19th-century Argentine military officer and politician
Juan Galo Lavalle
(17 October 1797 ? 9 October 1841) was an
Argentine
military and political figure, from the
Unitarian Party
.
Early life and education
[
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]
Lavalle was born in
Buenos Aires
to Maria Mercedes Gonzalez Bordallo and Manuel Jose Lavalle, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the
Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata
. In 1799, the family moved to
Santiago de Chile
, but returned to Buenos Aires in 1807.
Like many other nineteenth century Argentines prominent in public life, Lavalle was a
freemason
.
[1]
In 1812 Lavalle joined the
Regiment of mounted grenadiers
as a cadet. By 1813 he reached the grade of lieutenant and moved to the army.
Career
[
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]
Under orders of
Carlos Maria de Alvear
the army besieged
Montevideo
. Lavalle fought against
Jose Gervasio Artigas
in 1815 and in the Battle of Guayabos under the command of
Manuel Dorrego
. In 1816 Lavalle moved to
Mendoza
to join the
Army of the Andes
of the "
liberator
"
Jose de San Martin
and fought in
Chacabuco
and the
Maipu
in Chile. He continued along with San Martin on his way to
Peru
and
Ecuador
and took part in the battles of
Pichincha
and the Riobamba, after which he became known as the
Hero of Riobamba
. Because of disagreements with
Simon Bolivar
, Lavalle returned to
Buenos Aires
by the end of 1823.
Governor and general
[
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]
He would later govern
Mendoza Province
for a short time. He then fought in the
war against Brazil
in command of 1,200 cavalry, with reported episodes of valour in the battles of
Bacacay
and
Ituzaingo
in February 1827. His forces defeated General Abreu and he was proclaimed General on the field of battle itself.
Coup, war, and resignation
[
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]
By the time he returned to Buenos Aires,
Bernardino Rivadavia
, the Unitarian Party President of the
United Provinces
, had resigned, and Manuel Dorrego was elected the federal governor of Buenos Aires Province. Lavalle, a Unitarian himself, led a coup to take the government and executed governor Dorrego, his former leader, without a trial. His government then started a reign of terror, aiming to destroy the
Federal Party
, but there was resistance in the countryside, which did not recede. In 1829, the demographic growth was negative as there were more deaths than births.
During this time,
Jose de San Martin
had returned from Europe. While he was in Montevideo, Lavalle offered him the government of Argentina,
[
citation needed
]
because of his authority over leaders on both sides. But when he learned about the spiraling factionalist violence, San Martin realised that he would have to choose sides as the only actual way to govern, so he refused and returned instead to self-exile in Europe.
The other provinces did not recognize Lavalle as the legitimate governor, and supported the
rosista
resistance instead. Lavalle would be defeated a short time later at the
Battle of Marquez Bridge
by the forces of
Juan Manuel de Rosas
and Santa Fe governor
Estanislao Lopez
. Lopez returned to his province, menaced by Unitarian
Jose Maria Paz
, who had taken power in
Cordoba
. Meanwhile, Rosas kept Lavalle under siege and forced him to resign with the Canuelas pact.
Juan Jose Viamonte
was designated as interim governor, and the legislature that was removed during Lavalle's coup d'etat was restored. This legislature would elect Rosas as the governor. Lavalle retired to the
Banda Oriental
.
Regroup
[
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]
During the
French blockade to the Rio de la Plata
,
Fructuoso Rivera
was reluctant to take military actions against Rosas, aware of his strength. Unitarians, who thought that the whole
Argentine Confederation
would rise against Rosas at the first chance, urged Lavalle to lead the attack, who requested not to share command with Rivera. As a result, they led both their own armies. His imminent attack was backed up by conspiracies in Buenos Aires, which were discovered and aborted by the
Mazorca
, a group loyal to Rosas.
Manuel Vicente Maza
and his son were among the conspirators, and were executed as a result. Pedro Castelli also organized
an ill-fated uprising
against Rosas, and was executed as well.
Rosas did not wait to be attacked and ordered
Pascual Echague
to cross the
Parana river
and take the fight to
Uruguay
, with Lopez. The Uruguayan armies split: Rivera returned to defend Montevideo, and Lavalle moved to
Entre Rios Province
. He expected that the local populations would join him against Rosas and increase his forces, but he found severe resistance, so he moved instead to
Corrientes Province
. Governor
Pedro Ferre
defeated Lopez, and Rivera defeated Pascual Echague, clearing for Lavalle the way to Buenos Aires.
Defeat
[
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]
At this juncture, however, France had given up its trust on the effectiveness of the blockade, as what was thought it would be an easy and short conflict was turning into a long war, without clear security of a final victory. France began peace negotiations with the Confederation and cut its financial support to Lavalle. He didn't find help at local towns either, and there was widespread desertion among his ranks. Buenos Aires was ready to resist his military attack, but the lack of support forced him to give up and retire from the battlefield, without starting any battle.
Death
[
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]
Persecuted, his troops suffered constant attacks and Lavalle was forced to move further north, being defeated by
Manuel Oribe
in
La Rioja
and
Tucuman
. Escaping with a small group of 200 men, he was accidentally shot by a
Montonera
detachment which spread-shot a reputed Unitarian's house, not realizing that Juan Lavalle, the very chief of the Unitarians, was staying there. This occurred in 1841 in
San Salvador de Jujuy
.
Aftermath
[
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]
Afraid that his body would be desecrated by the
Federales
, his followers fled to
Bolivia
carrying Lavalle's decomposing remains with them. Hurrying over the
Humahuaca
pass, they finally decided to strip the skeleton by boiling it and, after burying the flesh in an unmarked grave, carry the bones, which are today buried at the
La Recoleta Cemetery
in
Buenos Aires
.
Honors
[
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]
A statue of the general standing on top of a long, slender column, commemorates the figure of Lavalle at
Plaza Lavalle
in Buenos Aires.
References
[
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]
- ^
The list includes
Juan Bautista Alberdi
,
Manuel Alberti
,
Carlos Maria de Alvear
,
Miguel de Azcuenaga
,
Antonio Gonzalez de Balcarce
,
Manuel Belgrano
, Antonio Luis Beruti,
Juan Jose Castelli
,
Domingo French
,
Gregorio Araoz de Lamadrid
,
Francisco Narciso de Laprida
,
Juan Larrea
, Juan Lavalle,
Vicente Lopez y Planes
,
Bartolome Mitre
,
Mariano Moreno
,
Juan Jose Paso
,
Carlos Pellegrini
,
Gervasio Antonio de Posadas
,
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento
, and
Justo Jose de Urquiza
.
Jose de San Martin
is known to have been a member of the
Lautaro Lodge
; but whether the lodge was truly masonic has been debated:
Denslow, William R. (1957).
10,000 Famous Freemasons
. Vol. 1?4. Richmond, VA: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co Inc.
Bibliography
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