Juan Andrés Gelly y Obes (1815-1904) was an Argentine general and politician. He was an advocate for the reform of the

Constitution of Argentina The Constitution of the Argentine Nation () is the basic governing document of Argentina, and the primary source of existing law in Argentina. Its first version was written in 1853 by a constitutional assembly which gathered in Santa Fe; the ...

in 1860, chief of staff of the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

during the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

as well as a personal friend of

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...

Biography

He was a teenager even when his father,

Juan Andrés Gelly Juan Andrés Gelly Martínez (2 August 1790 – 24 August 1856) was a Paraguayan lawyer, politician and diplomat who played an important role in the Plata region's independence and relations, and in the international recognition of Paraguay's i ...

had to go into exile in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

and taking his son with him due to the support he had given to the dictatorship of General

Juan Lavalle Juan Galo Lavalle (; 17 October 17979 October 1841) was an Argentine military and political figure from the Unitarian Party. Early life and education Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José Laval ...

and his opposition to

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

. He then joined the defense against the siege that that city suffered for eight years, reaching the rank of colonel and head of a regiment of Argentine exiles. For some time after, he was exiled in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, where he managed an

estancia An estancia or estância is a large, private plot of land used for farming or raising cattle or sheep. Estancias are located in the southern South American grasslands of Chilean and Argentine Patagonia, while the ''pampas'' have historically bee ...

. During his stay in

, he established a close friendship with

but, unlike Mitre, returned to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in 1855.''Juan Andrés Gelly y Obes'', Educar
/ref> In Buenos Aires, he joined the

with the rank of colonel, was a provincial deputy, commander of the

Port of Buenos Aires The Port of Buenos Aires () is the principal maritime port in Argentina. Operated by the ''Administración General de Puertos'' (General Ports Administration), a state enterprise, it is the leading transshipment point for the foreign trade of Arge ...

, commander of the Navy of the State of Buenos Aires, and interim Minister of War and Navy during the battles of Cepeda and Pavón. At the end of 1861 he was one of the diplomats sent by Miter to convince

Justo José de Urquiza Justo José de Urquiza y García (; October 18, 1801 – April 11, 1870) was an Argentine general and politician who served as president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860. Life Justo José de Urquiza y García was bor ...

not to prevent the overthrow of President

Santiago Derqui Santiago Rafael Luis Manuel José María Derqui Rodríguez ( Córdoba June 21, 1809 – Corrientes November 5, 1867) was president of Argentina from March 5, 1860 to November 5, 1861. He was featured on the 10 australes note, which is now ...

. He was a provincial senator in 1862, and promoted to the rank of general. During Mitre's presidency he was Minister of War and Navy, a position he held until the end of 1867 which simultaneously occurred with the first half of the

. He was appointed Chief of Staff of the Argentine Army campaigning in Paraguay, which was why he resigned from his post as minister and then participated in the

Battle of Tuyú Cué A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. President

Domingo Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the ''1837 generation, Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19t ...

appointed him commander of the Argentine army in Paraguay, participating in the

Pikysyry maneuver The Pikysyry maneuver was a tactic used by Brazilian marshal Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias, during the Pikysyry campaign (part of the Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ...

, although he resigned due to a strong altercation with the president shortly before the Sacking of Asunción. Due to his Paraguayan ancestry, he was proposed as a candidate to become president there after the war ended. Some years later, he was the head of the national forces in

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...

, where he fought General Nicanor Cáceres, who was trying to defend the constitutional governor from a revolution supported by President Mitre. He remained in the

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, cl ...

, as chief of the army reserve in campaign, until the outbreak of the Jordanist Rebellion, directing one of the main columns in the war against him. He controlled part of the north of the

Entre Ríos Province Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a Center Region, Argentina, central provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires (so ...

until the Battle of Don Cristóbal where he was defeated by López Jordán, although the latter had to withdraw at the end of the day due to the approach of more government forces. He was unable to prevent the rebel leader's march to Corrientes, where the rebellion would be decisively defeated. He was a national deputy between 1872 and 1874, for the Mitre party, a position he resigned at the end of 1874 in order to participate in the he also requested discharge from the Army. His participation in the revolution was secondary, although he was the chief of staff of the mitrista army defeated in the

Battle of La Verde A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

.Scenna, Miguel Ángel (1981), ''1874: Mitre contra Avellaneda'', Todo es Historia, p. 167. He was reinstated in the Army in 1877, by decree of President

Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) was an Argentine politician and journalist, and President of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education ...

, but was discharged again for his participation in the

Revolution of 1880 The Revolution of 1880 was the last military conflict of the Argentine Civil Wars. The conflict was between the government of the Province of Buenos Aires and the National government chaired by Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Ave ...

. He would only be reinstated at the end of the presidency of

Julio Argentino Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an Argentine army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the ...

. Accompanying Mitre, he was part of the founding group of the Civic Union due to the

Revolution of the Park The Revolution of the Park (''Revolución del Parque''), also known as the Revolution of '90, was an uprising against the national government of Argentina that took place on July 26, 1890, and started with the takeover of the Buenos Aires Artill ...

. During the presidency of

José Evaristo Uriburu José Félix Evaristo de Uriburu y Álvarez de Arenales (19 November 1831 – 23 October 1914) was President of Argentina from 23 January 1895 to 12 October 1898. He was an adept diplomat; participating as arbiter on the peace negotiation ...

, he presided over the newly created Supreme War and Navy Council, which judged the conduct of officers of the Argentine Army and Navy. He supported the management of General Pablo Ricchieri for the military reform of 1901, which created the modern Argentine Army based on conscription. Plazoleta_Gelly_y_Obes

His death, on September 18, 1904, was a national public event. His remains were deposited in the

Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery () is a cemetery located in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, including Eva Perón, President of Ar ...

, and his tomb was declared a Historical Monument. A town in the

Santa Fe Province The Invincible Province of Santa Fe (, , lit. "Holy Faith") is a Provinces of Argentina, province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco Province, Chaco (divided by the 2 ...

and a street in the Recoleta neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires bear his name.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelly y Obes, Juan Andres 1815 births 1904 deaths Military personnel from Buenos Aires Politicians from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Catalan descent Unitarianists (Argentina) Civic Union (Argentina) politicians National Civic Union (Argentina) politicians Government ministers of Argentina Argentine generals Argentine military personnel of the Paraguayan War