Title:
Costume military uniform
Description:
Costume military uniform / period of Bernardo de G�lvez. Red pants, red vest and white / cream button-down shirt with lace running down the center. The waistcoat has gold buttons and an adjustable belt, with two pockets. Trousers have a red tie-up string on the bottom. Label: Cornejo, Sastrer�a. Teatral y Cinematografic. Madrid. Talla 52.
Description:
Historical Note: Bernardo de G�lvez was born on July 23, 1746, in Macharaviaya, a mountain village in the province of M�laga, Spain, the son of Mat�as and Josepha Madrid y Gallardo de G�lvez. During his lifetime his family was one of the most distinguished in the royal service of Spain. Following family tradition, Bernardo chose a military career. In 1762 he served as a lieutenant in a war with Portugal, after which he was promoted to captain in the Regiment of La Coru�a. In 1769 G�lvez was commissioned to go to the northern frontier of New Spain, where he soon became commandant of military forces in Nueva Vizcaya and Sonora. In 1776 he was transferred to the province of Louisiana and promoted to colonel of the Louisiana Regiment. On January 1, 1777, he succeeded Luis de Unzaga as governor of Louisiana. Before Spain entered the American Revolutionary War, G�lvez did much to aid the American patriots. Spain formally declared war against Great Britain on June 21, 1779, and King Carlos III commissioned G�lvez to raise a force of men and conduct a campaign against the British along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. In order to feed his troops, G�lvez sent an emissary, Francisco Garc�a, with a letter to Texas governor Domingo Cabello y Robles requesting the delivery of Texas cattle to Spanish forces in Louisiana. Accordingly, between 1779 and 1782, 10,000 cattle were rounded up on ranches belonging to citizens and missions of Bexar and La Bah�a. From Presidio La Bah�a, the assembly point, Texas rancheros and their vaqueros trailed these herds to Nacogdoches, Natchitoches, and Opelousas for distribution to G�lvez's forces. Providing escorts for these herds were soldiers from Presidio San Antonio de B�xar, Presidio La Bah�a, and El Fuerte del C�bolo, and several hundred horses were also sent along for artillery and cavalry purposes. G�lvez, with 1,400 men, took to the field in the fall of 1779 and defeated the British in battles at Manchac, Baton Rouge, and Natchez. On March 14, 1780, after a month-long siege with land and sea forces, G�lvez, with over 2,000 men, captured the British stronghold of Fort Charlotte at Mobile. The climax of the Gulf Coast campaign occurred the following year when G�lvez directed a joint land-sea attack on Pensacola, the British capital of West Florida. He commanded more than 7,000 men in the two-month siege of Fort George in Pensacola before its capture on May 10, 1781. On May 8, 1782, G�lvez and his Spanish forces captured the British naval base at New Providence in the Bahamas. He was busy preparing for a grand campaign against Jamaica when peace negotiations ended the war.
Identifier:
ATF0212
Item identifier:
ATF0212
Collection:
Artifacts collection
Date range of creation:
1950 to 1980
Container information:
Artifact Box 0179
Geographic coverage:
Spain
Subject:
Ga?lvez, Bernardo de, 1746-1786
Type:
Image
Type:
Status Symbols
Type:
Uniform, Military
Medium:
Cloth
Medium:
Metal
Citation information:
ATF0212, Artifacts collection. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Copyright information:
This image is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States. The Item and its design depicted in this image may be protected by copyright, patents, trademarks, or other related rights. You are free to use this image in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Unless expressly stated otherwise, Texas State Library and Archives Commission makes no warranties about the Item and cannot guarantee the accuracy of this Rights Statement. You are responsible for your own use. Please contact the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for more information. You may need to obtain other permissions for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy or moral rights may limit how you may use the material.
Size or duration:
shirt: 31 in x 27.5 in; waistcoat: 26 in x 20.5 in; pants: 37 in x 16 in
Language:
Spanish