| José María Córdova | |
| Birth Date: | September 8, 1799 |
| Death Date: | October 17, 1829 |
| Birth Place: | Concepción, Antioquia Viceroyalty of New Granada, Spanish Empire |
| Death Place: | Santuario, Antioquia Gran Colombia |
| Nickname: | "Hero of Ayacucho" "the one with the terrible look" |
| Allegiance: | United Provinces of New Granada(until 1819) Gran Colombia |
| Serviceyears: | 1814-1829 |
| Rank: | General of Division |
| Unit: | Antioquia Battalion, Rearguard Division |
| Commands: | 2nd Colombian Division |
| Battles: | Colombian Independence War
|
| Awards: | Cross of Boyacá, Order of Liberators of Venezuela, Medal of the Liberators of Quito, Medal of Ayacucho |
José María Córdova Muñoz, also known as the "Hero of Ayacucho", was a General of the Colombian army during the Independence War of Colombia, Perú, and Bolivia from Spain.
Córdova was born in Concepción, Antioquia on September 8, 1799.[1] The son of Crisanto de Córdova y Mesa, a small merchant active in the east of Antioquia who had also been pedáneo mayor, and Pascuala Muñoz Castrillón, the couple had four other children: Salvador, Vicente, Venancia and Mercedes. Subsequently, his family moved to San Vicente and, later, to Rionegro. Córdova in his childhood only had the basic education of the time and that of accompanying his father on business trips.
Córdova's military career began in 1814, when he joined the newly formed Engineer Corps in the province of Antioquia, which had just been established by Colonel Francisco José de Caldas in Medellín. Cordova's interest in the military and the revolutionary cause had been stoked by the Colombian declaration of independence, as well as Antioquia's own declaration of independence as the "Republic of Antioquia" or the "Free and Sovereign State of Antioquia" that joined in a federation in 1812 with other provinces of New Granada to form the United Provinces of New Granada. On June 6, 1814 he was accepted into the military school as a cadet that Colonel Caldas had created along with nine other cadets.[2]
At the short lived military school one of his instructor was a French officer Emanuel Roergas Serviez, a veteran of the Napoleonic wars and now an officer in the army of the United Provinces of New Granada. Serviez soon became his mentor. In early 1815 Serviez now a Colonel, was ordered by the federal congress to bring reinforcements to the Cauca province to assist Brigadier General José María Cabal's army of the south in their defense of the Cauca Valley from a renewed Spanish offensive. Serviez then took the Conscripts of Antioquia infantry battalion and marched south to assist General Cabal, in this battalion was a young second lieutenant Córdova who Serviez also made him his aide-de-camp. [3]
On July 5, 1815, at the Battle of the Palo River Córdova's battalion was placed on the right flank of the patriot army.[4] During the battle Córdova's battalion took part in the bayonet charge against the Spanish troops and received a bullet through his hat which knocked him down and led him to being erroneously labeled dead in General Cabal's report of the battle to the congress. [5] The battle was a decisive patriot victory and allowed the patriots to recapture the city of Popayán later that month. After a brief recovery, for his actions during the battle Córdova was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, at the time of his promotion he was only 16 years old. Córdova remained garrisoned in Popayán for the next three months.
Once the counter offensive by the Spanish troops began in 1815, Serviez was appointed as commander in chief of the Army, while Córdova continued to serve him as his aide. By early 1816, after taking command of the forces that had been defeated by the Spanish at the Battle of Cachirí back in February 1816. With only a limited number of troops, Serviez knew it would pointless to mount a defense of the capital Santa Fe and made the decision to retreat with what was left of the army to the Llanos Orientales. Along with Córdova, other important officers joined also joined them in their retreat such as Francisco de Paula Santander, Antonio Morales, Tomas Mantilla, and Vergara. [6]
During their retreat, the Patriot army was chased after by Brigadier Miguel de la Torres'stroops up until the town of Pore where they managed to shake off their enemy reaching on July 1, 1816 the town of Chire where they met up with the Venezuelan troops of GeneralRafael Urdaneta. [7] There they joined forces with the Venezuelan patriots, forming a combined army to face the Spanish. This army eventually came under the command of Jose Antonio Páez a native of the llanos known of for his tenacity and the respect he commanded amongst the Venezuelan llanero cavalry. Páez assumed command of the army after Santander, who had been originally picked to be commander, was faced with insubordination by the Venezuelan troops who clamored for Páez to be commander.
After assuming command, Páez immediately went on the offensive to attack the Spanish troops that had ventured into the llanos. Páez divided the troops into three columns of cavalry with Santander, Serviez, and Urdaneta as commanders of the columns. [8] Cordova remained by Serviez's side and took part in October 1816 in the Battle of El Yagual, the Patriot victory allowing the combined Neogranadine and Venezuelan army to take control of the town of Achaguas. Despite this victory there remained a tension between Páez and the Neogranadine officers.
