Tomás de Zumalacárregui

Tomás de Zumalacárregui

Tomás de Zumalacárregui y de Imaz (born December 29, 1788 in Ormaiztegi , † June 24, 1835 in Cegama, also in the Basque region ) was a Spanish general and leader of the Carlist .

Zumalacárregui was born in the Basque Country as the son of a wealthy lawyer . He should also be trained as a lawyer. When the Napoleonic troops occupied Spain in 1808, he volunteered for the Spanish army in Saragossa. He took part in the Battle of Tudela and was then probably taken prisoner, which he was able to escape by fleeing. At times he joined the guerrillas, but returned to the regular military service of the royal Spanish army, where he gradually rose to captain. During the Trienio Liberal , the civil war from 1820 to 1823, he was denounced by his liberal officer colleagues because of his royalist-conservative attitude and went into exile in France. After the war he returned to the army and was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1825 and to colonel in 1829. In 1832 he was appointed military governor of Ferrol . After the death of King Ferdinand VII in 1833, he was placed under house arrest in Pamplona on suspicion of sympathy with the brother of the late king, Don Carlos, who was striving for power . In October he received a request from Don Carlos to take over the military command of the uprising in Navarre. Zumalacárregui escaped from house arrest in the mountains. There he succeeded within a very short time from initially a few hundred undisciplined and inexperienced fighters to transform them into a powerful and disciplined army. He led his troops from victory to victory with guerrilla tactics. He won the battles of Alsasua, Alegría de Álava, and Venta de Echavarri. His successes enabled him to invite Don Carlos to his camp. He accepted the invitation in July 1834, but was full of distrust of his very successful and popular general. In 1835 his army reached a strength of over 30,000 men. He won the Battle of Artaza in April 1835 and now wanted to march with his army to Madrid. But Don Carlos urged him to take Bilbao first. During the siege of the city on June 14, Zumalacárregui was hit by a bullet in the calf. Don Carlos sent his own personal physicians to treat the apparently minor injury . Zumalacárregui died a few days later. Very soon there were suspicions that he had been poisoned by Don Carlos because of his popularity . He was buried at the place where he died in Cegama. Posthumously he was raised to the hereditary count and duke status as Duque de la Victoria .

Zumalacárregui is described by his contemporaries as deeply religious, royalist and conservative, who stood up straightforwardly for his convictions. Posterity will remember him especially for wearing his red beret , which he made famous across Europe.

literature

• Juan Antonio Zaratiegui: Vida y hechos de D. Tomás de Zumalacárregui: nombrado por el señor don Carlos María Isidro de Borbón, capitán general del ejército realista, duque de la Victoria y conde de Zumalacárregui , Escelicer, SL San Sebastián 1946.

Web links

Commons : Primera Guerra Carlista  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Biography (spanish)