1st Patricians' Infantry Regiment
Encyclopedia
The 1st Infantry Regiment "Patricios" (Regimiento de Infantería 1 "Patricios") is oldest and one of the most prestigious regiments of the Argentine Army. The title is often shortened to the Patricians' Regiment (Regimiento de Patricios). Since the 1990s the regiment has been designated as air assault infantry. It is also the custodian of the Buenos Aires Cabildo
, the welcoming party for visiting foreign dignitaries to Argentina and the escort and honor guard
battalion for the City Government of Buenos Aires
. By September 22, 2010, the Regiment's headquarters building has been declared as a National Historical Monument by the Argentine government, on the occasion of the country's bicentennial year.
The regiment was formed as the Legión Patricia ("Patricians' Legion) from inhabitants of Buenos Aires
in 1806 to fight against the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
. Among some of its first members it included a woman, the Alférez (approximately, second lieutenant
) Manuela Pedraza
, one of the heroes of the Defense of Buenos Aires in 1806. The regiment therefore existed prior to Argentine independence. Their first commander was Cornelio Saavedra
. The regiment also fought in the May Revolution
, the Argentina-Brazil War
, the Battle of Caseros
, the War of the Triple Alliance
, the Dirty War
, and the Falklands War
.
Although the word "Patrician" is usually employed as a synonym of aristocratic
, in the naming of the Regiment it was meant to be "the sons of the homeland
" (Spanish
"Patria" meaning "homeland"). Indeed, the original members of the Regiment were not aristocrats but Criollo people
s, down in the social hierarchy of the time.
It was the largest and most powerful unit recruited for the Defense of Buenos Aires and, like other urban military units formed, was granted the privilege of electing its officers. The first election was held at the Consulate of Buenos Aires on November 8, 1806. As head of the Corps or Legion and commander of the 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Cornelio Saavedra was elected, Esteban Romero was elected commander of the Second Battalion, and José Domingo Urien the Third Battalion commander. Manuel Belgrano was elected Sergeant Major (later replaced by Juan José Viamonte) and among other officers were Feliciano Chiclana, Vicente López y Planes, and Eustace Perdriel Gregorio Díaz Vélez.
St. Martin of Tours became the patron of the unit and on November 9, the regimental flag was blessed at the Cathedral of Buenos Aires along with the Arribeños Corps. The unit was then called the Buenos Aires Patrician Volunteer Urban Legion, with the status of a full Tercio
or Colonial Regiment of Militia.
The Patricios Legion was made up of three battalions, with 23 companies of 50 men each (8 battalions I and III and seven in the II), with a total of 1,356 soldiers, all Buenos Aires native residents.
Battalion Composition
In all: 69 Officers, 70 Sergeants, 20 Drummers, 179 Corporals, and 1,059 enlisted soldiers, for a total of 1,395 Patrician Legionnaires.
On June 7, 1807, the battle of San Pedro in the Banda Oriental was fought, where the Spanish forces from Buenos Aires led by Francisco Javier Elio, including several companies of the Patricians Legion, were preparing to storm Colonia del Sacramento and were attacked and defeated by British Lt. Col. Denis Pack.
The whole unit had its baptism of fire on July 4, 1807 when there was the British attack on Buenos Aires. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Patricios Legion were located in the Division of Right (red flag), while the 3rd Battalion was in the Reserve Division (Tricolor). The Legion, together with the other urban military battalions deployed, won that battle.
On January 1, 1809 the Cabildo of Buenos Aires, with support from the Spanish military bodies, tried to replace the viceroy Liniers with a Government Junta headed by Martin de Álzaga and create the "American Spain", before the subjugation of Europe by the Napoleonic armies. This was known as the Mutiny of Álzaga
. Cornelio Saavedra, with the legion under his command and the competition from other bodies natives managed to abort the move and ensure the authority of the viceroy, obtaining as a result of these developments the dissolution of the Spanish rebel bodies, prompting the viceroy dependent, in the military, almost exclusively of this body. It also cleared the way for the natives who sought independence.
Four companies were also found involved, the 3rd Battalion Patricios under Jose Domingo de Urien and some officers of the other two battalions of the body, such as Antonio José del Texo (a captain of one Battalion), Pedro Blanco and José Tomás Boys. Texo Urien was dismissed and sued for trying to kill Saavedra.
