Spanish military officer and viceroy of New Granada
In this
Spanish name, the first or paternal
surname is
Sámano and the second or maternal family name is
Uribarri.
Juan José Francisco de Sámano y Uribarri de Rebollar y Mazorra (1753 in Selaya, Cantabria – July 1821 in Panama), was a Spanish military officer and the last viceroy of New Granada from March 9, 1818 to August 9, 1819, during the Colombian War of Independence.
Military career
Sámano was a member of a distinguished family with a long tradition in the militia. In 1771 he entered the military as a cadet, and by 1779 he was a lieutenant. He was also a professor of mathematics at the Military Academy of Barcelona, where he remained five years.
In 1780 he moved to the Indies — first to Puerto Rico, later to Cuba, and finally to Cartagena de Indias (in modern Colombia). In 1785 he returned to Europe. In 1789 he was promoted to captain and fought in the war with revolutionary France, under the command of General Ventura Caro. In one battle he was wounded in both thighs.
In 1794 he was transferred back to New Granada, at his request. He became governor of Riohacha in 1806, where he repelled a British attack.
Spanish-American wars of Independence
In 1809 a revolt occurred in the city of Quito against the Spanish officials of the city. In an effort to reinforce the garrison in Bogotá which had sent men to put down the rebellion in Quito Sámano departed from Riohacha and went to Bogotá, accompanied by 30 cavalry troops arriving there on October 20. There he volunteered for the service of Viceroy Antonio José Amar y Borbón to fight against the insurgents.[1]
As of January 1, 1810 at the rank of colonel, Sámano was in command of the Auxiliary Battalion of Santa Fe de Bogotá, the main military force tasked with protecting the viceregal capital. 7 months later the Revolt of July 20, 1810 occurred where the creoles of Santa Fe revolted against the Viceroy and clamored for the establishment of a junta. Sámano had planned to put down the revolt and was awaiting the order to be given by the Viceroy, however his second in command Sergeant Major José María Moledo, who together with other officers such as Lieutenant Antonio Baraya not only sympathized with the revolution, but took an active part in it. [2] That night Sámano remained in his quarters, guarded by Moledo and Baraya, who had sworn allegiance to the rebel junta in Bogotá. In the early morning of July 21, Colonel Sámano took an oath before the president of the Junta, José Miguel Pey. Pey ordered that he be relieved of his command of the Auxiliary Battalion. As a result Moledo was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by the Junta named to replace him.
Sámano was issued a passport so that he could leave New Granada. He returned to Spain, where he was commissioned to pacify the region of Quito and Guayaquil. After destroying the State of Quito in the Battle of Ibarra (1812).
Offensive in New Granada
With the revolution crushed in the Quito province Governor Toribio Montes, decided to launch an offensive against the patriots of New Granada who since 1810 controlled large swaths of the old viceroyalty. To do this, he named Colonel Sámano as commander of the royalist army tasked with the offensive, using the royalist controlled city of Pasto as his base of operations, he gathered around 2,000 troops made up regulars from the Lima Division along with a sizable portion of militia battalions from Pasto and Patia, he also had a cavalry squadron and artillery.
This grouping of forces, marched north with objective of capturing the provincial capital of Popayán during the first days of June. They soon reached the town of Mercaderes from where Sámano sent an ultimatum to the republican government of the city demanding their surrender. The government convened an emergency general council meeting to discuss their options. There were only 300 troops available under the command of Lt. Colonel Ignacio Rodriguez, which complicated any hopes for a successful defense of the city. The junta decided to capitulate, however prior to this Colonel Rodriguez took his garrison force and withdrew north to Cauca valley while some government officials fled east to La Plata which lay across the Andes.[3] Sámano and his forces entered the city on July 1, without encountering resistance, there he proclaimed the authority of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, and also received a promotion to brigadier.
Sámano continued his invasion in pursuit of Rodriguez's forces, marching north into the Cauca Valley. By July 18 he captured the city of Cali, by this point Rodriguez had dissolved his force allowing his troops to take which ever path they wanted, however a size-able portion still remained united under Colonel Ignacio Torres. On August 5, he reached the city Cartago where he encountered a small column of 150 patriot troops under the command of French officer Lt. Colonel Manuel de Serviez. Sámano attacked them and in short order forced them to retreat, capturing their weapons and some prisoners. From there he halted his offensive, and withdrew south back to Popayán. This decision ended up being a tactical blunder by Sámano as: "if he had only deployed a column of 400 men to march north, he would have taken over the rich province of Antioquia without firing a shot, but, given the weakness of the patriots in the region, he considered the campaign over."[4]
Nariño's Southern Campaign
Sámano'a invasion of southern New Granada caused panic of amongst the republican government of the United Provinces of New Granada and the Free State of Cundinamarca who joined together to raise an army to counter this invasion.
