William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford

William Carr Beresford (2 de octubre de 1768 - 8 de enero de 1854) militar

y político británico. Fue general en el ejército británico y mariscal en el ejército portugués. Durante tres meses fue gobernador de la efímera colonia británica de Buenos Aires.

Contenido

1 Carrera militar

2 La invasión a Buenos Aires

3 Gobernador de Buenos Aires

4 La Reconquista

5 Prisión y fuga

6 La guerra contra Napoleón

7 Actuaciones posteriores

8 Referencias

9 Bibliografía

Carrera militar  

Era hijo natural del marqués de Waterford, el más influyente noble de Irlanda. Siendo joven, su padre le consiguió el título de barón de Beresford.

En 1785 estudió en la escuela militar de Estrasburgo; hizo la guerra contra los independentistas norteamericanos en Nueva Escocia, en Canadá, donde quedó tuerto en un accidente. Peleó contra los franceses en Tolón, en Córcega y en Jamaica.

Finalmente fue destinado a la India, donde conoció al Duque de Wellington, quien lo consideró su favorito. Hizo la campaña contra Napoleón Bonaparte en Egipto, con brillantes resultados, junto con los futuros generales David Baird y Samuel Auchmuty.

Era un hombre enorme, de una fuerza descomunal, y un general muy capaz. Fue también miembro del Parlamento, en la Cámara de los Lores.

Formó parte del ejército con que el general Baird invadió Ciudad del Cabo, que era colonia holandesa, la cual fue tomada el 19 de Enero de 1806.

La invasión a Buenos Aires  

Artículo principal: Invasiones inglesas

Cuando el comodoro Home Popham le propuso al general Baird asociarse para la captura del Virreinato del Río de la Plata, Baird rechazó la propuesta; pero cambió de idea cuando se informó de que se trataba de capturar un gran botín de plata acumulado en la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Entonces pactó un reparto del botín y le dio un contingente formado por el Regimiento 71 de Highlanders, la mando del teniente coronel Denis Pack y otras tropas, todo bajo el mando del coronel Beresford. Para asegurarse una mayor participación y control sobre la operación, nombró en secreto general a Beresford, para que fuera superior de Popham.

La expedición desembarcó en Quilmes el 25 de junio de 1806 y tomó desprevenido al virrey Rafael de Sobremonte, que esperaba un ataque sobre Montevideo. Venció la débil resistencia que se le opuso y ocupó Buenos Aires.

Gobernador de Buenos Aires  [editar]Oficialmente se tituló gobernador de Buenos Aires. Publicó un edicto en el que anunciaba que las propiedades serían respetadas, que las autoridades permanecerían en sus cargos, pero que debían jurar al nuevo rey, Jorge IV.

Exigió al virrey la entrega de los fondos públicos que habían venido a buscar, y los comerciantes de Buenos Aires apoyaron sus reclamos, a cambio de que devolviera los barcos y lanchas que había tomado. Al no poder llevárselo rápidamente, Sobremonte le entregó al enviado inglés lo que le pedía en Luján, poniendo como cándida condición que no podrían salir de Buenos Aires mientras no se estableciera si eran o no un botín de guerra legítimo. Como era de esperarse, Beresford envió los caudales a Londres.

Los ingleses no trataron de alcanzar a Sobremonte, porque creyeron que no iba a poder volver a la ciudad, y Beresford confiaba en que entorpecería el accionar de cualquier subordinado decidido. Por otro lado, les hubiera resultado muy difícil perseguirlo.

Hizo lo que pudo para ganarse la confianza de sus gobernados, ya que su fuerza era demasiado pequeña. Pero si los militares prisioneros juraron no tomar más las armas contra los ingleses; y si las autoridades - con la excepción de la Audiencia - juraron al rey Jorge, la oposición comenzó a organizarse en torno al ex alcalde Martín de Álzaga. Beresford ordenó el secuestro de todas las armas en poder de particulares, pero muchas pudieron ser escondidas.

