Mariano Alvarez de Castro [4] ( September 8, 1749 - January 21, 1810 ) Spanish military leader, military governor of Girona during the Napoleonic invasion of Spain [5] .
| Mariano Alvarez de Castro | |
|---|---|
 Mariano Alvarez de Castro | |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
| Affiliation |  |
| Years of service | 1768-1810 |
| Rank | Field Marshal (posthumous) |
| Battles / wars | Iberian Wars |
Content
Biography
Alvarez de Castro was born in Granada . In 1768, at the age of 19, he began serving in the Spanish Army, studied at the Military Academy in Barcelona (graduated from it in 1775). He participated in the siege of Gibraltar in 1783, and in 1793 received the rank of colonel. During the Iberian War (1793–1795) against France, he took part in many military operations, was wounded, participated in the capture of Collier in 1793, and received the rank of brigadier [4] .
Following the accession of Joseph Bonaparte to the Spanish throne in 1808, Alvarez de Castro was the head of the garrison of the fortress of Montjuic fortress in Barcelona . On February 29, 1808, French troops approached the fortress. Alvarez de Castro was ready to defend himself, but received the order of the Commander-in-Chief to surrender the fortress. Alvarez de Castro left Barcelona and joined the Spanish patriots who fought with the French. He was appointed commander of the Army of Catalonia and head of the garrison of Girona . [four]
Capture Girona
On May 6, 1809, the French Army of General Saint-Cyr of 18,000 men approached Girona and besieged it. Alvarez de Castro had only 5,600 people in the garrison of Girona. The French installed 40 cannon batteries, which fired on the city over the next seven months. In August, the French captured the castle of Montjuic, the main defensive point in Barcelona. Alavares de Castro built barricades inside the city, and the battle raged for another four months. On December 12, the French nevertheless captured the city. According to rough estimates, about 10,000 defenders of the city, both soldiers and civilians, were killed. French losses amounted to about 15,000 people, moreover, the cause of more than half of them was the disease. [four]
Death
Despite the poor health of Alvarez de Castro, the French imprisoned him in Perpignan . On January 9, 1809, Alvarez de Castro was transferred to the castle of San Fernando in Figueres , and the next day was found dead there. According to the French - died of a fever, according to the Spaniards - was poisoned by the French. The burial place is unknown. [four]
Memory
In April 1809, Alvarez de Castro was posthumously awarded the rank of Field Marshal. In 1815, a memorial plaque was erected in Figueres in honor of Alvarez de Castro, but in 1823, French troops passing through Figueres to restore Ferdinand VII on the throne destroyed this memorial plaque [4] .
In 1880, a new monument to Alvarez de Castro was erected in the church of San Felix in Girona [6] .
Notes
- ↑ SNAC - 2010.
- ↑ Diccionario biográfico español - Royal Academy of History .
- ↑ http://dbe.rah.es/biografias/6943/mariano-alvarez-de-castro
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mariano Álvarez de Castro (Spanish) . Pedres de Girona (2009). Date of treatment June 30, 2013. Archived February 4, 2010.
- ↑ Griffin, Julia Ortiz. Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide From The Renaissance To The Present / Julia Ortiz Griffin, William D. Griffin. - 2007. - P. 204. - “Under the military governor Mariano Álvarez de Castro the resistance was carried on by regular troops, including a large contingent of Spain's Irish Brigade, and civilian volunteers, among whom women grouped in the Company of St. Barbara ... "
- ↑ Suñol, Jerónimo General Mariano Alvarez de Castro's funeral monument . jeronimosunol.net (2013). Date of treatment June 30, 2013.