The president of Cundinamarca, Antonio Nariño offered to command the army to drive the royalists out of the south as well as liberate Quito.
Sámano was defeated by Antonio Nariño in the Battle of Alto Palacé on December 30, 1813, and again in the Battle of Calibío on January 15, 1814. He fled with a reduced group of soldiers to Pasto. There he was replaced by Field Marshal Melchor Aymerich, because, according to Governor Toribio Montes, though Sámano was loyal to the Crown and had much military experience, more audacious tactics were needed for a royalist victory.
He returned to Quito, where he was given command of another expedition to New Granada. His command in Pasto was restored, and on June 29, 1816, he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Cuchilla del Tambo over the rebel Liborio Mejía. Two hundred fifty were killed, and the Royalists took 300 prisoners and all of the rebels' arms and equipment.
On July 1, 1816, Sámano's troops again occupied Popayán. Among the patriots taken prisoner was José Hilario López, who unexpectedly escaped execution and later became president of New Granada (1849–53). Sámano ordered the execution of rebel leader Carlos Montúfar.
After promoting him to field marshal, Morillo gave Sámano command of Bogotá as commanding general of New Granada. He arrived in Bogotá on October 23, 1816, where he began a program of repression without the approval of Viceroy Francisco Montalvo y Ambulodi. He founded three tribunals: the Permanent Council of War, empowered to issue death sentences against the rebels; the Council of Purification, authorized to judge rebels not meriting the death penalty; and the Junta of Confiscation, intended to seize the possessions of others compromised in the rebellion.
Among the rebels executed were Camilo Torres, Francisco José de Caldas, Joaquín Camacho, Frutos Joaquín Gutiérrez, Antonio Villavicencio, Antonio Baraya, Liborio Mejía, Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Policarpa Salavarrieta, Alejo Sabaraín, and María Antonia Santos Plata.
As viceroy
In August 1817 Sámano was named viceroy, governor and captain general of the reborn Viceroyalty of New Granada, and president of the Audiencia of Bogotá. By royal decree he was granted the Grand Cross of the Order of San Hermenegildo, for his services to the Crown. He took formal possession of his new offices on March 9, 1818. He founded the Academy of Medicine in Bogotá. However, the Audiencia formally complained of his administration to Madrid.
On August 9, 1819, news of the defeat of José Barreiro forces in the Battle of Boyacá arrived in the capital. Sámano quickly fled to Cartagena de Indias,[5] where they refused to recognize his authority. (He was unpopular there because of his reputation for repression.)
He sailed for Jamaica, but soon returned to Panama. He remained there without administrative or military control until his resignation. In August 1819, old and sick, he resigned as viceroy. He remained in Panama until his death in July 1821, awaiting permission to return to Spain.
References
- ^ Diaz Diaz, Oswaldo (1963) Copiador de Ordenes del Regimiento de Milicias de Infantería de Santafé (1810-1814).Revista de las Fuerzas Armadas. Bogotá. p. 79.
- ^ Diaz Diaz, Oswaldo (1963) Copiador de Ordenes del Regimiento de Milicias de Infantería de Santafé (1810-1814).Revista de las Fuerzas Armadas. Bogotá. p. 82.
- ^ Andrade A. Alberto (1973) José María Cabal: Prócer de la Independencia. Imprenta y Litografía de las Fuerzas Militares. Bogotá. p. 152.
- ^ Albi de la Cuesta, Julio (2019). Banderas olvidadas. El Ejército español en las guerras de Emancipación. Madrid: Desperta Ferro Ediciones. p. 120. ISBN 978-84-949540-5-4.
- ^ Lemaitre, Eduardo (1994). A Brief History of Cartagena. Medellin: Compania Litografica Nacional S.A. p. 60. ISBN 9789586380928.
- (in Spanish) This article is a free translation of the article Juan de Sámano in the Spanish Wikipedia, version of February 12, 2007.
- (in Spanish) Negret, R., "Don Juan Sámano. De su hoja de servicios". Boletín de Historia y Antigüedades, Vol. XIII, N-°s 150 y 151 (agosto y septiembre de 1920), pp. 367–370.
- (in Spanish) Lozano Cleves, Alberto, Así se formó la Independencia, 2 vols. Bogotá: Editorial Iris, 1961.
- (in Spanish) Mercado, Jorge, La campaña invasión de Moritlo. Bogotá: Talleres del Estado Mayor, 1919.
- (in Spanish) Riaño, Camilo. La Campaña Libertadora de 1819. Bogotá: Editorial Andes, 1969.
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