En secreto, Álzaga organizó un ejército de casi tres mil hombres, a los que envió a adiestrarse en el campamento de Perdriel. Alquiló las casas que daban a la plaza mayor, y desde allí cavó túneles para minar el Fuerte, además de instalar cantones para hacer frente a los invasores. Toda esta organización fue pagada del bolsillo del alcalde.

Beresford montó un red de espionaje, en la cual participaron colaboracionistas criollos, pero el sistema montado por Álzaga sólo fue descubierto cuando ya la reconquista era inminente.

Beresford pidió desesperadamente refuerzos a Londres. Mientras tanto, decidió atacar el campamento enemigo, con una columna al mando de la cual estaba él mismo. En la batalla de Perdriel dispersó a las fuerzas de Juan Martín de Pueyrredón y Cornelio Zelaya, pero él ejército enemigo quedó intacto.

La Reconquista  

El marino Santiago de Liniers había pasado a Montevideo, donde el gobernador Pascual Ruiz Huidobro le entregó un fuerte contingente para intentar la reconquista de la ciudad. Eran las fuerzas que Sobremonte había enviado a fines del año anterior a Montevideo.

Liniers volvió a la costa bonaerense el 3 de agosto, en medio de un temporal que le permitió pasar sin ser visto entre las fuerzas británicas. Siguió aprovechando la tormenta para acercarse hasta el centro de Buenos Aires, mientras los británicos no podían moverse por los intransitables caminos. Desde Córdoba, avanzaba también el virrey Sobremonte, pero no llegaría a tiempo para actuar. Liniers se negó a esperarlo.

Beresford recibió en el Fuerte al capitán Hilarión de la Quintana, que le entregó una intimación para que se rindiera en quince minutos. Y le informó que el ejército enemigo estaba en las afueras de la ciudad. El gobernador invasor respondió que resistiría, por lo que Liniers se lanzó de inmediato al ataque, reforzado por los voluntarios de Álzaga.

Las tropas inglesas fueron superadas rápidamente, y Beresford ordenó replegarse al Fuerte cuando su ayudante fue muerto a un metro de él. Fue rápidamente rodeado, y finalmente se rindió. Se le permitió abandonar el Fuerte con las banderas desplegadas y rendirse a Liniers en medio de la Plaza Mayor, que desde entonces se llamó Plaza de la Victoria (hoy Plaza de Mayo). Era el 12 de agosto de 1806.

Prisión y fuga  [editar]Beresford fue puesto en prisión. Se había rendido sin condiciones, pero convenció a Liniers de que sería ejecutado por haberse rendido de esa manera. Se lamentó tanto de su suerte, que el caballeresco Liniers se apiadó de él y firmó una capitulación, antedatada, que contenía condiciones ventajosas para él. A cambio, fue obligado a jurar que no tomaría las armas contra los españoles otra vez, cosa que cumplió. El Cabildo protestó, pero Liniers explicó que era sólo una garantía para Beresford.

Pero Beresford empezó a reclamar el cumplimiento de la fingida capitulación, amenazando con represalias de parte del gobierno inglés. No fue atendido, y mientras sus hombres eran enviados a las provincias del interior como prisioneros, Beresford y Pack fueron llevados a Luján.

Al llegar la noticia de la captura de Montevideo por la Segunda Invasión inglesa, Sobremonte fue reemplazado por Liniers como virrey; éste ordenó trasladar a Beresford y Pack a Catamarca. Pero cuando iban en camino, el oficial que los conducía fue interceptado por Manuel Aniceto Padilla y Saturnino Rodríguez Peña, que lo convencieron de que tenían orden de Liniers de llvarlo a Buenos Aires.

El prisionero fue entregado, pero fue conducido hasta Tigre y embaracado en un bote a vela. Interceptado por un buque inglés, fue trasladado a Montevideo.