, and the 3rd Battalion was dissolved, leaving the new corps with the 1st and 2nd Battalions in its rosters. It was due to a reorganization of Buenos Aires' urban military units.
Under the new regulations, all the military corps assigned in Buenos Aires (including the Patricians Corps) would be composed of nine companies in every battalion, including grenadier companies. The Plana Mayor(High Command) were then composed of the following in accordance with the new regulations:
The Patricians Corps continued to have battalion numbers in their names, a practice abolished in the other military corps, due to their remarkable actions.
Earlier in the year, the Chuquisaca Revolution
in May and the La Paz revolution
in July saw the second action of the Patricians. Led by captain Diego Basavilbaso, two companies of the Patricians Legion joined the pacification forces of Vicente Nieto and Colonel Jose de Cordoba in Upper Peru that October, ending the revolutions on October 31 that year with Chuquisaca (today's Sucre
in Bolivia
) reoccupied by the royalist forces.
's main protagonists, Saavedra and the Patricians Corps, would be successful during the days leading up to the May 25, 1810 open cabildo of Buenos Aires, which resulted to the Viceroy's forced resignation and the birth of the Primera Junta
. This is the reason why the Patricians Regiment is often called The Sword of May.
Monday, May 14-Thursday, May 17
Upon hearing the news that by January, the Junta of Seville had fallen, Saavedra decided to let everyone take advantage of Napoleon's Peninsular Campaign to act against the Viceroyal government. He and Juan Jose Castelli suggested having an open cabildo for this purpose, as against Martin Rodriguez's plan of revolutionary action against the Viceroy.
Saturday, May 19
Saavedra then joined the meetings at the Pena residence, together with other military leaders. The meetings decided that he and Manuel Belgrano meet with the senior mayor of Buenos Aires, Juan Jose de Lezica, and Castelli meet with Julian de Levya, a procurator, to ask for their support for the holding of a open cabildo session, and tell them to go to the Viceroy to approve the plan
Sunday, May 20
Saavedra, as commander of the Patrician Corps, later attended the military officers meeting with the Viceroy at a fort, and together with the other officers, returned to the Pena residence that midnight for another meeting with the military officers.
Monday, May 21
A riot led by the Legion Infernal (Infernal Legion) which demanded an Open Cabildo meeting and was interrupting the work of the Cabildo was quickly stopped by Col. Saavedra and he then called on the crowds gathered at the Plaza de la Victoria (today's Plaza de Mayo
) to leave at once.
Tuesday, May 22
The Open Cabildo session with Col. Saavedra as one of the invited delegates convened that day. The Patricians Corps, together with the other military units, were on alert and were garrisioned to prepare for any major commotion outside the Cabildo. This did not happen since the session went on peacefully.
Wednesday, May 23
Two days of sessions by the Open Cabildo finally resulted in the vote and resolution formally calling the Viceroy to conclude his duties as the Viceroy of Rio de la Plata. Just like the day earlier, the Patricians Corps was represented by Saavedra in the session. The Corps stood on alert all day to avoid riots and mass actions and to ensure a peaceful outcome of the session.
Thursday, May 24
The cabildo, now with the session done, formally announced the formation of a Junta with now ex-Viceroy Cisneros as president and Saavedra and Castelli as two of the four members (The two were Criollos while Spaniards occupied the other two). When news of it was known, everyone was shocked and as a result, Domingo French, the city mail carrier, and treasury employee Antonio Beruti led a mob that made its way to the Cabildo for Cisneros's new job was against the Cabildo's will of his full resignation. Col. Martin Rodriguez, who was there at the Cabildo told everyone inside that a revolt among the soldiery of the city was possible enough if they some of them still had loyaties to Cisneros. The Patrician Corps was there at the plaza that day, ready for any commotion but this did not happen.
Saavedra and Castelli led a delegation that night to the Cisneros residence to report on what happened, as well as to recommend their (and Cisneros's) resignation from the new Junta being formed.
Friday, May 25
Despite the rains, the proudest moment of the Patrician Regiment came that day.
That morning a big crowd plus a militia unit commanded by French and Beruti was at the Plaza de la Victoria for a demonstration asking for the dissolution of the Junta formed yesterday, Cisneros' resignation as its president and a formation of new Junta minus the former Viceroy. Then, the Cabildo was overrun and because the Cabildo hadn't met yet, the crowd began to stir.
By 9:00 the Cabildo began its work and issued an order for the dispersal of the crowd. The Patrician Corps led by Saavedra was there, together with the other military units whose commanders came to the Cabildo to ask for their compliance. But they didn't comply. Saavedra and some unit commanders were outside the Cabildo, and the commanders who were there told the Cabildo that the order could not be executed and obeyed. While this was happening the Patrician Corps was guarding the Cablido and the surrounding streets, on orders from Eustoquio Diaz Velez, together with soldiers from the other militia battalions.
When the crowd went inside again, they were told to write to the Cabildo what they have been rallying for. Minutes after that a document with 411 signatures (still conserved) was delivered to the Cabildo, with illegible signatures made. (The full document was made by a Patricians Corps officer, Sublieutenant Nicolas Pombo de Otero.) The contents of the letter include:
Later, despite the rain, the Cabildo went to the balcony to ask for everyone's vote for the request to be ratified by all. Then, due to the heavy rain, the crowd thinned up, but several of them heard the request read aloud, and then approved it. Saavedra then spoke to everyone on what happened, and left the Cabildo on his way amid cannon salutes and bells, happy on his now concurrent posts as Patrician Corps Commander and as the new Junta President as well.
, led by Saavedra as its President, formally announced, through a May 29, 1810 proclamation, that the Buenos Aires Militia Battalions of Infantry are now the very first line infantry regiments, with the other service and arms regiments soon to be raised.
As a result, the Argentine Army
was born, with the first units being that of the Patricians' Legion, by now the "Patricians" 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments coming from the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Patricians Corps.
The order of June 8, 1810 (also by the First Junta) formally permitted the inclusion of the mulatto
oes (blacks, pardos and natives) of the Castas Militia Btn. to join the new army, with a new regiment (the 3rd Inf. Regiment) formed for their participation, as well as their admission into the 2nd Infantry Regiment.
, the Patricians Regiments went to the former viceregal provinces to formally ask for their inclusion into the new First Junta (and later the Great Junta) and to send their delegates, as well as for the liberation for the former viceregal towns and cities.
By June 8, they were part of the newly formed Army of the North
commanded by Colonel Francisico Ortiz de Ocampo and Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Gonzales Balcarces as part of the Alto Peru campaign. The first companies of both regiments were included, and by November 3, these companies joined the newly formed 6th Infantry Regiment together with troops and officers from Tucuman and Santiago del Estero. The two companies represented the Patrician Regiments during the Army of the North's first battles.
By September, the 1st Coy., 1st Infantry Regt. and 1st Coy., 2nd Infantry Regt. joined and participated in the Paraguay campaign
on behalf of their regiments.
March the next year saw representatives of the 1st and 2nd Infantry join the Liberation of Uruguay campaign as part of the Vanguard Division.
. It ended in failure, and the mutinied squad was executed on December 11 the same year, on Bernardino Rivadavia's orders.
, the Battle of Salta
the battles at Vilcapugio, Ayohuma, and the Battle of Sipe-Sipe, all led by their commander, Col. Belgrano. In 1812, he even presided over the creation of the Flag of Argentina
in the presence of the Patricians Regiment of Foot in Rosario
on February 20.
in 1811, in which the band lends its name. The band today is led by its Director of Music, Cpt. Diego Cejas.
Certinela firme siempre alerta,
forjado en el yunque de los Andes
en la horas de la Patria incierta.
Es Patricios en grito de guerra
que en Mayo la Patria escuchó
son la huestes del bravo Saavedra:
Buenos Aires Heroicos los vio. (repeat verse 1, then instrumental trio)
Vibren los sonoros clarines, con bravos notas de guerra
Llegando hasta los confines del monte, el llano y la sierra
Y si un día la voz de la Patria a la lucha llamara,
Recordemos entonces a aquellos ilustres variones
que en Curupaytí, Salta y Tucumán, abatieron pendones en homérica lid. (optional repeat)
Sentinels firm and always alert,
Formed from the caverns of the Andes
In the crucial hours of the Fatherland.
For the Patricians, that war cry
The Fatherland that very May responded
Because brave Saavedra prepared it all ,
These Buenos Aires
heroes live on.(repeat verse 1, then instrumental trio)
Various bugles sound these brave notes of war throughout the land
Coming from the confines of the hills, plains and mountains
And from that day the Fatherland's voice came to us,
Remembrances come from various persons illustrious
In Curupayti, Salta and Tucuman, the pennants in remembrance still waved. (optional repeat)
Buenos Aires Cabildo
The Buenos Aires Cabildo is the public building in Buenos Aires that was used as seat of the ayuntamiento during the colonial times and the government house of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata...
, the welcoming party for visiting foreign dignitaries to Argentina and the escort and honor guard
Honor guard
An honor guard, or ceremonial guard, is a ceremonial unit, usually military in nature and composed of volunteers who are carefully screened for their physical ability and dexterity...
battalion for the City Government of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. By September 22, 2010, the Regiment's headquarters building has been declared as a National Historical Monument by the Argentine government, on the occasion of the country's bicentennial year.
The regiment was formed as the Legión Patricia ("Patricians' Legion) from inhabitants of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in 1806 to fight against the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
. Among some of its first members it included a woman, the Alférez (approximately, second lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
) Manuela Pedraza
Manuela Pedraza
Manuela Pedraza was a patriotic woman who fought in the reconquest of Buenos Aires after the first British invasion of 1806. Her participation was considered heroic during the last battle, and her role was recognized by the Commander of the Buenos Aires forces, Santiago de Liniers.Her full name was...
, one of the heroes of the Defense of Buenos Aires in 1806. The regiment therefore existed prior to Argentine independence. Their first commander was Cornelio Saavedra
Cornelio Saavedra
Cornelio Judas Tadeo de Saavedra y Rodríguez was a military officer and statesman from the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata...
. The regiment also fought in the May Revolution
May Revolution
The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...
, the Argentina-Brazil War
Argentina-Brazil War
The Cisplatine War or the Argentine–Brazilian War was an armed conflict over an area known as Banda Oriental or "Eastern Shore" in the 1820s between the United Provinces of River Plate and the Empire of Brazil in the aftermath of the United Provinces' emancipation from Spain.-Background:Led by...
, the Battle of Caseros
Battle of Caseros
The Battle of Caseros was fought near the town of Caseros, more precisely between the present-day train stations of Caseros and Palomar in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, on 3 February 1852, between the Army of Buenos Aires commanded by Juan Manuel de Rosas...
, the War of the Triple Alliance
War of the Triple Alliance
The Paraguayan War , also known as War of the Triple Alliance , was a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay...
, the Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
, and the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
.
Although the word "Patrician" is usually employed as a synonym of aristocratic
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
, in the naming of the Regiment it was meant to be "the sons of the homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
" (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
"Patria" meaning "homeland"). Indeed, the original members of the Regiment were not aristocrats but Criollo people
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
s, down in the social hierarchy of the time.
Creation
In time for the arrival of British troops, Viceroy Santiago de Liniers decided that volunteers who are natives of Buenos Aires be submitted at the Fort on September 15, 1806, presenting more than 4,000 men who had to be enrolled in other military units.It was the largest and most powerful unit recruited for the Defense of Buenos Aires and, like other urban military units formed, was granted the privilege of electing its officers. The first election was held at the Consulate of Buenos Aires on November 8, 1806. As head of the Corps or Legion and commander of the 1st Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Cornelio Saavedra was elected, Esteban Romero was elected commander of the Second Battalion, and José Domingo Urien the Third Battalion commander. Manuel Belgrano was elected Sergeant Major (later replaced by Juan José Viamonte) and among other officers were Feliciano Chiclana, Vicente López y Planes, and Eustace Perdriel Gregorio Díaz Vélez.
St. Martin of Tours became the patron of the unit and on November 9, the regimental flag was blessed at the Cathedral of Buenos Aires along with the Arribeños Corps. The unit was then called the Buenos Aires Patrician Volunteer Urban Legion, with the status of a full Tercio
Tercio
The tercio was a Renaissance era military formation made up of a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers or musketeers in a mutually supportive formation. It was also sometimes referred to as the Spanish Square...
or Colonial Regiment of Militia.
The Patricios Legion was made up of three battalions, with 23 companies of 50 men each (8 battalions I and III and seven in the II), with a total of 1,356 soldiers, all Buenos Aires native residents.
Composition of the Patricians Legion in 1807
Regimental Command- Commander of the 1st Battalion and the Patricians Legion: Lt. Col. Cornelio Saavedra
- Commander of the 2nd Battalion: Major Esteban Romero
- Commander of the 3rd Battalion: Major Jose Domingo Urien
- Regimental Sergeant Major: Manuel Belgrano, later Juan Jose Viamonte
- 3 Adjutants
- 3 Flag Sublieutenants
- 2 Captains in reserve
- 3 Chaplains
- 3 Regimental Surgeons
Battalion Composition
- 1st Battalion, Patricians Legion
- 1st-8th Companies
- 2nd Battalion, Patricians Legion
- 1st-7th Companies
- 3rd Battalion, Patricians Legion
- 1st-8th Companies
In all: 69 Officers, 70 Sergeants, 20 Drummers, 179 Corporals, and 1,059 enlisted soldiers, for a total of 1,395 Patrician Legionnaires.
Baptism of fire
During the Second British Invasion to the Rio de la Plata Saavedra was deployed to Colonia del Sacramento with a contingent, but after the fall of Montevideo in British hands, he evacuated the place and went to Buenos Aires in February 1807.On June 7, 1807, the battle of San Pedro in the Banda Oriental was fought, where the Spanish forces from Buenos Aires led by Francisco Javier Elio, including several companies of the Patricians Legion, were preparing to storm Colonia del Sacramento and were attacked and defeated by British Lt. Col. Denis Pack.
The whole unit had its baptism of fire on July 4, 1807 when there was the British attack on Buenos Aires. The 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Patricios Legion were located in the Division of Right (red flag), while the 3rd Battalion was in the Reserve Division (Tricolor). The Legion, together with the other urban military battalions deployed, won that battle.
Mutiny of Álzaga
Shortly after its successful baptism of fire of 1807, Saavedra and the patricians made an important new service to the public.On January 1, 1809 the Cabildo of Buenos Aires, with support from the Spanish military bodies, tried to replace the viceroy Liniers with a Government Junta headed by Martin de Álzaga and create the "American Spain", before the subjugation of Europe by the Napoleonic armies. This was known as the Mutiny of Álzaga
Mutiny of Álzaga
The Mutiny of Álzaga was an ill-fated attempt to remove Santiago de Liniers as viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. It took place on January 1, 1809, and it was led by the merchant Martín de Álzaga...
. Cornelio Saavedra, with the legion under his command and the competition from other bodies natives managed to abort the move and ensure the authority of the viceroy, obtaining as a result of these developments the dissolution of the Spanish rebel bodies, prompting the viceroy dependent, in the military, almost exclusively of this body. It also cleared the way for the natives who sought independence.
Four companies were also found involved, the 3rd Battalion Patricios under Jose Domingo de Urien and some officers of the other two battalions of the body, such as Antonio José del Texo (a captain of one Battalion), Pedro Blanco and José Tomás Boys. Texo Urien was dismissed and sued for trying to kill Saavedra.
The 1809 Reorganization and Alto Peru
As a result, on September 11, 1809, the Patricians Legion became the Patricians Corps, by order of the new Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de CisnerosBaltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros de la Torre was a Spanish naval officer born in Cartagena. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against Napoleon's invasion in 1808. He was later appointed Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la...
, and the 3rd Battalion was dissolved, leaving the new corps with the 1st and 2nd Battalions in its rosters. It was due to a reorganization of Buenos Aires' urban military units.
Under the new regulations, all the military corps assigned in Buenos Aires (including the Patricians Corps) would be composed of nine companies in every battalion, including grenadier companies. The Plana Mayor(High Command) were then composed of the following in accordance with the new regulations:
- CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
- Regimental Sergeant Major
- 2 Adjutants
- 2 Flag bearers
- ChaplainChaplainTraditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
- Surgeon
- 1 Drummer and 2 Fifers
The Patricians Corps continued to have battalion numbers in their names, a practice abolished in the other military corps, due to their remarkable actions.
Earlier in the year, the Chuquisaca Revolution
Chuquisaca Revolution
The Chuquisaca Revolution was a popular uprising on 25 May 1809 against the governor and intendant of Chuquisaca , Ramón García León de Pizarro. The Real Audiencia of Charcas, with support from the faculty of University of Saint Francis Xavier, deposed the governor and formed a junta...
in May and the La Paz revolution
La Paz revolution
The city of La Paz experimented a revolution in 1809 that deposed Spanish authorities and declared independence. It is considered one of the early steps of the Spanish American wars of independence, and an antecedent of the independence of Bolivia...
in July saw the second action of the Patricians. Led by captain Diego Basavilbaso, two companies of the Patricians Legion joined the pacification forces of Vicente Nieto and Colonel Jose de Cordoba in Upper Peru that October, ending the revolutions on October 31 that year with Chuquisaca (today's Sucre
Sucre
Sucre, also known historically as Charcas, La Plata and Chuquisaca is the constitutional capital of Bolivia and the capital of the department of Chuquisaca. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of 2750m...
in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
) reoccupied by the royalist forces.
The May Revolution and the Patricians
The May RevolutionMay Revolution
The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...
's main protagonists, Saavedra and the Patricians Corps, would be successful during the days leading up to the May 25, 1810 open cabildo of Buenos Aires, which resulted to the Viceroy's forced resignation and the birth of the Primera Junta
Primera Junta
The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...
. This is the reason why the Patricians Regiment is often called The Sword of May.
Monday, May 14-Thursday, May 17
Upon hearing the news that by January, the Junta of Seville had fallen, Saavedra decided to let everyone take advantage of Napoleon's Peninsular Campaign to act against the Viceroyal government. He and Juan Jose Castelli suggested having an open cabildo for this purpose, as against Martin Rodriguez's plan of revolutionary action against the Viceroy.
Saturday, May 19
Saavedra then joined the meetings at the Pena residence, together with other military leaders. The meetings decided that he and Manuel Belgrano meet with the senior mayor of Buenos Aires, Juan Jose de Lezica, and Castelli meet with Julian de Levya, a procurator, to ask for their support for the holding of a open cabildo session, and tell them to go to the Viceroy to approve the plan
Sunday, May 20
Saavedra, as commander of the Patrician Corps, later attended the military officers meeting with the Viceroy at a fort, and together with the other officers, returned to the Pena residence that midnight for another meeting with the military officers.
Monday, May 21
A riot led by the Legion Infernal (Infernal Legion) which demanded an Open Cabildo meeting and was interrupting the work of the Cabildo was quickly stopped by Col. Saavedra and he then called on the crowds gathered at the Plaza de la Victoria (today's Plaza de Mayo
Plaza de Mayo
The Plaza de Mayo is the main square in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is flanked by Hipólito Yrigoyen, Balcarce, Rivadavia and Bolívar streets....
) to leave at once.
Tuesday, May 22
The Open Cabildo session with Col. Saavedra as one of the invited delegates convened that day. The Patricians Corps, together with the other military units, were on alert and were garrisioned to prepare for any major commotion outside the Cabildo. This did not happen since the session went on peacefully.
Wednesday, May 23
Two days of sessions by the Open Cabildo finally resulted in the vote and resolution formally calling the Viceroy to conclude his duties as the Viceroy of Rio de la Plata. Just like the day earlier, the Patricians Corps was represented by Saavedra in the session. The Corps stood on alert all day to avoid riots and mass actions and to ensure a peaceful outcome of the session.
Thursday, May 24
The cabildo, now with the session done, formally announced the formation of a Junta with now ex-Viceroy Cisneros as president and Saavedra and Castelli as two of the four members (The two were Criollos while Spaniards occupied the other two). When news of it was known, everyone was shocked and as a result, Domingo French, the city mail carrier, and treasury employee Antonio Beruti led a mob that made its way to the Cabildo for Cisneros's new job was against the Cabildo's will of his full resignation. Col. Martin Rodriguez, who was there at the Cabildo told everyone inside that a revolt among the soldiery of the city was possible enough if they some of them still had loyaties to Cisneros. The Patrician Corps was there at the plaza that day, ready for any commotion but this did not happen.
Saavedra and Castelli led a delegation that night to the Cisneros residence to report on what happened, as well as to recommend their (and Cisneros's) resignation from the new Junta being formed.
Friday, May 25
Despite the rains, the proudest moment of the Patrician Regiment came that day.
That morning a big crowd plus a militia unit commanded by French and Beruti was at the Plaza de la Victoria for a demonstration asking for the dissolution of the Junta formed yesterday, Cisneros' resignation as its president and a formation of new Junta minus the former Viceroy. Then, the Cabildo was overrun and because the Cabildo hadn't met yet, the crowd began to stir.
By 9:00 the Cabildo began its work and issued an order for the dispersal of the crowd. The Patrician Corps led by Saavedra was there, together with the other military units whose commanders came to the Cabildo to ask for their compliance. But they didn't comply. Saavedra and some unit commanders were outside the Cabildo, and the commanders who were there told the Cabildo that the order could not be executed and obeyed. While this was happening the Patrician Corps was guarding the Cablido and the surrounding streets, on orders from Eustoquio Diaz Velez, together with soldiers from the other militia battalions.
When the crowd went inside again, they were told to write to the Cabildo what they have been rallying for. Minutes after that a document with 411 signatures (still conserved) was delivered to the Cabildo, with illegible signatures made. (The full document was made by a Patricians Corps officer, Sublieutenant Nicolas Pombo de Otero.) The contents of the letter include:
- The formation of a new Junta with Saavedra as President, with 6 members and two secretaries
- The formation of a 500-man expedition to the viceregal provinces for assistance
Later, despite the rain, the Cabildo went to the balcony to ask for everyone's vote for the request to be ratified by all. Then, due to the heavy rain, the crowd thinned up, but several of them heard the request read aloud, and then approved it. Saavedra then spoke to everyone on what happened, and left the Cabildo on his way amid cannon salutes and bells, happy on his now concurrent posts as Patrician Corps Commander and as the new Junta President as well.
The formation of the Patrican Regiments through the May 29 Decree
4 days after its formation, the new Primera JuntaPrimera Junta
The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...
, led by Saavedra as its President, formally announced, through a May 29, 1810 proclamation, that the Buenos Aires Militia Battalions of Infantry are now the very first line infantry regiments, with the other service and arms regiments soon to be raised.
As a result, the Argentine Army
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
was born, with the first units being that of the Patricians' Legion, by now the "Patricians" 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments coming from the 1st and 2nd Battalions, Patricians Corps.
The order of June 8, 1810 (also by the First Junta) formally permitted the inclusion of the mulatto
Mulatto
Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...
oes (blacks, pardos and natives) of the Castas Militia Btn. to join the new army, with a new regiment (the 3rd Inf. Regiment) formed for their participation, as well as their admission into the 2nd Infantry Regiment.
Interior expeditions
On behalf of the First Junta and later of the Junta GrandeJunta Grande
Junta Grande is the most common name for the executive government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata , that followed the incorporation of provincial representatives into the Primera Junta .- Origin :...
, the Patricians Regiments went to the former viceregal provinces to formally ask for their inclusion into the new First Junta (and later the Great Junta) and to send their delegates, as well as for the liberation for the former viceregal towns and cities.
By June 8, they were part of the newly formed Army of the North
Army of the North
The Army of the North , contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest and the Upper Peru from the royalist troops of the Spanish...
commanded by Colonel Francisico Ortiz de Ocampo and Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Gonzales Balcarces as part of the Alto Peru campaign. The first companies of both regiments were included, and by November 3, these companies joined the newly formed 6th Infantry Regiment together with troops and officers from Tucuman and Santiago del Estero. The two companies represented the Patrician Regiments during the Army of the North's first battles.
By September, the 1st Coy., 1st Infantry Regt. and 1st Coy., 2nd Infantry Regt. joined and participated in the Paraguay campaign
Paraguay campaign
The Paraguay campaign was the attempt by a Buenos Aires sponsored militia, commanded by Manuel Belgrano, to win the Intendency of Paraguay for the revolutionary cause. The first battle was fought in Campichuelo and the Argentines claimed victory. However, they were completely vanquished in the...
on behalf of their regiments.
March the next year saw representatives of the 1st and 2nd Infantry join the Liberation of Uruguay campaign as part of the Vanguard Division.
