José de Mendizábal

Gabriel de Mendizábal Iraeta "Primer Conde de Cuadro de Alba de Tormes" (14 May 1765, Bergara, Gipuzkoa) – 1 September 1838, Madrid) was a Basque Spanish general officer who fought in the Peninsular War. He is known for his command of Spanish forces during the Battle of the Gebora. It is important to note that Mendizabal rose through the ranks of the Spanish army, and was not of noble birth.

He began his military career as a sergeant major and saw his first action during the War of the Pyrenees. Throughout the war, Mendizabal fought on both the Basque-Navarrese and Catalan fronts.

In 1793, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel and was given command of a newly created regiment, the Voluntarios de Burgos posted in the north of Portugal. Due to the Spanish military disaster occurring at Irún at the end of the Battle of the Baztan Valley in 1794, he was transferred to western Gipuzkoa with the inferior rank of First Comandante by order of a military council. On 2 December 1794, he commanded a joint Álavan, Gipuzkoan and Biscayan militia to achieve an unlikely victory in his own home town Bergara over French troops.

In 1802, Mendizábal was again promoted to the rank of Colonel, and was given the command of a regiment of volunteers from Navarre. On 23 September 1804, he entered the city of Bilbao at the head of his troops to put an end to a series of riots collectively known as the Zamacolada.

In 1809, at the start of the Peninsular War, Mendizábal was promoted to mariscal de campo, a rank equivalent to major general. Later that year, he was granted the noble title of a Count, officially "Conde de Cuadro de Alba de Tormes", for his military achievements against the French cavalry. In 1810, he continued his rise up the ladder and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.

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