Allí asesoró al general John Whitelocke para la segunda invasión a Buenos Aires, pero se negó a participar en ella y partió hacia Londres. Whitelecke fracasaría lastimosamente en su invasión.

La guerra contra Napoleón  [editar]Iba camino a Londres cuando fue puesto al mando de las fuerzas de una flota que se cruzó con él, y con la que ocupó la isla portuguesa de Madeira, con lo que los ingleses esperaban evitar que el imperio de Napoleón Bonaparte se extendiera fuera de Europa continental.

Escribió una serie de informes oficiales sobre su actuación en Buenos Aires, y a pesar de que había actuado sin permiso del gobierno, fue premiado por su éxito.

Cuando Gran Bretaña se alió a España contra Napoleón, fue puesto al mando de una división en La Coruña, y en 1809 organizó el ejército portugués. Fue reconocido como Mariscal en el ejército portugués, y combatió junto al Duque de Wellington.

En 1812, dirigió un ejército angloespañol contra los franceses, y obtuvo la victoria de Albuera; uno de sus oficiales más importantes era el coronel José de San Martín. Por esta victoria fue nombrado duque de Elvas en España y conde de Troncoso en Portugal. Wellington lo nombró su sucesor en caso de que él muriera.

Actuaciones posteriores  [editar]Después de la derrota de Napoleón, siguió un tiempo al servicio de Portugal. En 1816 pasó a Río de Janeiro, donde residía el rey Juan VI.

Al año organizó un gran ejército portugués, pero se negó a tomar el mando de ese ejército, tal vez por el juramento de 1806. Poco después, éste invadió la Banda Oriental y acabó con los ejércitos de José Artigas e incorporó ese territorio a Portugal.

Regresó a Inglaterra en 1821, donde continuó su carrera militar: entre 1828 y 1830, fue Ministro de Ordenanza (es decir, de equipamiento militar) del gabinete Wellington. Ese último año se retiró del ejército y fue nombrado vizconde. Al año siguiente publicó, conjuntamente con el Coronel Francis P. Napier, Strictures on certain passages of lieut. col. Napier's History of the Peninsular war, which relate to the military opinions and conduct of Gen. Lord Viscount Beresford[1]

Falleció en Londres en 1854.

Referencias  [editar]↑ Libro disponible en PDF gratis 

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    Lt.-Gen. William Carr Beresford, 1st and last Viscount Beresford of Beresford was educated at Catterick Bridge, England.1 He was educated in 1785 at Military School, Strasbourg, France.1 He gained the rank of Ensign in 1785 in the service of the 6th Foot.1 He gained the rank of Captain in 1791 in the service of the 69th Foot.1 He fought in the capture of Toulon in 1793.1 He gained the rank of Major in 1794.1 He fought in the capture of Bastia in 1795.1 He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1799, serving under Baird in Egypt.1 He gained the rank of Colonel in 1800.1 He fought in the recapture of the Cape of Good Hope.1 He fought in the campaign in Buenos Aires in 1806, where he was captured, and escaped the following year.1 He fought in the capture of Madeira in 1807, where he was in command.1 He held the office of Governor of Madeira between 1807 and 1808, for the King of Portugal.1 He was Colonel of the 88th Foot between 1807 and 1819.1 In 1808 he was Marshal Commanding under Wellington in Portugal, and greatly distinguished himslef by organising the Portugese forces.1 He gained the rank of Major-General in 1808.1 He fought in the Battle of Corunna on 16 January 1809, serving under General Moore.1 He fought in the Battle of Busaco on 27 August 1810.1 He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Bath (K.B.) on 16 October 1810.1 He held the office of Member of Parliament (M.P.) for County Waterford between 1811 and 1814.1 He held the office of Governor of County Cork between 1811 and 1820.1 He was created Conde de Trancoso [Portugal] on 13 May 1811.1 He was Battle of Albuera of the where he commanded the bloody victory over Marshall Soult, for which he received the thanks of Parliament on 16 May 1811.1 He was created Duque de Elbas [Spain].1 He fought in the Siege of Badajoz in 1812.1 He gained the rank of Captain-General in the service of the Spanish Army.1 He gained the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1812.1 He fought in the Battle of Salamanca on 22 July 1812, where he was severely is wounded.1 He was created Marquez de Campo Mayor [Portugal] on 17 December 1812.1 He fought in the Battle of Vitoria on 21 June 1813.1 He fought in the Battle of Nive in December 1813.1 He fought in the Battle of Ortiz.1 He gained the rank of Marshal General in the service of the Portugese Army.1 He fought in the Battle of Pyrennes.1 He fought in the Battle of Nivelle.1 He was created 1st Baron Beresford of Albuera and Dungarvan, co. Waterford [U.K.] on 17 May 1814.3 He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Bath (G.C.B.) on 2 January 1815.3 He was invested as a Knight Grand Cross, Hanoverian Order (G.C.H.) in 1818.3 He was Colonel of the 69th Foot between 1819 and 1823.1 He held the office of Governor of Jersey between 1820 and 1854.2 He was invested as a Privy Counsellor (P.C.) on 6 February 1821.2 He held the office of Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance between 1823 and 1824.2 He was Colonel of the 16th Foot between 1823 and 1854.1 He was created 1st Viscount Beresford of Beresford, co. Stafford [U.K.] on 28 March 1823.2 He gained the rank of General in 1825.2 He held the office of Master-General of the Ordnance between 1828 and 1830, and Governor of the Military Academy at Woolwich.2 He was Colonel of the 60th Rfiles between 1852 and 1854.1 

