prisoner. Thanks to the mediation of the French

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Lauriston Lauriston ( ) is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park. Lauriston is the former location ...

, he was taken to

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

. In May 1824, he was released on condition that he left the country and he went to London. He returned to France in 1830 but failed in his attempt to enter Spain, finally being able to do so in May 1834. He was promoted to brigadier in July 1836 after participating at the Battle of Mendigorría, where he was wounded and for which he was awarded the

Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand The Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand () is a Spanish military order of chivalry, the decoration of which, the Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand (), is Spain's highest military decoration for gallantry. Membership of the order, which ...

. As General-in-chief of the Ejército del Centro, he prepared the attack on the

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, ...

forces based at Cantavieja y Beceite (Teruel).

Journalism and writings

San Miguel was a prolific writer, publishing several works, as well as writing the lyrics to the ''

Himno de Riego The "Himno de Riego" ("Anthem of Riego") is a song dating from the ''Trienio Liberal'' (1820–1823) of Spain and named in honour of Colonel Rafael del Riego, a figure in the respective uprising, which restored the liberal constitution of 1812. ...

'', in honour of

, which was declared the national anthem of Spain in 1822, remaining so until the overthrow of the

liberal government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

the following year and would also become one of the popular anthems used in the

First Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), historiographically referred to as the First Spanish Republic (), was the political regime that existed in Spain from 11 February 1873 to 29 December 1874. The Republic's founding ensued after the abdication of King ...

(1873–1874) and, with even more prominence, during the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

(1931–1939). While at San Fernando, together with Alcalá Galiano, he drew up ''La Gaceta Patriótica del Ejército Nacional''. He was also responsible for the proclamations, signed by Quiroga, that Riego made public following the ''

''. In 1821, he founded ''

El Espectador ''El Espectador'' () is a nationally circulated Colombian newspaper founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez in 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá. It was initially published twice a week, 500 issues each, but some years later became ...

'' (15 April 1821 – 31 March 1823), an important liberal newspaper in its day. While exiled in London, he collaborated with newspapers and published ''Elementos del arte de la guerra'' (London, 1826).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernández de San Miguel, Evaristo Spanish generals 1785 births 1862 deaths Spanish politicians Spanish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars University of Oviedo alumni Spanish Freemasons