José Luís Mena Barreto (1817–79)
| José Luís Mena Barreto | |
|---|---|
José Luís Mena Barreto around age 49, c.1866
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|
| Born |
24 October 1817 Rio Grande do Sul, Kingdom of Brazil |
| Died | 10 October 1879 (aged 61) Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Empire of Brazil |
| Allegiance |
 Empire of Brazil
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| Rank | Field marshal |
| Battles/wars | |
José Luís Mena Barreto (24 October 1817 – 10 October 1879) was an army officer, politician and monarchist of the Empire of Brazil. He came from a wealthy family with a tradition of military service. José Luís entered the army in 1836, during the Ragamuffin War, a secessionist rebellion. The conflict lasted for almost ten years, and he fought in several military engagements at that time.
José Luís held several positions during the years following the end of the Ragamuffin threat in 1845. His most important posting was command over the cavalry unit that served as Emperor Dom Pedro II's personal guard in the national capital, Rio de Janeiro. He also fought against the Argentine Confederation in the brief Platine War, which lasted from 1851 until 1852. In 1864, he led one of the two divisions which comprised the Brazilian army in the Uruguayan War. During that conflict, he led the initial invasion of Uruguay and fought in two crucial engagements that resulted in the capture of two Uruguayan towns.
In the Paraguayan War, José Luís fought in most of its decisive campaigns. He was severely wounded during one battle and was left disfigured. Despite having served from 1864 until 1870 as a successful field commander, José Luís was repeatedly passed over in promotions and was not awarded a title of nobility. After the war, he held bureaucratic positions in military units before settling in the highly prestigious post of military commander of his native province, Rio Grande do Sul. He was also a politician and member of the Liberal Party. José Luís was seen by contemporaries and, after his death in 1879, by historians as a brave and able field commander.
José Luís Mena Barreto was born on 24 October 1817 in Porto Alegre. The town was the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, a southern captaincy (later province) of the Kingdom of Brazil, which at that time was politically united with Portugal. His parents were José Luís Mena Barreto and Ana Emília da Silveira Sampaio. José Luís belonged to a wealthy family of Portuguese descent and military background, who owned ranches and large cattle herds. The family had a long history of participation in the colonial wars fought with Rio Grande do Sul's Hispanic-American neighbors.
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