Sixto Casanovas
Encyclopedia
Sixto Casanovas was an Argentine
politician, provisional governor of Córdoba Province
(1835).
In 1816 he joined the Army of the North
, in a dragoons regiment. He was taken prisoner by the royalists
and spent time at the Callao
prison, near the city of Lima
. In 1821, as part of the negotiations with viceroy Joaquín de la Pezuela
, general San Martín
obtained the freedom of many other officers, including Casanovas.
He joined San Martin's Army of the Andes
, and fought at Torata and Moquegua. In this last battle he was wounded and taken prisoner again being moved to Chicuito island on Lake Titicaca
, until he was freed after the royalist surrender at the Battle of Ayacucho
. Casanovas returned to Buenos Aires in 1824 and was named an officer of the dragoons regiment.
He was named an officer in a dragoon regiment — armed cavalry — and fought in the 1825 campaign under the orders of Juan Lavalle
and Juan Manuel de Rosas
, on the south of Buenos Aires Province
.
In 1826 he went to the Banda Oriental
(present-day Uruguay
, where he fought in the war with Brazil
, and took part on the Battle of Ituzaingó
under colonel José María Paz
; where the colonel was promoted to general and Casanovas to the rank of colonel.
, under orders from general Paz. Fought at the Battle of San Roque
, and La Tablada and then at Oncativo. He also took part on the repression of federal rebels in the Córdoba hills.
When Paz fell prisoner in mid-1831, Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid
decided to retreat to Tucumán. Casanovas decided to stay and remain as part of the interim governor's (Mariano Fragueiro) guard. Fragueiro signed a treaty with the caudillo
Estanislao López
and after the signing, the federal army entered Córdoba, and Casanovas was a prisoner again. By order of the new federal caudillos, the Reynafé brothers, he was freed and put in command of a regiment of dragoons. He then helped the Reinafé brothers to defeat Ruiz Huidobro's revolution — instigated by Facundo Quiroga — and Casanovas was confirmed as commander of the forces in the provincial capital.
, Estanislao López and Rosas), learned of his appointment, they did not accept his government. Casanovas had to quit ten days after assuming the post. He captured Santos Pérez, Quiroga's assassin, but he let him escape. He did not go far; was recaptured and sent to Buenos Aires, where he was executed by firing squad.
Casanovas remained in command of his regiment, and trying his loyalty not be doubted, he supported all of caudillo Manuel Quebracho López's repressions against his enemies in Córdoba. In 1839 he was named to as military commander of the departments on the north of the province.
Lamadrid, who had entered Córdoba, sent him to the Battle of Quebracho Herrado, then he returned to Córdoba. He then moved to Tucumán with Lavalle and Lamadrid. Casanovas was accused of habing caused the defeat of José María Vilela at the Battle of San Cala
, for having had revealed their position, but historians think him innocent of the charge. He fought at the Battle of Famaillá
, and escaped after their defeat.
, Chile
and lastly in Montevideo
.
He placed himself under the orders of general Urquiza
,but it is not known if he fought at the Battle of Caseros
where Rosas was defeated. He supported Urquiza's policies in Buenos Aires, and was in charge of a federal battalion. He was still very much hated by the Unitarian Party
who were taking control of the city, and who would depose governor Vicente López y Planes
in the September revolution which Casanovas did not get to see. He was assassinated in 1852 in a Buenos Aires street by a unitarian party member (note: a political movement, not related to the Christian church), who still believed he was guilty of the treason of 1841.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
politician, provisional governor of Córdoba Province
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
(1835).
In 1816 he joined the Army of the North
Army of the North
The Army of the North , contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest and the Upper Peru from the royalist troops of the Spanish...
