José Videla Castillo (1792 – June 1832) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

military officer who fought in his country's war of independence and later in the

Argentine Civil Wars The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of civil conflicts of varying intensity that took place in the territories of Argentina from 1814 to 1853. Beginning concurrently with the Argentine War of Independence (1810–1818), the conflict prevente ...

on the Unitarian side.

Biography

José Videla del Castillo was born in

Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza (), officially the City of Mendoza (), is the capital of the Provinces of Argentina, province of Mendoza Province, Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plain ...

in 1792. He joined the Army of the Andes and participated in the battles of Battle of Chacabuco, Cancha Rayada and Maipú. He was a captain in the Peruvian campaign to Peru, fought in the Battle of Cerro de Pasco and was decorated for the defense of the city of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. He spent a few months as a prisoner of the Royalist party, then fought in the

Battle of Ayacucho The Battle of Ayacucho (, ) was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. This battle secured the independence of Peru and ensured independence for the rest of belligerent South American states. In Peru it is conside ...

. Castillo participated in the war against Brazil in the regiment of

José María Paz Brigadier General José María Paz y Haedo (September 9, 1791 – October 22, 1854) was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil Wars. Childhood Born in Córdoba, Argentina, the son ...

, fighting in the

Battle of Ituzaingó The Battle of Ituzaingó, also known as the Battle of Passo do Rosário, was a pitched battle fought in the vicinity of the Santa Maria River, in a valley of small hills where a stream divided the valley into two. After a two-year series of cont ...

. He later joined the invasion by Paz of Córdoba Province in 1829, and fought at San Roque,

La Tablada La Tablada is a city in Argentina. It is located in La Matanza Partido and is part of the Greater Buenos Aires metro area. Overview La Tablada initially developed around the Buenos Aires Western Railway () station inaugurated in 1900. The s ...

and

Oncativo Oncativo is a city in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. It has 13,180 inhabitants as per the . It is located near the center of the province, 76 km south-southeast from the provincial capital Córdoba City and 64 north-northwest from Vil ...

. After this last battle, Paz sent Castillo to his home province of Mendoza to overthrow the government of Juan Rege Corvalán, a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

ally of

Facundo Quiroga Juan Facundo Quiroga (27 November 1788 – 16 February 1835) was an Argentine caudillo (military strongman) who supported federalism at the time when the country was still in formation. Early years Quiroga was born in San Antonio, La Rioja ...

. In early April 1830 he entered Mendoza, where he held a "town meeting" consisting exclusively of Unitarians that elected Tomás Godoy Cruz as acting governor. After elections to form a new legislature, he had himself elected governor on 30 April 1830. He remained in charge of the military, but he let Tomás Godoy Cruz take all political and administrative decisions as his minister. He spent most of the time in the barracks outside the city. In mid-January 1831 Castillo received the news that General Quiroga was coming to attack him from

San Luis Province San Luis () is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country (on the 32° South parallel). Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja, Córdo ...

. Quiroga was supposed to have been permanently defeated at Oncativo. He left hurriedly to deal with the threat, but his troops were destroyed by Quiroga in the

Battle of Rodeo de Chacón The Battle of Rodeo del Chacón, fought in Potrero de Chacón, Argentina on 28 March 1831, was a battle during the civil war between Unitarian and Federalist forces. It ended with the victory of General Facundo Quiroga, one of the most capable an ...

on 28 March 1831. Castillo managed to flee to join forces with Paz, who was facing Federalist attack by

Estanislao López Estanislao López (26 November 1786 – 15 June 1838) was a ''caudillo'' and governor of the , between 1818 and 1838, one of the foremost proponents of provincial federalism, and an associate of Juan Manuel de Rosas during the Argentine Civ ...

. After Paz was captured, the army led by

Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid Comandante General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid (or "de La Madrid"; 28 November 1795 in San Miguel de Tucumán – 5 January 1857 in Buenos Aires) was an Argentine military officer and briefly, governor of several provinces like Córdoba, ...

retreated to

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighb ...

. They faced Quiroga again in the

Battle of La Ciudadela The Battle of La Ciudadela (Battle of the Citadel) was a fight during the Argentine Civil Wars between Federalist troops commanded by Facundo Quiroga and Unitarian troops of Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid on the outskirts of San Miguel de Tucumán, ...

, where he was the head of the Unitarian infantry. After the defeat, he went into exile in Bolivia. He dedicated himself to the production of coffee, sugar and pepper in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, but a fire destroyed his property, causing him severe depression. He died in Sucre in June 1832.

References

Citations Sources {{DEFAULTSORT:Videla Castillo, Jose 1792 births 1832 deaths Argentine Army officers People from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata