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Martín Miguel de Güemes | |
|---|---|
 Posthumous portrait byEduardo Schiaffino. | |
| Governor of Salta province | |
| In office 1815–1821 | |
| Preceded by | Miguel Aráoz |
| Succeeded by | José Antonio Fernández Cornejo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1785-02-08)8 February 1785 |
| Died | 17 June 1821(1821-06-17) (aged 36) Quebrada de La Horqueta,Province of Salta,United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata |
| Resting place | Panteón de las Glorias del Norte,Salta |
| Political party | Patriot |
| Relations | Macacha Güemes,Francisca Güemes |
| Profession | Officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United Provinces of South America |
| Years of service | 1799-1821 |
| Rank | General |
Martín Miguel de Güemes (Spanish pronunciation:[maɾˌtimmiˌɡeldeˈɡwemes]; 8 February 1785 – 17 June 1821) was a military leader and popularcaudillo who defended northwesternArgentina from theSpanish royalist army during theArgentine War of Independence.
Güemes was born inSalta into a wealthy family. His father, Gabriel de Güemes Montero, born inSantander, in the Spanish province ofCantabria, was a learned man and was serving as royal treasurer of the Spanish crown. He ensured that his son had a good education with private teachers who taught him philosophical and scientific knowledge of his time. His mother was María Magdalena de Goyechea y la Corte, acriolla born in Salta.
He was sent to study at theRoyal College of San Carlos inBuenos Aires. At 23 he started his military career and took part in the defense of Buenos Aires during theBritish invasions of the Río de la Plata, where Güemes achieved notability when he and his cavalrymen charged and took over the armed British merchantmanJustine, moored in shallow waters.[1][2] After the formation of the first local government junta in theMay Revolution of 1810, he joined the army destined to fight the Spanish troops at theUpper Peru, which was victorious in theBattle of Suipacha (in present-dayBolivia). He then returned to Buenos Aires and took part in the siege ofMontevideo.
Güemes returned to Salta in 1815, and organized the resistance against the royalists (forces loyal to Spain) employing localgauchos trained inguerrilla tactics. He was appointed Governor of Salta Province and in November of that year, GeneralJosé Rondeau, appointed leader of the Peru campaign to replaceJosé de San Martín, suffered a defeat and attempted to take weapons from Salta's gauchos. Güemes refused and the Supreme Director of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata,Ignacio Álvarez Thomas, sent troops to help Rondeau. Eventually an agreement was reached, by which Güemes would continue to lead his forces and would help the armies sent from Buenos Aires.
Days later, the new Supreme DirectorJuan Martín de Pueyrredón had to address suspicions about Güemes's ability by travelling to Salta, and was so pleased with what he found that he promoted Güemes to colonel major. Generals José de San Martín andManuel Belgrano supported Güemes as well. A letter from royalist generalJoaquín de la Pezuela to theViceroy of Peru explained that Güemes's army was waging, "almost with impunity, a slow but tiring and harmful war."
At the beginning of 1817, the royalist MarshalJosé de la Serna marched on Salta Province with a large force of experienced soldiers. Güemes organized a popular army and, on 1 March, retookHumahuaca. The royalist army of 5,400 men, with newly arrived reinforcements, was met with ascorched earth retreat combined with continuous guerrilla attacks. De la Serna arrived in Salta City on 16 April, but the population resisted. Faced with lightning skirmishes, declining morale and the news of San Martín's victory in theBattle of Chacabuco, the royalist troops retreated to the north.
Güemes was then left to his own devices, as San Martín was forced to stay inChile for three years and Belgrano was recalled toSanta Fe Province to fight the federalist supporters ofJosé Gervasio Artigas on behalf of the centralist government of Buenos Aires, now presided by Rondeau. In March 1819 a new royalist army invaded northwestern Argentina. Güemes did not obtain reinforcements and resorted to extorting money by force from the upper-class landowners of Salta. In February 1820 another wave of Spanish troops invadedSan Salvador de Jujuy and Salta, but were eventually repelled.
The year 1820 marked a turning point of a longcivil war in Argentina, with provinces fighting among themselves and with Buenos Aires, after the fall of the central government following theBattle of Cepeda. Güemes found himself with enemies on two fronts: the royalist troops in the north, andBernabé Aráoz, governor ofTucumán, in the south. Aráoz had struck an alliance with Salta's rich landowners, opposed to Güemes, and defeated him on 3 April 1821. TheCabildo of Salta, dominated by conservatives,deposed Güemes from the governorship. His gauchos retook power in May. Soon, however, colonel José María Valdés, a Spanishrustler in the service of the royalist army, took advantage of his knowledge of the terrain, promised the landowners to respect their properties, and with their support he occupied Salta again on 7 June. Güemes fled the city, but was shot in the back. He managed to get to his camp in La Chamical, gave the last orders to his army and died of his wounds on 17 June in the Quebrada de La Horqueta. His men retook Salta from the royalists, this time permanently, on 22 July.
