Person
San Miguel, Evaristo (1785-1862)Other forms
Gijón (Asturias, España) 1785-10-26 - Madrid (España) 1862-05-29
Spanish politician, soldier, secretary of the State Office, General Lieutenant and 1st Duke of San Miguel. In 1805, he joined the army as a cadet, and fought in the Peninsular War (1808-1814) against the French troops. A member of Freemasonry, known by the name of Patria, he was very active in the plans prior to the Revolution of 1820. He was arrested in the Palmar conspiracy and imprisoned in Cádiz.
He was known for his collaborations with some magazines such as La Gaceta Patriótica del Ejército Nacional, his proclamations directed to the population, and also for the many journalistic projects he took part, such as El Espectador, El Mensajero de las Cortes (1834) and Guía del miliciano nacional (1856).
He was the secretary of the State Office until 1823, when he resigned to fight against the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis. He had to flee to England, where he collaborated in the magazine Ocio de los españoles emigrantes and published Elementos del Arte de la Guerra. He returned to Spain under the Queen's amnesty, and rejoined the Army participating in the Battle of Mendigorría (1835), in the First Carlist War.
San Miguel was appointed Captain of the Ejército del Centro (Central Army) and Minister of War, Navy and Overseas in the Espartero cabinet.
He was named Grandee with the denomination of Duke of San Miguel, and decorated with the crosses of San Hermenegildo, San Fernando and Charles III. He was a member of the Royal Economic Society of Friends of the Country and a member of the Royal Academy of History.
Date of the event: 1820 - 1823