    On his death, his two peergaes became extinct.2 He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carr_Beresford

William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, GCTE (2 October 1768 – 8 January 1856), was a British soldier and politician. A general in the British Army and a marshal in the Portuguese army, he fought with the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War and held the office of Master-General of the Ordnance in 1828 in Wellington's first ministry.

Beresford was the illegitimate son of George Beresford, 1st Marquess of Waterford. He was the brother of Admiral Sir John Beresford, 1st Baronet (who was also illegitimate) and the half-brother of Henry Beresford, 2nd Marquess of Waterford, Lord John Beresford and Lord George Beresford.[1]

Early campaign experience

Beresford entered the British Army in 1785 as an ensign in the 6th Regiment of Foot and the next year he was blinded in one eye due to an incident with a musket. He remained in the service being promoted to captain by 1791 with the 69th Regiment of Foot. He distinguished himself at Toulon (1793), in Egypt (1799–1803) and in South Africa (1805). From there he fared across the South Atlantic to South America to invade the River Plate region (now Argentina), with a small British force of 1,500 men, departing on 14 April 1806. Following his move to Cape Town in Cape Colony, Beresford, spurred on by Sir Home Popham, decided to attack Buenos Aires in Spanish South America. No attempt was made to gain authorization from the Crown for this undertaking. In the invasion of the River Plate, Buenos Aires was occupied for 46 days. However, the British force could not maintain itself against the army gathered by Santiago de Liniers. After a relentless two-day fight with the Buenos Aires and Montevideo militias between 10 and 12 August 1806, the British were defeated and forced to capitulate. Beresford had to surrender, remaining prisoner for six months; in the end, he managed to escape and arrived in England in 1807.

Peninsular War

In that same year Beresford was sent to Madeira, which he occupied in name of the King of Portugal, remaining there for six months as Governor and Commander in Chief. The exiled Portuguese Government in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, whereto the Portuguese Royal Family had transferred the Court, realised the necessity of appointing a commander-in-chief capable of disciplining the Portuguese Army organized by general Miguel Pereira Forjaz whom Wellington called "the ablest man in the Peninsula". The Portuguese government asked Britain to appoint Arthur Wellesley to this role, and he indicated Beresford. He was appointed Marshal and Commander in Chief of the Army by Decree of 7 March 1809 and took the command on the 15th of the same month. At that time, Marshal Soult had already crossed into Portugal where he occupied Porto. Beresford quickly overhauled the demoralised Portuguese forces, bringing them in line with British discipline and organization, and from the General Headquarters (then at the Largo do Calhariz), he dispatched many "daily orders" altering points of the Infantry ordnance, creating a general command of Artillery, establishing the separation of the battalions, firing incompetent or corrupt officers and promoting or appointing appropriate replacements.

