Miguel Ricardo de Álava y Esquivel

Don Miguel Ricardo de Álava y Esquivel
Detail of a portrait of Miguel Ricardo de Álava by William Salter
Born	7 July 1770 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain
Died	14 July 1843(1843-07-14) (aged 73) Barèges, France
Allegiance	Spain
Service/branch	Navy/Army
Years of service	1785–1815
Rank	Brigadier General
Battles/wars	War of the Third Coalition Battle of Trafalgar Peninsular War Battle of Bussaco Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Siege of Badajoz Battle of Salamanca Battle of Vitoria Hundred Days Battle of Waterloo
Relations	Ignacio Maria de Alava y Saenz de Navarrete (uncle)
Other work	Politician/Diplomat

Don Miguel Ricardo de Álava y Esquivel Order of Santiago, Order of Charles III, KCB, MWO (7 July 1770 – 14 July 1843) was a Spanish General and statesman. He was born in the Basque Country of Spain, at Vitoria-Gasteiz, in 1770. Álava holds the distinction of having been present at Trafalgar, and Waterloo, fighting against the British at the former and with them at the latter.(Swinton 1893, pp. 124–132)

Alava served as a naval aide-de-camp during the time of Spain's alliance with France but switched sides in 1808 when Napoleon invaded Spain. The Spanish Cortes appointed him commissary (military attaché) at the British Army Headquarters, and the Duke of Wellington, who regarded him with great favour, made him one of his aides de camp. Before the close of the campaign he had risen to the rank of brigadier-general. Later he joined the headquarters of the British Peninsular Army as a military attaché and became a close friend of the Duke of Wellington. During the Waterloo Campaign in 1815, Alava was the Spanish ambassador to The Hague (the court of King William I of the Netherlands), which allowed him to attend the Duchess of Richmond's ball and to be at Wellington's side during the Battle of Waterloo.