Francisco Copons y Navia
Francisco Copons y Navia | |
|---|---|
 Francisco Copons y Navia (c. 1815). Portrait byJosé Aparicio,Prado Museum | |
| Born | 21 July 1764 Málaga,Spain |
| Died | 18 September 1842 Madrid,Spain |
| Service/ | Infantry |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Battles/wars | War of the Pyrenees(several battles);Peninsular War(several battles) |
Francisco Copons y Navia, 1st Count of Tarifa(21 July 1764—18 September 1842) was a Spanish soldier, active during theWar of the Pyreneesand thePeninsular War.He was appointedcaptain general of Cataloniain 1812 and promoted tolieutenant generalin 1814.[1]
Military career[edit]
War of the Pyrenees[edit]
After graduating from the Military Academy at Puerto de Santa María, Copons served as a lieutenant in the Infantry during the firstWar of the Pyrenees,in which he distinguished himself in several actions and was promoted to captain, at the proposal of GeneralAntonio Ricardos.He later again distinguished himself,[2]this time under the orders of theCount de la Unión,who promoted him to Regimental Sergeant Major.[2]
Following the death, in battle, of the Count, Copons once again distinguished himself[2]at the head of theTerciosdeMigueletesde Olot y Camprodón.[2]
He took part in the occupation ofFrench CerdagneunderGeneral Cuesta,where he was seriously wounded and rewarded for his action by being promoted tolieutenant colonel.[2]
He was promoted to colonel in December 1807.[2]
Peninsular War[edit]
Copons was in Madrid on 2 May 1808 and he left the next day to join his regiment at Tarifa.[2]
General Castañosgave him the command of the Batallón de Tiradores de España, with which he fought at theBattle of Bailénas a major of the 2nd Division underMarquis de Coupigny.[2]
He accompanied the Army of Andalusia in its march towards theEbro Valley,deploying his battalion in the vanguard and enteringNavarre,distinguishing himself atLerínon 13 October 1808.[2]
At theBattle of Tudela,Copons's battalion covered GeneralCastaños's retreat and went on to fight at Tarancón and atUclés.[2]
In February 1809, Copons was appointed Colonel of the Murcia Infantry Regiment, made up of the units defeated at Uclés.[2]
At theBattle of Talavera,Copons once again distinguished himself[2]and was promoted to brigadier in August 1809.[1]
Serving initially underEguía,Copons was given command of the 7th Infantry Division[3]atOcaña,underAreizaga,where the Spanish army was routed by MarshalSoult.
Making his way down to Cádiz, Copons and the remainder of his division were incorporated under theDuke of Alburquerque's command, and Copons was appointed commander of the troops stationed at Cádiz.[2]
He was appointed field marshal in February 1810 when the Regency gave him the command of all the dispersed troops in the county of Niebla (fewer than 600 men) and within a year he had been able to build up an Infantry division of 2,900 soldiers, a 735-strong Cavalry regiment and a company of Artillery comprising four guns and 82 artillerymen, with which he was able to attack the French troopsbesieging Cádizas well as the troops under theDuke of Arenbergin Huelva.[2]
Copons was appointedCaptain general of Cataloniain December 1812.[2]In February 1813 he was promoted to lieutenant general[2]and, later that year, led his troops to victory atLa Bisbal(May 1813).[2]
Having signed theTreaty of Valençaywith France,Fernando VII of Spainsent his favourite,Duke of San Carloswho had followed Ferdinand into exile, as well as having drawn up the treaty and would go on to be become Secretary of State (Prime Minister of Spain) following theAbsolutist Restauration,to meet Copons at the latter's headquarters. Among other demands, Copons insisted the King promise to uphold the1812 Constitutionand to separate the Ferdinand from all those who had counselled him to go to Bayonne.[2]These demands earned Copons the enmity ofEscoiquizand all the other members of the King's court.[2]
On 24 March 1814, still as Captain general of Catalonia, and accompanied by his second-in-command,Baron de Eroles,Copons receivedFernando VIIon the banks of theFluviáon the King's return to Spain from his captivity in France.[1]
Post-war career[edit]
On 4 June, shortly after the war was over (Treaty of Paris, 30 May 1814), Copons received the decree signed by the King by which he reneged on the Constitution and that same day, San Carlos informed Copons that, by order of the King, he was to travel to Madrid.[2]
However, that night, Eroles detained Copons, by order of the King[1]confining him at Siguenza, pending criminal trial, where he was held until early April 1816, when he was allowed to continue to Madrid.[1]
In May 1818, Copons was appointed second in command to the military and civil governor of BarcelonaCastaños.[2]In March 1820, following the outbreak of the military uprising in January 1820 byRafael de Riegoagainst the absolutist rule of Ferdinand VII, both were relieved of their commands for refusing to enact the Constitution. Copons was held in detention at theMiraflores Charterhouse,in Burgos, before being expelled from Barcelona.[1]
He held several posts during theTrienio Liberal.[2]On January 1821, he was appointed member of the Board of Advisors at the Ministry of War.[1]Later that year, while he wasjefe politicoof the province of Madrid, he was dismissed from the post by Ramón Feliú, theminister of the interior,[2]for having refused to close down theFontana de Oro,acafé detertuliain Madrid, closure which was carried out immediately by the newjefe politico,José Martínez San Martín,who also arrested the Fontana's owner, Juan Antonio Gippini, on the pretext that the speakers there were doing so only with the authorisation of his predecessor (Copons). The case against Gippini was dismissed.[4]
In August 1822, Copons was appointed Captain general of New Castile, but he resigned less than a month later.[1]
References[edit]
- ^abcdefgh(in Spanish)Gil Novales, Alberto (2010).Diccionario biográfico de España (1808-1833):A/F, pp. 773-775.Fundación Mapfre.Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvw(in Spanish)Cassinello Perez, Andrés."Francisco Copons y Navia".Diccionario Biográfico electrónico(DB~e).Real Academia de la Historia.Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^Oman, Charles(1908).A History of the Peninsular War,Vol. III, pp. 69–70, 73, 84–85, 95–96, footnote 92.Project Gutenberg.Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^(in Spanish)Álvarez Alonso, Clara (2021).Rafael Del Riego: Una vida por la Constitución,p. 146. ESIC.ISBN 8411220850, 9788411220859.Google Books.Retrieved 2 March 2023.