On 22 April Sir Arthur Wellesley, later Duke of Wellington, disembarked in Lisbon, and took over the command of all the Anglo-Portuguese troops and he was nominated Marshall General of the Portuguese Army. The allied armies marched to the North. Wellington moved from Coimbra directly to Porto, which he entered on 12 May, and Beresford marched through the Province of Beira, arriving that same day at the banks of the Douro river, in the area of Lamego. Wellington's troops made a forced crossing of the Douro and defeated the French, Soult was obliged to withdraw from Porto. Soult was outnumbered and was expelled from Portugal; the positioning of Beresford's forces compelled the French to leave Portugal by the poor roads through Montalegre, they managed to cross the border only after sacrificing their artillery and baggage, and facing numerous difficulties.

So ended the Second French Invasion of Portugal, the allied armies moved back to the South, the British concentrating at Abrantes and the Portuguese at Castelo Branco, with the intent of cooperating with the Spanish against Marshal Victor. The Anglo-Portuguese forces under Wellesley moved into Spain in the Talavera campaign, Beresford remained on the Águeda River covering the Spanish-Portuguese border. After Wellesley's return, now as Viscount Wellington, following the Battle of Talavera Beresford re-entered Portugal, where he distributed the army at various locations established his General Headquarters in Lisbon. From Lisbon he dispatched numerous orders and instructions for the reform of the Portuguese military.

In the same year (1809), and the following year he made tours of inspection of the corps that were found quartered in the various provinces and he corrected any defects he noticed and established rules for the functioning of the different branches of the military service. In this way he improved the functioning of the Portuguese Army so that they might face the forces of Napoleon that were invading the country for the third time. The good results of his efforts were proven at the campaign against Masséna in particular at the Battle of Buçaco, 27 September 1810 where the Portuguese troops played a prominent part, and also in the defence of the Lines of Torres Vedras). The most notable action in which Beresford held independent command occurred in 1811 when a combined Anglo-Portuguese and Spanish army under his command, intercepted a French army commanded by Marshal Soult who had been ordered by Marshal Auguste Marmont to move to protect the important Spanish fortress-city of Badajoz. As the French forces retreated from the Lines of Torres Vedras, Beresford marched towards Badajoz, which he laid siege to. Having, however, received notice that Soult was approaching, he lifted the siege and posted his army at Albuera in a defensive position. There he defeated the French forces on 16 May 1811. After the very bloody Battle of Albuera the French were forced to retreat, though the siege of Badajoz had to be subsequently abandoned. Meanwhile, on 13 May 1811, he was created Count of Trancoso in Portugal by decree of Prince Regent John.

At the beginning of July 1811 he was again in Lisbon, but he was subjected to fits of "nervous breakdowns", as described by brigadier D'Urban, quarter master general of the Portuguese Army. He recuperated in February 1812 and he then joined Wellington in his investment of Ciudad Rodrigo. He accompanied, after this fortified town had fallen, the army to Alentejo, and participated in the second Anglo-Portuguese Siege of Badajoz. After Badajoz had been stormed the two Generals, Wellington and Beresford, again took up position on the Águeda, and from there launched the Salamanca campaign. On 22 July 1812, the important Battle of Salamanca was fought, giving the Anglo-Portuguese forces a decisive victory over the French under Marshal Marmont. In the battle Beresford was badly wounded, under his left breast, when he was ordering the advance of one of the Portuguese brigades.

