José de la Serna e Hinojosa, 1st Count of the Andes (July 28, 1770 – July 6, 1832) was a Spanish general and colonial official. He was the last Spanish viceroy of Peru to exercise effective power (January 29, 1821 to December 1824).
Background
He was born in Jerez de la Frontera on 28 July 1770. His family had been dedicated to military careers for many generations. He was the 7th of the nine children of Álvaro de la Serna and Figueroa (Jerez de la Frontera, July 12, 1723 - March 6, 1791), Knight of the Order of Santiago, who dedicated himself to a military career and was a Caballero Veintiquatro (akin to councilor) of Jerez and Master of the ; and of Nicolasa Martínez de Hinojosa y López Trujillo (or Truxillo) (Jerez de la Frontera, September 1, 1739 - October 10, 1823). These names go back to the reconquest of Jerez.
On 29 December 1780 (at 10 years old), José de la Serna was appointed alcalde for the caballeros hidalgos. On 8 September 1781, he was accepted as a knight cadet by the ; his admission took place on September 20, 1782. In 1789 he graduated as second lieutenant or ensign.
He saw his first service (as a cadet) in the defense of Ceuta against the Moors in 1784, distinguishing himself in outings that destroyed the batteries of the besieger, forcing him to lift the siege. Later he saw service against the French in Catalonia and Roussillon until the signing of the Peace of Basel (1795). He was promoted to lieutenant.
The Treaty of San Ildefonso, allying Spain and France against England, brought him to fight alongside the French and under the orders of Admiral José de Mazarredo (1797), with the ship Bahamas from 1799 to 1802. In 1801 he received the rank of captain.
He was then transferred to Andalusia, entrusted with the inspection of Inválidos Hábiles, and gained the rank of sargento mayor or commandant in 1805.
He fought under Wellington during the campaign of the fourth coalition (1806–1807) in the Spanish War of Independence against the French.
The Peninsular War, 1807-1814
In 1808 La Serna joined as lieutenant colonel the improvised army organized by the local government of Valencia; he was involved in the defence of Valencia (June 1808) and in the battle of the Júcar river against Marshal Jeannot de Moncey.
His unit then went to assist besieged Zaragoza (15 June to 14 August 180), entering Paniza on 7 August 1808 with 6,000 men, 100 horses and 6 pieces of artillery, and reinforcing the threat on Lefebvre-Desnouettes's back which eventually forced the latter to abandon the siege. On 15 August, he officially received the rank of lieutenant colonel. He followed the actions of Castaños encased in his artillery and was present at the battle of Tudela (23 November 1808), a Spanish defeat that forced the army to retreat to Zaragoza.
During Zaragoza's second siege (20 December 1808 – 20 February 1809), the batteries located between Santa Engracia and the Convento de la Trinidad were under his command, and then those from the Puente de Piedra to the Puerta del Sol. In 1808, in the midst of the siege, he was appointed colonel and in 1809 promoted to brigadier. The siege of Zaragoza was the war action he was most proud of and, throughout his life, always wore the medal of his defenders as his favorite distinction. The capitulation of 20 February 1809 made him a captive; he was taken to the Nancy depot, from which he escaped in the autumn of 1812 with another officer. Both arrived together in Genoa, but lacking support and no ship to board, they crossed the Alps again and, crossing Bavaria in the middle of winter, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria and Macedonia, arrived in Thessaloniki after six months of walking and seven hundred and fifty leagues. Finally he was able to sail for Spain and arrived in Mahón on 28 March 1813.
In 1814 Ferdinand VII created the Order of Saint Hermelegild (Orden de San Hermenegildo) to recognize his supporters during his years of captivity and La Serna was awarded this distinction.
In command of Spanish forces in Upper Peru
Reincorporated into service, he was appointed field marshal, and on 1 May 1816 he was named general in chief of the Army of Alto Peru to replace General Joaquín de la Pezuela who had been promoted to viceroy of Peru. He embarked in Cadiz on the frigate Venganza, with some officers and troops to strengthen the army he was going to command. He arrived in Arica on 7 September, and reached his destination as per his orders. This displeased viceroy Joaquín de la Pezuela, who had wanted to meet La Serna before the latter reached his assignment. Thus their relation started on the wrong foot, impairing La Serna's command of the Army of Upper Peru: his orders included that of reorganizing those troops and creating a General Staff, and Pezuela was against both measures. Moreover, the viceroy considered that La Serna should be subject to him because he himself represented the highest authority; and the general in chief was of the opinion that, as a general, he was independent in what pertained to his army — a view reinforced by that the territories subject to the Army of Upper Peru were not part of that viceroyalty but of Buenos Aires.
The viceroy imposed on La Serna to advance on Jujuy and Salta. La Serna expressly disagreed multiple times, not least because he did not have the necessary reserve body to guarantee communications. He and his troops reached Salta but had to withdraw in a painful retreat back to their starting bases. In 1817, La Serna reorganized his army and expanded it from a defensive force to develop its attack capability. This measure cost money, taken from taxes, and that became another point of contention with the viceroy. The confrontation developed to the point that he formally presented his resignation to the king.