, in a dragoons regiment. He was taken prisoner by the royalists
Royalist (Spanish American Revolutions)
The royalists were the American and European supporters of the various governing bodies of the Spanish Monarchy, during the Spanish American wars of independence, which lasted from 1808 until the king's death in 1833...
and spent time at the Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
prison, near the city of Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
. In 1821, as part of the negotiations with viceroy Joaquín de la Pezuela
Joaquín de la Pezuela
Joaquín de la Pezuela Griñán y Sánchez Muñoz de Velasco, 1st marquis of Viluma was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of Peru during the War of Independence.-Background:...
, general San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
obtained the freedom of many other officers, including Casanovas.
He joined San Martin's Army of the Andes
Army of the Andes
The Army of the Andes was a military force created by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and mustered by general José de San Martín in his campaign to free Chile from the Spanish Empire...
, and fought at Torata and Moquegua. In this last battle he was wounded and taken prisoner again being moved to Chicuito island on Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
, until he was freed after the royalist surrender at the Battle of Ayacucho
Battle of Ayacucho
The Battle of Ayacucho was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. It was the battle that sealed the independence of Peru, as well as the victory that ensured independence for the rest of South America...
. Casanovas returned to Buenos Aires in 1824 and was named an officer of the dragoons regiment.
He was named an officer in a dragoon regiment — armed cavalry — and fought in the 1825 campaign under the orders of Juan Lavalle
Juan Lavalle
Juan Galo de Lavalle was an Argentine military and political figure.-Biography:Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Vallée y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.In 1799, the family moved to...
and Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas
Juan Manuel de Rosas , was an argentine militar and politician, who was elected governor of the province of Buenos Aires in 1829 to 1835, and then of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until 1852...
, on the south of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
.
In 1826 he went to the Banda Oriental
Banda Oriental
The Banda Oriental del Uruguay was the South American territory east of the Uruguay River and north of the Río de la Plata, coinciding approximately with the modern nation of Uruguay, the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul and some parts of Santa Catarina...
(present-day Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, where he fought in the war with Brazil
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...
, and took part on the Battle of Ituzaingó
Battle of Ituzaingó
The Battle of Ituzaingó was fought in vicinity of Santa Maria river, in a valley of small hills where a stream divided the valley in two....
under colonel José María Paz
José María Paz
Brigadier General José María Paz y Haedo was an Argentine military figure, notable in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil War.-Childhood:...
; where the colonel was promoted to general and Casanovas to the rank of colonel.
First civil war
Casanovas returned to Buenos Aires in 1828 and supported Lavalle's revolution in December, then shortly after he went to CórdobaCórdoba, Argentina
Córdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, under orders from general Paz. Fought at the Battle of San Roque
Battle of San Roque
The Battle of San Roque was part of the Argentine Civil War. It was fought by the Primero River, near the city of Córdoba, Argentina, on 22 April 1829. The Federalist forces of Córdoba Province governor Juan Bautista Bustos were defeated by the Unitarian forces of general José María Paz...
, and La Tablada and then at Oncativo. He also took part on the repression of federal rebels in the Córdoba hills.
When Paz fell prisoner in mid-1831, Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid
Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid
Comandante General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid was an Argentine military leader and, briefly, governor of several provinces like Córdoba, Mendoza and his native province of Tucumán.Lamadrid fought beside General Belgrano and General San Martín during the Argentine War of Independence, as a prominent...
decided to retreat to Tucumán. Casanovas decided to stay and remain as part of the interim governor's (Mariano Fragueiro) guard. Fragueiro signed a treaty with the caudillo
Caudillo
Caudillo is a Spanish word for "leader" and usually describes a political-military leader at the head of an authoritarian power. The term translates into English as leader or chief, or more pejoratively as warlord, dictator or strongman. Caudillo was the term used to refer to the charismatic...
