Gomes Freire de Andrade
| Gomes Freire de Andrade | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
27 January 1757 Vienna, Austria |
| Died |
18 October 1817 (aged 60) Oeiras e São Julião da Barra, Portugal |
| Allegiance | |
| Years of service | 1782-1814 |
| Rank | |
| Commands held |
|
| Battles/wars |
War of the Pyrenees |
| Awards |
|
War of the Pyrenees
War of the Oranges
Napoleonic Wars
Gomes Freire de Andrade, ComC (27 January 1757, in Vienna – 18 October 1817) was a field marshal and distinguished officer of the Portuguese army who served France at the end of his military career.
Gomes Freire de Andrade (27 November 1757 – 18 October 1817), was the son of Anthony Ambrose Pereira Freire de Andrade e Castro (? – 11 November 1770), Portuguese ambassador to the Austrian court, and his wife Maria Anna Elisabeth, Countess Schaffgotsch (9 October 1738 – November 27, 1787), who was from an old and distinguished noble family of Bohemia related to the second wife of the Marquis of Pombal.
Freire spent his youth in Vienna, where he received the classical education customarily given to the children of the nobility, excelling in science and mathematics. Whether through his lessons or life experience, Freire became fluent in Portuguese, German and French; and remained devoted to the arts, literature and philosophy throughout his life. His father was an ally of the Marquis of Pombal in his campaign against the Society of Jesus in Portugal, but died in 1770, when Freire was 13 years old, leaving the family in dire straits. Freire was forced to remain in Vienna until he could accumulate funds, then moved to France where he joined the service of the French diplomat Comte de Laforêt for several years before finally achieving his goal of living in Portugal. He went there in February 1781 at the age of 24, having acquired a knighthood in the Order of Christ from the Portuguese government to facilitate the process.
Destined for a military career from childhood, his father desiring him to have a career in the army and continue the family tradition of military service, Freire joined the Portuguese army as an infantry cadet in September 1782. After completing his training, he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the 5th Company of the infantry regiment stationed at Peniche. Freire then went into the Portuguese Royal Navy, embarking in 1784 with an auxiliary squadron sent to assist the Spanish naval forces of Charles III of Spain in the shelling of Algiers. He returned to Lisbon in September, where he was promoted to lieutenant, and in April 1788 volunteered to rejoin the army, and returned to his old regiment with the rank of staff sergeant.
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