He retired to Lisbon and had bouts of fever and was half incapacitated for several months until May of the next year (1813). Meanwhile he was also created Marquis of Campo Maior in Portugal by Prince Regent John on 17 December 1812. In March he was confirmed as second in command of the Allied Army and rejoined the campaigning army, and assisted in the liberation of Spain by the British and Portuguese armies.

In the invasion of France, he assisted Wellington at the command of a corps and he was hailed as the liberator of Bordeaux. He fought in France at Toulouse the last clash of the Peninsular War.

Later career

After peace was declared he went to England on leave and came back again to Lisbon to reassume the command of the Portuguese Army. He didn't limit himself, however, to that role, and intended to intervene in the general politics of the country, from this he came into conflict with the Regency. He then determined to go to the Court in Rio de Janeiro. He departed to there in August 1815 and returned in September 1816, invested with wider powers than the ones which he had previously enjoyed. Beresford took a high hand in his dealings with Gomes Freire de Andrade (1817) and, put into a difficult situation, he returned to Brazil, obtaining from John VI the confirmation of the powers he had already attained, which he desired to see amplified.

When he returned to Portugal, the Liberal Revolution of 1820 intervened; the British officers, for the most part, had been discharged, and the government didn't even consent that Beresford could disembark. He briefly returned to Portugal in 1827 at request of the Regent, Infanta Isabel Maria of Braganza, but gave up his ambitions due to the resistance he found among the Portuguese Army and returned to Britain.

In the 1840s, Beresford expanded the Bedgebury Estate near Goudhurst, Kent. He built the hamlet of Kilndown to the north west of Bedgebury.[2]

Legacy

Napier, in his History of the Peninsular War, severely criticized the tactics of Beresford at the Battle of Albuera, which gave origin to a heated correspondence between the Marshal and the historian. The published letters of Beresford which are mentioned below refer to this controversy. Wellington himself had no illusions over Beresford's ability as a General, but he appreciated his abilities as a military organizer that he recommended, in case of his death, that Beresford succeeded him in command. He published: Strictures on Certain Passages of L. Col. Napier's History of Peninsular War; Further Strictures; Refutation of Col. Napier's Justification, London, 1831–1834, 3 Vol.; Letter to Charles Edward Long, Esq. on the Extracts Recently Published from the Ms. Journal and Private Correspondence of the Late Lieut-Gen. R. B. Long, London, John Murray, 1833; A Second Letter to Charles Edward Long, Esq. on the Ms. Journal and Private Correspondence of the Late Lieut. General R. B. Long (1834). Also of interest is the Colecção das Ordens do Dia (Collection of Orders of the Day) produced by Beresford's general headquarters nos Anos de 1809 a 1823 (for the years 1809 to 1823), Lisbon, 13 Vol. (at the Library of the English Institute of the University of Coimbra).

As a reward for his services in the fight against the French he was raised to the peerage as Baron Beresford, of Albuera and Dungarvan in the County of Waterford, in 1814.[3][4] In 1823 he was further honoured when he was made Viscount Beresford, of Beresford in the County of Stafford, in 1823.[5] He was the last titular Governor of Jersey; since his death the Crown has been represented in Jersey by the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey. Beside many national and foreign decorations he had the Grand Cross of the Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword. Some authors infer that he also had the title of 1st Duke of Elvas; but no document recording the granting this title is extant. Beresford County, New South Wales, Australia was named in his honour.[6]

Parliament

Beresford was Member of Parliament (MP) for County Waterford from 1811 to 1814.[7]

Family

Lord Beresford married his first cousin the Honourable Louisa, widow of Thomas Hope and daughter of William Beresford, 1st Baron Decies and Elizabeth Fitzgibbon, in 1832. The marriage was childless. She died in July 1851. Lord Beresford died in January 1854, aged 85. The barony and viscountcy became extinct on his death. His estates were passed on to his stepson, Alexander Beresford Hope.[1] Beresford's Portuguese titles were not renewed, although his nephews continued using them.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carr_Beresford