Estanislao López
Estanislao López
Estanislao López was a governor and caudillo of the , between 1818 and 1838, a hero of provincial federalism and an ally of Juan Manuel de Rosas during the Argentine Civil War.-Biography:...
and after the signing, the federal army entered Córdoba, and Casanovas was a prisoner again. By order of the new federal caudillos, the Reynafé brothers, he was freed and put in command of a regiment of dragoons. He then helped the Reinafé brothers to defeat Ruiz Huidobro's revolution — instigated by Facundo Quiroga — and Casanovas was confirmed as commander of the forces in the provincial capital.
Córdoba's governor
After the assassination of Quiroga in 1835, the Reynafés were deposed and arrested. Rosas had taken power in Buenos Aires, and nobody wanted to take charge of the local government. For a short while his government minister, Pedro Nolasco Rodríguez was named as interim to the post, but as he declined to send the prisoners to Buenos Aires, Casanovas was elected in his place. When the federal governors of other provinces (Pascual EchagüePascual Echagüe
Pascual Echagüe, was an Argentine soldier and politician. He served as Governor of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe provinces and Minister of War and Navy during the governments of Urquiza and Derqui...
, Estanislao López and Rosas), learned of his appointment, they did not accept his government. Casanovas had to quit ten days after assuming the post. He captured Santos Pérez, Quiroga's assassin, but he let him escape. He did not go far; was recaptured and sent to Buenos Aires, where he was executed by firing squad.
Casanovas remained in command of his regiment, and trying his loyalty not be doubted, he supported all of caudillo Manuel Quebracho López's repressions against his enemies in Córdoba. In 1839 he was named to as military commander of the departments on the north of the province.
1840 Revolution
In August 1840, with Lavalle retreating and about to enter Córdoba, Casanovas rebelled against the curren Córdoba goivernor, but he was defeated at Río Seco. He took refuge in Tucumán, and returned in November when López was deposed.Lamadrid, who had entered Córdoba, sent him to the Battle of Quebracho Herrado, then he returned to Córdoba. He then moved to Tucumán with Lavalle and Lamadrid. Casanovas was accused of habing caused the defeat of José María Vilela at the Battle of San Cala
Battle of San Cala
The Battle of San Cala , fought in the present-day Department of Minas, in Córdoba Province, Argentina, on January 9, 1842, between Unitarian forces and Federalists, who under the command of General Ángel Pacheco, prevented the expansion of the Unitarian Coalition of the North into the provinces of...
, for having had revealed their position, but historians think him innocent of the charge. He fought at the Battle of Famaillá
Battle of Famaillá
The Battle of Famaillá , was a Federal Party victory, under the command of former Uruguayan president Manuel Oribe, over the army of the Unitarian Party under general Juan Lavalle, during the Argentine Civil War.-Prelude to the battle:After the failure of Lavalle's army to occupy Buenos Aires and...
, and escaped after their defeat.
Last years
He spent some years exiled in BoliviaBolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and lastly in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
.
He placed himself under the orders of general Urquiza
Justo José de Urquiza
Justo José de Urquiza y García was an Argentine general and politician. He was president of the Argentine Confederation from 1854 to 1860.He was governor of Entre Ríos during the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, governor of Buenos Aires with powers delegated from the other provinces...
,but it is not known if he fought at the Battle of Caseros
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...
where Rosas was defeated. He supported Urquiza's policies in Buenos Aires, and was in charge of a federal battalion. He was still very much hated by the Unitarian Party
Unitarian Party
Unitarianists or Unitarians were the proponents of the concept of a Unitary state in Buenos Aires during the civil wars which shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in 1816. They were opposed to the Argentine Federalists, who wanted a federation of independent provinces...
who were taking control of the city, and who would depose governor Vicente López y Planes
Vicente López y Planes
Alejandro Vicente López y Planes was an Argentine writer and politician who acted as interim President of Argentina from July 7, 1827 to August 18, 1827...
in the September revolution which Casanovas did not get to see. He was assassinated in 1852 in a Buenos Aires street by a unitarian party member (note: a political movement, not related to the Christian church), who still believed he was guilty of the treason of 1841.