José de San Martín

“ A Brave Girl (General Schuyler’s Daughter) ; A Gunpowder Story (Elizabeth Zane) ; The Declaration of Independence; Signing of the Declaration of Independence.
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FEBRUARY 25
JOSE DE SAN MARTIN OF ARGENTINA THE PROTECTOR
Jose de San Martin, a strong and silent man, whose character and achievements have been little known or appreciated outside his own country ... comes nearer than any one else to being the George Washington of Spanish America. ”

“ Of this society San Martin became a member. An American by birth, a revolutionist by instinct, and a republican by conviction, he was, perchance, without knowing it, an adept of Miranda, and was destined to make the dream of the master a reality, when the bones of that master lay rotting on the mud banks upon which his eye might at this time often rest.
At the same time with San Martin three other members joined the lodge; Alvear, who was his confidant till he became jealous of his fame; José Miguel Carrera, who was to die cursing him ”

“ San Martín was the liberator of the South, the father of the Argentinian Republic, and the father of Chile. His parents were Spanish, and they sent him to Spain to become a soldier of the king. When Napoleon entered Spain with his army, to take liberty away from the Spanish, the Spanish all fought against Napoleon: old men, women, children fought, including one little brave Catalan boy, who made an entire company flee one night, firing shots from a crevice in the mountain. ”

“ He made this banner the flag of the army of the Andes.
In 1812, San Martin, as a disciple of the principles of the Spanish apostle of liberty, Miranda, returned to South America, and in March went to Buenos Ayres, and offered his sword to the Argentine patriots for the cause of independence. The country was in revolution against the Spanish rule. San Martin was not only an American, but a Creole; he was unselfish, truthful, the soul of honor, and of all men in the world the one that would seem best fitted to lead the cause of the South American patriots. ”

“ His virile brother, Don Juan José of Austria, in whom the worn-out blood of the imperial race had been quickened by the brighter but baser blood of his actress mother, had been poisoned. His beloved first wife, the beautiful Marie Louise of Orleans, had faded away in the sepulchral gloom of that dreary Court, and his new German wife, Marie Anne of Neuberg, with her imperious violence, frightened him out of what little wit he had left by her advocacy of new ideas. For new ideas to that poor brain were the inventions of the very Devil himself. ”

“ To San Martin the only hopeful plan seemed to be to drive the Spaniards out of Chile, and then attack Peru, the stronghold of Spanish power in South America. He aimed not only for the independence of Argentina, but of all of that great continent; he vowed he would not [313] be satisfied until the last Spanish soldier had left the soil of South America, and every province was free. To this end he sought the appointment as governor of Cuyo, nestling up against the Andes on the direct route to Chile, and now known as the province of Mendoza, in Argentina. ”

“ It was then that San Martin, although he had opportunities for rising much higher in the Spanish Army, decided to return to Argentina.
He landed on Argentine soil, March 9, 1812.
As a little boy, he had left Argentina. Now he was returned as a man, offering her his sword, his life, his all. “Forsaking my fortunes and my hopes,” said San Martin later, “I desired only to sacrifice everything to promote the Liberty of my native land. I arrived at Buenos Aires in the beginning of 1812—thenceforward I consecrated myself to the cause of Spanish America.” ”

“ At a banquet where the two were present, Bolivar once offered the following toast: "To the two greatest men in South America—San Martin and myself."
San Martin followed with his toast. "To the speedy end of the war; to the establishment of the republics, and to the health of the Liberator of Colombia!"
The two toasts were photographs. Time is lifting the character of San Martin into its true place among glorious men. He was a man who fought for peace. His life fulfilled his own motto: "Thou shalt be what thou oughtest to be, or else thou shalt be nothing." ”

“ But of late years more peaceful counsels have prevailed, and the settlement of the boundary dispute with Chili, through the more sensible medium of arbitration, is a good augury for the future. Out of the war for independence a great and commanding personality emerges. General San Martin might almost be called the Brutus of South America—the noblest of them all. The Argentines recognise this, and have expressed their admiration and gratitude by erecting a statue to him in the public square of every town in the country, an act which though admirable is apt to bore the traveller. ”

“ News of his successful crossing of the Andes and of his victory, reached Buenos Aires. All day long shouts sounded through the streets. Cannon roared from the fort and from the squadron in the roadstead. San Martin’s portrait was hung where all could see it, draped in flags captured from the enemy.
The Argentine Government decreed a sword and badge for San Martin, and struck medals for his soldiers. They voted a pension of six hundred dollars a year for his little daughter, Maria Mercedes. They also sent him a commission as Brigadier-General, the highest rank in the Argentine service. ”

“ So, rather than sacrifice the cause of independence, San Martin, with unexampled self-effacement, gave up his well-trained veterans to Bolivar and Sucre and quietly withdrew to his modest home in Argentina. His unwillingness to enter into political squabbles, his large-minded statesmanship, and his dignified bearing did not endear him to his fellow countrymen, and he was forced to pass the declining years of his life in Europe, an exile from his native land. ”

“ At the beginning of the Argentine revolution, the idea of independence was vague, and it was San Martín who first suggested that the revolutionists should call themselves "independents," so as to have a cause, a flag and principles by which they might be known. It is necessary to remember that the revolution in this section of America was always of a monarchical tendency, and San Martin was always an ardent supporter of monarchical ideas. The only battle in which he took part in Argentina was one in which he, with 120 men, defeated 250 foes. ”

“ Why, to-day, do the boys and girls of Argentina wish to be like their great and beloved hero—San Martin?
First, because San Martin never thought of himself. The folk of Mendoza offered him a handsome house to live in. He quietly refused it. He gave up to the cause half of his salary as Governor. He accepted the rank of general with the understanding that he might lay it down as soon as Argentina was free. He steadfastly refused all other promotions from his Government. He sent his wife back to Buenos Aires, so that he might live more simply. ”