At that time, and in view of the successive announcements of a major expedition to Buenos Aires from the Peninsula, Captain General José de San Martín decided to invade Chile with his Army of the Andes, by crossing the Andes via the most direct route. but the Battle of Chacabuco was a resounding success for San Martín who defeated the troops sent to stop him — greatly helped in that by the contradictory orders and doubts of Royal Governor Field Marshal Marcó. Very few of the royal troops were able to finally embark in Valparaíso.
Pezuela decided to recover Chile and ordered La Serna to form a reserve force to support the action he planned. This led to yet another disagreement between him and La Serna, with the latter again presenting his resignation from his post in the army of Upper Peru. In December 1817 the expedition for the reconquest of Chile left under the command of General Osorio (Pezuela's son-in-law), and arrived at Talcahuano in February 1818. On March 19, the royalist army attacked O'Higgins at Cancharayada and achieved victory in that battle, seizing all the enemy artillery. However, Osorio missed taking advantage of it; and when he reached the plains of Maipú on April 5, his troops were subjected to a heavy defeat by San Martín's troops. Meanwhile, the formation of the reserve corps continued to widen the gap between La Serna and Pezuela, although it was eventually organized according to the viceroy's wishes. Throughout 1818, the Army of Upper Peru carried out important actions against insurgent parties; willing or not, the territory under its command was "pacified". Furthering the clash of personalities, La Serna thought that war should be offensive and Pezuela thought it should be defensive. Also, Pezuela was considered an absolutist and La Serna, having fought in the name of the Cádiz Constitution, was seen as a liberal. But Víctor Peralta contests these views, citing among other examples that La Serna supposedly reinstituted the freedom of the press but no one had the right to publish anything in favour of Pezuela; another example is that La Serna tried to limit as much as possible the election of municipal councils, whereas Pezuela had publicly called for these elections.
La Serna formally resigned again on 23 November 1818, citing ill health. Pezuela remained lenient regarding this unauthorized move, which he did not punish; and La Serna returned to wait for his official leave. While waiting for this resignation's formal acceptance, in the spring of 1819 La Serna repeated with complete success the previous unfortunate expedition to Jujuy, giving a severe punishment to the gauchos who harassed his army and taking thousands of cattle.
He obtained his official leave on 31 September and left for Lima, where he arrived on 29 November. Pezuela was suspicious of the chiefs he had under his orders; and he was also preoccupied by the evolution of the situation in Santa Fé (now called Bogotá). So he asked La Serna not to embark for Spain but to remain in Lima as his second-in-command, thus becoming lieutenant general.
During 1819, Lima – from the point of view of the Spanish – balanced between the hopes of the announced Spanish expedition against Buenos Aires and the dread of a Chilean invasion of its coasts. The on 1 January 1820, however, not only changed the political regime in Spain, but also meant the abandonment of the great expedition of 18,000 men which could have restored the king's authority in South America. This freed San Martín from the worry of an expeditionary army, and in September 1819 he landed at Pisco with 4,300 men, only 300 km from Lima.
This came only four months after the Spanish government ordered Pezuela, on 11 April 1819, to enter into negotiations with the patriots. The Royal Order asked the insurgents to swear by the newly implemented Cádiz Constitution of 1812; if they did not accept that, commissioners were to be sent to Madrid and in the meantime hostilities should be suspended. La Serna thought that the insurgents would not be willing to swear allegiance to the constitution; so he proposed that cash be offered, as well as the control of Tacna and Arica. His real aim was to have the commissioners travel to and from Spain and to lengthen negotiations so as to gain enough time to strengthen the army.
Meanwhile, Lima was in chaos. The city had endured a year-long blockade but became isolated by sea after November 1820 when Cochrane attacked and took the frigate Esmeralda; and it was also surrounded by land with guerrilla forces that had come from the Andes. Pezuela insisted that Lima should be preserved at all costs, and that its loss would sign the defeat of the whole loyalist cause. La Serna, again, clashed with Pezuela and saw Lima as expendable – for practical reasons: it was undefendable without a functioning navy, and it was very difficult to provision. In his experience, difficult positions should be left to the enemy.
The coup against Pezuela
In January 1821, a month after the Northern provinces declared their independence, the situation in Lima reached its boiling point. On January 29, 1821, a group of officers petitioned viceroy Pezuela to resign and nominate La Serna to take over his post. Jerónimo Valdés and José de Canterac were key figures in getting these officers to rally for the coup. All the members of the signed a declaration accusing the viceroy of inaction, of having made many tactical mistakes and of failing to defend the city against San Martín. This letter quickly reached the Spanish Court and on 29 July and 13 August 1821 the new viceroy was confirmed in all political and military positions.
Originally, La Serna refused the command and requested his passport for Spain. Pezuela replied that if he himself made the sacrifice of leaving, La Serna had to make an equivalent sacrifice and accept the charge. Eventually, Pezuela relinquished his authority as viceroy to La Serna, who took office the next morning 30 January.
Implications