San Martín, José de << `sahn` mahr TEEN, hoh SAY day >> (1778-1850), was an Argentine general who helped lead the struggle for independence in South America against Spain. He is Argentina’s greatest hero.
San Martín was born on Feb. 25, 1778, at Yapeyu, near present-day Paso de los Libres, Argentina. When he was 7 or 8 years old, his parents returned to their homeland, Spain. San Martín became an army officer and served with Spanish forces for 22 years. He helped defend Spain against invading French forces of Napoleon Bonaparte from 1808 to 1811. Then San Martín resigned his commission and went to join Argentina’s struggle for independence.
In 1812, revolutionaries in Buenos Aires gave him command of a military unit. In 1816, under San Martín’s leadership, Argentines declared their independence from Spain.
San Martín then joined forces with the Chilean patriot Bernardo O’Higgins. In January 1817, San Martín and O’Higgins led an army over a pass nearly 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) high in the Andes Mountains. The army appeared before the astonished Spaniards in Chile and won the Battle of Chacabuco near Santiago on February 12. The patriot army won a second victory near the Maipo River in north-central Chile in April 1818. This victory led to Chile’s independence.
In 1820, San Martín led an army to Peru. He declared the country free in 1821. The next year, he met Simón Bolívar, another leader in the fight for South American independence. San Martín then left to Bolívar the task of winning formal recognition of Peru’s independence.
Back home in Argentina, San Martín became discouraged by political disputes. He was also saddened by the death of his wife in 1823. In 1824, San Martin left for Europe, where he died on Aug. 17, 1850.
