Gaspar de Vigodet (1764–1837) was a Spanish military officer who served as last

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

Early career

In September 1782, Vigodet participated, as a volunteer cadet, in the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

(1779–1783) before being transferred to the Regiment of Murcia the following month, and becoming a second lieutenant in 1783. In 1791 he was sent to Oran and was promoted to lieutenant that same year. Returning to Spain, he was transferred to the Army of Rosellón, participating in several combats and battles of the

War of the Pyrenees The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenees, Pyrenean front of the First Coalition's war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of History ...

, including, in 1793, the Battle of Villelongue-dels-Monts, the

Battle of the Black Mountain 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 ...

and

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, St. Elme y

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. The following year, he distinguished himself defending St. Elme, receiving three sable wounds and a bayonet wound and being taken prisoner. He was promoted to captain the following July. In February 1797, Vigodet boarded the 112-gun three-decker

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

, Conde de Regla to take part in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797) and later that same month participated in the defence of Cádiz. As a member of Mazarredo's fleet, he saw service in Brest, returning to Spain in 1802. In May 1805, he was promoted to captain of

fusiliers ''Fusilier'' is a name given to various kinds of soldiers; its meaning depends on the historical context. While ''fusilier'' is derived from the 17th-century French word – meaning a type of flintlock musket – the term has been used in cont ...

in the Africa Regiment and in February 1806, a commander-in-chief of Paraguay, post he was unable to occupy due to the war against England.

Peninsular War

At the start of the war, Vigodet joined General

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general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

, and participated at the

Battle of Bailén The Battle of Bailén was fought in 1808 between the Spanish Army's Army of Andalusia, under General Francisco Javier Castaños and the French Imperial Army's 2nd Gironde Observational Corps under Divisional-General Pierre Dupont de l'Étan ...

, being promoted to colonel the following month, and going on to fight at the

Battle of Tudela The Battle of Tudela (23 November 1808) saw an Imperial French army led by Marshal Jean Lannes attack a Spanish army under General Castaños. The battle resulted in the complete victory of the Imperial forces over their adversaries. The c ...

. In January 1809, Vigodet served under General Venegas at

Uclés Uclés is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Cuenca, Castilla–La Mancha. The municipality spans across a total area of 64.61 km2 and, as of 1 January 2020, it has a registered population of 212. History The fortress and town w ...

and under

Duke of Alburquerque Duke of Alburquerque () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1464 by Henry IV to Beltrán de la Cueva, his "royal favourite" and grand master of the Order of Santiago. It makes ref ...

at Mora and Consuegra. He was promoted to Infantry brigadier the following March. In June 1809, as part of General Venegas's

Army of La Mancha An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by p ...

, Vigodet commanded the 2nd Division, then numbering 4,667 troops, Oman, Charles (1903)
''A History of the Peninsula War'', Vol. II, "XII. Venegas's Army of La Mancha. From a Return of June 16, 1809".
''Project Gutenberg''. Retrieved 5 February 2023. and which fought the following month at Almonacid and the following November at Ocana, both battles resulting in defeat for the Spanish forces.

Montevideo

In July 1810, he was appointed Governor of

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 ...

, to stop the advance of the Independentist rebels forces of

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. By October 1812 the entire region was under control of the rebels, except for the city of Montevideo itself, which was besieged. On December 31, Vigodet broke out of the city but was defeated in the

Battle of Cerrito The Battle of Cerrito (outskirts of Montevideo, 31 December 1812), was a battle for the War of Independence of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, between the royalist forces who had control of the city of Montevideo and the rebel forces of t ...

. Supplied from over the sea, the city still held out until May 17, 1814, when the naval victories of Admiral William Brown, cut off the supply route and the city faced starvation. By the end of June, Vigodet was forced to surrender Montevideo to General

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. The following years he stayed in

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, where he tried to take revenge on Alvear, who was also exiled to this city, due to political differences. He was appointed Captain-General of Castille in 1817, Martín-Lanuza, Alberto
"Gaspar Vigodet y Salla". ''Diccionario Biográfico electrónico''.

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

. Retrieved 1 February 2023. and member of the Liberal Regency during the

Trienio Liberal The , () or Three Liberal Years, was a period of three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael del Riego against the absolutist rule ...

. When King

Ferdinand VII of Spain Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was Monarchy of Spain, King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (t ...

was restored in 1823, de Vigodet went into exile in France, from where he could only return in 1834, after the death of the King.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vigodet, Gaspar De People of the Argentine War of Independence 1764 births 1837 deaths Spanish commanders of the Napoleonic Wars

Early career

Peninsular War

Montevideo

See also

References