Francisco de Eguía facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Francisco de Eguía
Born	5 March 1750 Durango, Vizcaya
Died	6 January 1827 Madrid

Francisco Ramón de Eguía y López de Letona (born March 5, 1750 – died January 6, 1827) was an important Spanish military leader and politician. He was also known as the 1st Count of Real Aprecio.

Early Military Career

Francisco de Eguía started his military journey by fighting against the French in the War of the Pyrenees. This was a conflict between Spain and France. In 1795, he was promoted to a high rank called field marshal.

Just two years later, in 1797, he was given an important job. He became the governor of Jaca, a city in Spain. By 1802, he was promoted again to lieutenant general. Many other famous Spanish military leaders of that time also received this promotion. These leaders included the Duke of the Infantado, Manuel Lapeña, and Francisco Castaños.

Fighting in the Peninsular War

The Peninsular War was a big conflict in Spain and Portugal. Francisco de Eguía played a key role in this war. He fought under General Cuesta at the Battle of Medellín in March 1809. There, Eguía was in charge of the right side of Cuesta's army.

After General Cuesta stepped down in August 1809, Eguía took over. He was Cuesta's second-in-command. For a few weeks, he was the temporary leader of the Army of Extremadura. He held this role until Juan Carlos Areizaga was officially appointed. Eguía tried to convince Wellesley (a British general) to keep his troops in Spain. This effort made Wellesley quite upset.

In September 1809, Eguía led a large force of about 25,000 soldiers. These soldiers were from the Army of Extremadura. He marched them to join Venegas's Army of La Mancha. Together, their combined army had more than 50,000 soldiers. The Spanish government wanted this large army to capture Madrid. However, Venegas was removed from command. Eguía again became the temporary commander for a few days. Then, Areizaga arrived to take full command of the united army.

After the War

After the Peninsular War ended, Francisco de Eguía continued his important work. In 1814, he was appointed as the minister of war. This meant he was in charge of all military matters for Spain. He resigned from this position the next year due to health reasons. Francisco Ballesteros then took over his role.

Later in 1815, Eguía was appointed captain general of Old Castile. This was another significant military leadership position. In 1817, he was once again made minister of war. He held this post until 1819, when he resigned again because of his health. After leaving the ministry, he was appointed captain general of the Kingdom of Granada.

See also

In Spanish: Francisco de Eguía para niños