José Antonio Saravia or José Antonio Sarabia ( Villanueva del Fresno,

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 ...

, 1785 –

Kremenets Kremenets (, ; ; ) is a city in Ternopil Oblast, western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kremenets Raion, and lies north-east of the Pochaiv Lavra. The city is situated in the historic region of Volhynia and features the 12th-c ...

, now in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, 2 April 1871) was an officer in the Russian army during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, rising to the rank of general in 1843.

Biography

José Antonio Saravia, born in Spain in obscure circumstances, lived in Russia from about 1812. He became a general of the Russian Army in 1843 and was nominated General Inspector of the Russian Military Academies under the Tsars Nikolai I and Alexander II. He married at

. Larisa Ivanovna, his wife, and their three children also eventually died in Kremenets.Meléndez Teodoro, Álvaro, 2021: "EN TORNO AL GENERAL DEL EJÉRCITO RUSO JOSÉ ANTONIO DE SARAVIA" in ''Apuntes para la historia de la ciudad de Badajoz, Tomo XVI'', 74 pp.,
online version

Possible brother

It seems that he had a younger brother or half-brother named Manuel José Saravia y Perdigos or Manuel José Sarabia y Perdigos ( Oliva de la Frontera,

, 1790–1852), whose career was very similar, although shorter. He also fought in Spain from the age of 18 (after 1808) against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, became a lieutenant in a Spanish naval expedition in Napoleonic

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, was also integrated into the Russian Army after the 1812

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

, and became a general of the Russian Army in 1824, aged 34. He is reported as dying in 1852, much earlier than José Antonio. (Villanueva del Fresno, where José Antonio was born, and Oliva de la Frontera, where Manuel José was born, are neighbouring villages in the

Province of Badajoz The province of Badajoz ( ; ) is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in ...

, near

Olivenza Olivenza () or Olivença () is a town in southwestern Spain, close to the Portugal–Spain border. It is a municipality belonging to the province of Badajoz, and to the wider autonomous community of Extremadura. The town of Olivença was und ...

, and there is only a gap of five years between their respective birthdays. The second name of José Antonio was apparently also Perdigos: he was rumoured to have been born to a single mother and adopted by his grandparents, named Perdigos.)Barreto, Carlos and López, Hilario, 1992: ''Memoria del general Saravia'', Oliva de la Frontera (Badajoz), Ayuntamiento de Villanueva del Fresno (Badajoz)

References

Further sources

* Garcia Moya, Manuel, 2011: "Visión de los viajeros españoles en Rusia" in ''Cuadernos de Rusística Española nº 7'' * Hidalgo, Diego, 1936: ''José Antonio de Saravia. De estudiante extremeño a General de los Ejércitos del Zar'', Madrid, Espasa Calpe * ''José Antonio de Saravia. De estudiante extremeño a General de los Ejércitos del Zar'', Sevilla, Editorial Renacimiento, 2008 1785 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Spanish people Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Spanish military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Immigrants to the Russian Empire Spanish emigrants {{Russia-mil-bio-stub