Shortly after the battle, General Serviez was assassinated in suspicious circumstances, presumably under orders from José Antonio Páez. The death of Serviez was a large blow to Córdova, who placed the blame on Paéz and would forever hold a grudge against him expressing this years later in a letter written to Santander in 1826 when Páez led an insurrection against Gran Colombia expressing his views on the Lion of Apure by saying
"What good can come from the man who ordered the assassination of General Serviez, the one who disobeyed the Liberator repeatedly in campaigns of 18' and 19'"[9]
Fed up with Paéz, Córdova requested a passport to travel to Guyana where General Simon Bolívar had his army. However Paéz refused to authorize his leaving, leading Córdova to desert and head for Guyana, however Córdova was arrested by Paez's troops and taken to his headquarters.[9] There Páez court martialed him for desertion, which carried the penalty of death. Córdova narrowly avoided execution, thanks to the intervention of another officer, Pedro Camejo, and was subsequently restored to his rank. Córdova remained in Paez's army and fought valiantly in the bloody Battle of Mucuritas on April 28, 1817. After the victory Córdova insisted on being allowed to march to Guyana which he was finally allowed to do, reaching there by way of the Orinoco River where he met Simon Bolivar for the first time where Bolivar subsequently incorporated him into his general staff. On November 14, 1817 in Angostura, he was promoted to the rank of captain.
Córdova then took part in the Guyana Campaign and Center Campaign where Bolívar's Patriot army was defeated by General Pablo Morillo's forces near the outskirts of Caracas leading to the end of the campaign and forcing Bolivar to retreat with his tattered army back to Angostura.
After the failure of the Center Campaign, Bolivar began to replan his strategy and opted for a possible campaign to invade and liberate New Granada which had been under firm control of the Spanish since the reconquest of 1816. However the army was devastated after the Center Campaign, so new troops would need to be raised. Thus in August 1818, Bolivar promoted Colonel Santander to brigadier general and made him commander of the Vanguard Division of the Liberator Army dispatching him with some officers to the llanos of Casanare in New Granada with a number of rifles and supplies with the goal of raising troops for the upcoming campaign. After many months of preparation, Bolivar decided to begin the campaign on May 23, 1819 marching from Venezuela to join with Santander's army in Casanare. Córdova who had been promoted from captain to lieutenant colonel on February 14, 1819, would take part in the campaign as divisional chief of staff of Brigadier General Jose Antonio Anzoátegui's Rearguard Division. [10] Taking part in the difficult marches across the flooded llanos and the grueling crossing of the eastern Andes through the Páramo de Pisbá. Córdova saw action at the Battle of Gámeza on July 11 and at the bloody battle of Vargas Swamp on July 25, 1819 where the Patriots snatched a victory from the Spanish at the very last moment. 13 days later the campaign concluded with a decisive Patriot victory at the Battle of Boyacá, on August 7 1819, with the Patriot army entering the viceregal capital of Santa Fe triumphantly on August 11.
With the victory at Boyacá most of central New Granada was liberated of Spanish control. Shortly after their entrance in Santa Fe. Upon arriving to Santa Fe, Córdova had been ordered to chase after Viceroy Juan de Sámano who had fled the day before for the river port of Honda on the Magdalena River with goal of reaching of Cartagena de Indias. While at Honda, on August 13 Córdova was given the order of liberating his home province of Antioquia and was given 50 men to complete this task. [11] At the age of 19, this expedition would be Córdova's first independent command after recruiting more troop he embarked on his mission on August 22 with 190 soldiers, arriving in Rionegro on August 25 and in Medellín on August 30.[12]
Once there, Córdova became the Military Chief of Antioquia, while José Manuel Restrepo was named as the Civilian Chief in charge of the public administration. Córdova organized a small army of 700 volunteers, and on February 12, 1820, he defeated the Spanish army of Colonel Francisco Warleta at the “Battle of Chorros Blancos”, in Yarumal, Antioquia. This victory marked the end of the presence of Spanish troops in Antioquia.[12]
Having completed his mission in Antioquia, Córdova then took part in the Battle for Cartagena in 1821, commanding his own Antioquia Battalion. After that, Córdova was ordered by Bolivar to join the Southern Campaign and headed to Ecuador, where he participated with distinction in the Battle of Pichincha in 1822 which liberated Quito from Spanish control.
In 1824, having already been promoted to Brigadier General, Córdova was sent to Peru to join with General Antonio José de Sucre, to defeat royalist forces under the Viceroy José de la Serna. In the Battle of Ayacucho, Córdova was given command of the first division of the army, and thanks to his distinguished service he earned the nickname "The Lion of Ayacucho". This victory confirmed Peruvian Independence, and led to the recognition of the independence of the South American states by England, France and the United States of America. Córdova continued south into Bolivia, and commanded the newly formed armed forces in the country during the formation of the government, and remained through 1827.
Córdova returned to Antioquia after the military campaign to liberate Perú on September 8, 1829. He had clearly expressed his opposition and discontent with General Simón Bolívar proclamation as Dictator of Colombia and he was under investigation for the conspiracy of the "Noche Septembrina" of September 25, 1828. His discontentment with Bolivar's actions, led Córdova to organize a revolt against Bolívar in Antioquia.[13]
In response to Cordova's rebellion, Irish General Daniel Florence O'Leary was commissioned by Bolivar to render Cordova. The ensuing battle took place near El Santuario, Antioquia, where Córdova died by the hand of the Irish Commander Rupert Hand, on the 17th of October, 1829.
As homage for his actions and in his memory the department of Córdova in Colombia, the Colombian army's military officer's academy and the Medellin International Airport in Rionegro are all named after him.