General José María de la Cruz Prieto ( Concepción, March 25, 1799 – November 23, 1875) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an soldier. The son of Luis de la Cruz and of Josefa Prieto Sotomayor, and was a cousin of future presidents

José Joaquín Prieto José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

and

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure who was President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the ...

. He joined the Army on October 27, 1811, and participated actively in the battles of

Chacabuco Chacabuco is one of the many abandoned nitrate or "saltpeter" towns ("oficinas salitreras" in Spanish) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Other nitrate towns of the Atacama Desert include Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works. Unlik ...

, Maipu and Pangal during the

Chilean War of Independence The Chilean War of Independence (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Guerra de la Independencia de Chile'', 'War of Independence of Chile') was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Empire, Spanish Mona ...

. He married Josefa Zañartu Trujillo, and had a single daughter: Delfina de la Cruz Zañartu who in turn was the wife of future president

Aníbal Pinto Aníbal Pinto Garmendia (; March 15, 1825June 9, 1884) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1876 and 1881. Early life He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of former Chilean president General Francisc ...

. During the

War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation () was a military confrontation waged by the United Restoration Army, the alliance of the land and naval forces of Chile and the Restoration Army of Peru, formed in 1836 by Peruvian soldiers opposed to the conf ...

, he was the under-commandant-in-chief of the Restoration Army, under General

, having special participation in the victory of Yungay. After the war, he was Intendant of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

and later, of Concepción. He ran for president in 1851, but was defeated by

Manuel Montt Manuel Francisco Antonio Julián Montt Torres (; September 4, 1809 – September 21, 1880) was a Chilean statesman and scholar. He was twice elected President of Chile between 1851 and 1861. He was the first civilian to serve a full term as Presi ...

. His defeat caused him to revolt in the southern provinces, starting the 1851 revolution. His cousin Manuel Bulnes crushes the revolutionary attempt and signs the treaty of ''Purapel'' with the revolutionaries. After that he retired from politics, dying in Concepcion at the age of 76.

References

1799 births 1875 deaths Cruz family (Chile) Candidates for President of Chile Ministers of defense of Chile Viceroyalty of Peru people Chilean Army generals Chilean military personnel of the War of the Confederation People from Concepción, Chile People of the Chilean War of Independence People of the 1851 Chilean Revolution Intendants of Valparaíso Province Intendants of Concepción Province {{Chile-mil-bio-stub