San Martin
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JOSÉ DE, a Spanish- American general; born in Yapeyu, Misiones, Argentine Republic, Feb. 25, 1778. He was in the Spanish campaigns against France from 1793 till 1811, attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He resigned from service and sailed for Buenos Ayres in 1812, where he joined the patriot iot army. In the following year he was placed in command of their forces, serving in upper Peru or Bolivia. He opened a line of operations through Chile, abandoning the previous plan of attacking the Spanish forces in Peru by way of Chuquisaca and Lake Titicaca. San Martin was supported by the supreme director, Pueyrredon, in his purpose. An army of invasion drilled for two years at Menwas doza, and then San Martin in command of 4,000 men began, Jan. 17, 1817, his famous march over the Andes, leading his force through the Nepallata Pass, 12,800 feet high. On Feb. 12, 1817, he gained the victory of Chacobuco, which apture and occиpawas followed by the capture tion of Santiago, Feb. 15. He was defeated on March 19, 1818, at Cancha Rayada, but gained a splendid victory on April 5 at the Maipo, which drove the Spaniards from Chile. He was offered the supreme directorship of Chile, but declined it and began preparations for the invasion of Peru. He organized a navy, and his small force of 4,500 men sailed for the Peruvian coast. After much adventurous maneuvering, this army captured and occupied Lima, July 9, 1821, and carried Callão through hard fighting soon after. On Aug. 3, San Martin was proclaimed supreme protector of Peru. At this time Bolivar was leading an army S., and the success of the patriots was threatened by civil war. San Martin gave way to his rival, "for the good of the cause,' ," so averting a contest which might have destroyed the country's independence. On July 26, 1822, he held an interview with Bolivar, after which he resigned his office to the Peruvian Congress, Sept. 22, leaving Bolivar to complete the independence of Peru. San Martin retired from South American affairs, went to France and lived there in reduced circumstances till his death in Boulogne, France, Aug. 17, 1850.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The narrative Collier's gave in 1921 still stands almost line for line: the two years' drilling at Mendoza, Chacabuco on 12 February 1817, the reverse at Cancha Rayada, Maipú on 5 April 1818, Lima entered in July 1821, and the death at Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1850. Two details have been sharpened. Modern accounts stress that the crossing of the Andes was made by several columns at once, the main body going by the Paso de Los Patos rather than the single Uspallata Pass Collier's names; and the Guayaquil interview with Bolívar of 26 July 1822, which Collier's treats as the moment San Martín stepped aside "for the good of the cause," is still argued over, because no record of what the two men said survives. What has changed most is his standing: Argentina made 17 August a national day of commemoration and declared 1950, the centenary of his death, the Year of the Liberator General San Martín.
Written for this edition, 2026.