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Front: José Francisco de San Martín (1778-1850), revolutionary leader
San Martín was born in Argentina, then a Spanish colony. His father was a Spanish
official. He was educated at the military academy in Madrid, commissioned as a
Second Lieutenant in 1793, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1808.
He fought with the Spanish army against Portugal, in the African colonies, and
against the invasion by Napoleon I's forces. In 1812 he resigned from the
Spanish army and sailed home to Argentina, where he offered his services to the
revolutionary forces.
San Martín led the rebels against the Spanish forces under General José Zavala
at the Battle of San Lorenzo on 3 February 1813, which became the first victory
of the Argentine War of Independence. He was given the rank of General by the
revolutionary government. The following year he took command of the northern
army preparing a new invasion of Upper Perú (now Bolivia), a command he
resigned to become governor of the province of Cuyo (now the provinces of
Mendoza, San Juan, and San Luis), from where he crossed the Andes and attacked
the Royalists in Chile at the beginning of 1817. With Bernardo O'Higgins, he
made a triumphant entry into the liberated city of Santiago de Chile on 17
March 1818.
Next, San Martín turned his attention to the Spanish stronghold of Peru. For
more than two years he prepared an invasion by sea. After months of slow
advances, he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Pisco on 6 December 1820.
San Martín occupied Lima, the capital of Peru, on 9 July 1821. This was a huge
loss for the Spanish forces. On 28 July he was voted the "Protector" of the
newly independent nation. San Martín finally declared independence from Spain
for Peru on 9 December 1824. After Peru's parliament had been assembled, he
resigned his command.
In 1824, after the death of his wife, Remedios de Escalada, he moved to France
with his daughter Mercedes, where he spent the remainder of his days retired at
Boulogne-sur-Mer. In 1880 his remains were taken to Buenos Aires and reinterred
in the Buenos Aires Cathedral.
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