“ No characters in Spanish American history have called forth so much controversy about their respective merits and demerits as these two heroes of independence—Bolivar and San Martin. Even now it seems quite impossible to obtain from the admirers of either an opinion that does full justice to both; and foreigners who venture to pass judgment are almost certain to provoke criticism from one set of partisans or the other. Both Bolivar and San Martin were sons of country gentlemen, aristocratic by lineage and devoted to the cause of independence. ”

“ Complaints began to be every day more loud in the army, and dissention more visible, so much so, that it became a daily task at the tables of the officers, to drink to "those who fight for the liberty of Peru, not those who write, a los que pelean por la libertad del Peru, no los que escriven." San Martin, aware of the state of his army, embarked in the schooner Montezuma, in order to re-establish his health, and a prorogation of the armistice for twelve days more was ratified. ”

“ Had San Martin been sincere, even in his last assurances, or had he been conscious that his services would have been of public utility; if, as a citizen, his modesty would not allow him to take upon himself the chief command of the force of the country, he certainly ought not to have abandoned Peru, when he was well aware that the army of the enemy was almost under the very walls of the capital ”

“ It is believed that he retired from Peru, disgusted with the false charges that were brought against him, and after having obtained a promise from his great rival, Bolivar, that he would finish the war, which it would have been much for San Martin's own glory to have concluded himself. If so, he had the magnanimity to prefer the good of Peru to his own glory, a virtue never found except amongst men of great nobleness of soul. San Martin may have even thought that under the circumstances, his great rival was fitter to conclude the war than he was himself ”

“ In his farewell ad [Pg 689] dress he said: "The presence of a fortunate general in the country which he has conquered is detrimental to San Martin retires the state. I have won the independence of Peru, and I now cease to be a public man." Speaking privately of Bolivar, he said: "He is the most extraordinary character of South America; one to whom difficulties but add strength." With his daughter Mercedes, San Martin retired to Europe, to Battle of Junin dwell there in obscurity and poverty. Bolivar, with Generals Sucre, Miller and Cordova, assembled a great liberating army at Juarez. ”

“ Lima, being liberated, swore its Independence on the 28th of July, 1821, under the protection of the Liberating Army of Peru, commanded by San Martin.
San Martin adopted the title of “Protector of Peru.” He took upon himself the temporary government of the country until its Independence should be assured.
“I do not want military renown,” said San Martin, “I have no ambition to be the conqueror of Peru. I want solely to liberate the country from oppression.”
HAIL! NEIGHBOUR REPUBLICS! San Martin continued to wage his successful campaign against the Spaniards. ”

“ The new champion brought to the American cause tactics and discipline applied both to politics and to war; and, in embryo, a vast plan for a continental campaign which should embrace half a world and should result in its independence.
It has been said that San Martin was not a man but a mission, and, in truth, seldom has the influence of one man upon the destinies of humanity been greater than{39} was his. He was at once the arm and the head of the Argentine hegemony ”

“ A great act of self-abnegation may not be hidden forever. Years passed by, then San Martin’s noble purpose came to light.
At that Amazing Meeting, after he and Bolivar had exchanged opposing views as to the best form of government for Spanish America, they began to discuss the liberation of Peru. ”

“ He did not begrudge praise given Bolívar, whose superiority he acknowledged by withdrawing in time from the scene in America. Because of this acknowledgment, San Martín grew greater than he had been before their interview in Guayaquil. To endeavor to establish invidious comparisons between him and Bolívar does harm to both heroes and good to no one. Let both stay where they belong, in the hearts of their fellow-citizens, and in the minds of lovers of freedom. ”

“ For the plain citizen, lover of his country with a desire to live in peace and to give and take fairly, it must have been difficult to choose sides as regards the authorities to whom he gave recognition and paid taxes; but for such revolutionaries as San Martín the vision was simpler. ”

“ Both of them realized that anything like genuine democracies was quite impossible of attainment for many years to come, and that strong administrations would be needful to tide the Spanish Americans over from the political inexperience of colonial days and the disorders of revolution to intelligent self-government, which could come only after a practical acquaintance with public concerns on a large scale. San Martin believed that a limited monarchy was the best form of government under the circumstances. ”

“ Captain Basil Hall, who paid a visit to San Martin, in the month of June, 1821, on board the schooner Montezuma, then at anchor in the Callao Roads, thus describes his personal appearance:—
“General San Martin is a tall, erect, well-proportioned, handsome man, with a large aquiline nose, thick black hair and immense bushy whiskers, extending from ear to ear under the chin; his complexion is deep olive, and his eye, which is large, prominent, and piercing, jet black; his whole appearance being highly military. He is thoroughly well bred, and unaffectedly simple in his manners ”

“ In 1811 he escorted the prisoners of the campaign to Buenos Ayres, where he was appointed to the general staff with the rank of captain. In 1813 he took part in the second siege of Monte Video, and was absent from his native province at the time of Belgrano’s expedition, but when San Martin took command of the army he was at Santiago del Estero on his way back.
The insurrection of Salta in the face of the victorious enemy, was carried out with equal deliberation and courage. The population emigrated en masse, the peasants abandoned their huts and the towns were left desolate. ”

“ At this time the Argentine Republic had two armies in the field, the one operating near at home against the Portuguese in Uruguay and the Spanish in Montevideo, and the other in Upper Peru (Bolivia) against the forces sent by the viceroy of Peru to suppress the Argentine revolution. San Martin was soon given the command of this army in the north, [Pg 31] succeeding General Belgrano. He soon placed his army in an excellent state of discipline and put a check to the advances of the Peruvian army. ”