Merger of the Regiments and a new commander
Saavedra soon resigned as unit commander of the 1st Regiment on November 11, 1810 and was replaced by Manuel Belgrano. At the same day, the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments merged to become the 1st Infantry Regiment "Patricios" with Belgrano as the commander of the new regiment.The 1811 Mutiny in the Trenches
On December 6, 1811 a mutiny led by a squad of the Patricians Regiment mutinied against their new commander, for the preservation of the regiment's privileges, now removed by the First TriumvirateFirst Triumvirate (Argentina)
The First Triumvirate was the executive body of government that replaced the Junta Grande in the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata...
. It ended in failure, and the mutinied squad was executed on December 11 the same year, on Bernardino Rivadavia's orders.
The New 1st Regiment of Foot
The merger, as well as other reasons, caused many problems for the new 1st Infantry Regiment. Despite it all, it participated in all other military actions on behalf of the First Triumvirate. Examples of such battles were the Battle of TucumanBattle of Tucumán
The Battle of Tucumán was a battle fought on 24 and 25 September 1812 near the Argentine city of San Miguel de Tucumán, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, commanded by General Manuel Belgrano, defeated the royalist troops commanded by General Pío de Tristán, who had a...
, the Battle of Salta
Battle of Salta
The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, near the present-day Argentina city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general...
the battles at Vilcapugio, Ayohuma, and the Battle of Sipe-Sipe, all led by their commander, Col. Belgrano. In 1812, he even presided over the creation of the Flag of Argentina
Flag of Argentina
The national flag of Argentina is a triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue, white and light blue. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors...
in the presence of the Patricians Regiment of Foot in Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
on February 20.
Tambor de Tacuari Regimental Band
The Tambor de Tacuari (Tacuari Drummer) Band of the Regiment of Patricians, established together with the Regiment in 1806, is the military band that serves as the regiment's musical support service, acting as one of Argentina's most celebrated military bands. It's the only band in the nation to have a child musician among its ranks as a snare drummer, in memory of the young 12-year old drummer Pedrito Rios from Concepcion del Uruguay, who died in action at the Battle of TacuariBattle of Tacuarí
The Battle of Tacuarí was a battle in Southern Paraguay between revolutionary forces under the command of General Manuel Belgrano, member of the Primera Junta government of Argentina, and Paraguayan troops under colonel Manuel Atanasio Cabañas, at the time at the service of the royalists.- History...
in 1811, in which the band lends its name. The band today is led by its Director of Music, Cpt. Diego Cejas.
Regimental March "El Uno Grande" (The Great One)
Composed by Campos Pinto and Otantino Ambrosi, this is the official regimental march of the Patricios Regiment, played by the Tacuari Drummer Regimental Band.Lyrics in Spanish
(Es) El Uno Grande entre los grandes,Certinela firme siempre alerta,
forjado en el yunque de los Andes
en la horas de la Patria incierta.
Es Patricios en grito de guerra
que en Mayo la Patria escuchó
son la huestes del bravo Saavedra:
Buenos Aires Heroicos los vio. (repeat verse 1, then instrumental trio)
Vibren los sonoros clarines, con bravos notas de guerra
Llegando hasta los confines del monte, el llano y la sierra
Y si un día la voz de la Patria a la lucha llamara,
Recordemos entonces a aquellos ilustres variones
que en Curupaytí, Salta y Tucumán, abatieron pendones en homérica lid. (optional repeat)
Lyrics in English
(Here is) The Great One of all the greatsSentinels firm and always alert,
Formed from the caverns of the Andes
In the crucial hours of the Fatherland.
For the Patricians, that war cry
The Fatherland that very May responded
Because brave Saavedra prepared it all ,
These Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
heroes live on.(repeat verse 1, then instrumental trio)
Various bugles sound these brave notes of war throughout the land
Coming from the confines of the hills, plains and mountains
And from that day the Fatherland's voice came to us,
Remembrances come from various persons illustrious
In Curupayti, Salta and Tucuman, the pennants in remembrance still waved. (optional repeat)
See also
- Argentine ArmyArgentine ArmyThe Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
- Argentine War of IndependenceArgentine War of IndependenceThe Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
for a brief history of the Regiment's first battles post-independence - List of Argentine Army regiments for a list of the Regiment's companion units