Wenceslao Paunero (general)
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Wenceslao Paunero | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of War and Navy | |
| In office February 1, 1868 – October 12, 1868 | |
| President | Bartolomé Mitre |
| Vice President | Marcos Paz |
| Preceded by | Juan Andrés Gelly y Obes |
| Succeeded by | Martín de Gainza |
| Provisional Governor of Córdoba | |
| In office January 28, 1862 – March 17, 1862 | |
| Preceded by | Marcos Paz |
| Succeeded by | Justiniano Posse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1805 |
| Died | 1871 (aged 65–66) |
| Spouse |
Petrona Manuela de Arrea y Segurola
(m. 1843–1871) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United Provinces Argentine Confederation State of Buenos Aires Argentina |
| Branch |  Argentine Army |
| Years of service | 1825 – 1871 |
| Rank | General |
| Battles/wars | |
Wenceslao Paunero was a 19th-century Argentine General, politician and diplomat of Uruguayan origin. He was born within the Banda Oriental and would go on to be a major member of the Unitarian Party. He was also the Minister of War and Navy of Argentina and the provisional Governor of Córdoba.
He was born in Colonia del Sacramento in modern-day Uruguay, then part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, on September 28, 1805, as the son of Juan Paunero Caballero, who settled there at the end of the 18th century, and Manuela Delgado Martínez, both of Spanish origin.
For a short time, he attended the Royal College of San Carlos in Buenos Aires, but the lack of materials meant that his family had no fortune which forced him to dedicate himself to earning a living, postponing his studies.
He joined the Argentine Army in 1825, and the government put him in command of the contingent of the Corrientes Province for the Cisplatine War. Under the command of José María Paz he participated in the Battle of Ituzaingó.[1] Returning from the northern front, he was assigned to the troops besieging Colonia, which had not yet been evacuated by the Brazilians, and was taken prisoner by the besieged. He was sent to a prison in Rio de Janeiro but he was exchanged for an imperial officer.[2][3][4]
He returned in January 1829 to Buenos Aires, where he was appointed captain by Unitary General Juan Lavalle, who had just usurped the government of the province after assassinating the Buenos Aires Federalist governor Manuel Dorrego. He joined the forces with which Paz invaded Córdoba Province, and took part in the battles of San Roque, La Tablada and Oncativo, in which the federalist leaders Juan Bautista Bustos and Juan Facundo Quiroga were defeated. Between these last two battles, he was promoted to major and sent by Paz to start talks with Quiroga. He fought against the Federalists of Santiago del Estero under the command of Román Deheza and crossed the border with the Native Americans. Paunero took Paz prisoner and defeated his army at the Battle of La Ciudadela under the orders of General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid, he had to flee to Bolivia.[4]
In 1843, he married Petrona Manuela de Arrea y Segurola, daughter of the second marriage of Isidora de Segurola y Rojas, and granddaughter of Brigadier General Sebastián de Segurola as well as a half-sister of President José Ballivián and she diplomatically represented the territory of her birth in Bolivia. He founded the newspaper La Época in La Paz and directed it until he transferred it to Chile.[4][5] During his exile he met and forged a close friendship with the Buenos Aires Unitarian Bartolomé Mitre who was also exiled. When Ballivián was deposed, he moved to Peru and then to Chile where he made contact with Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and with Juan Bautista Alberdi, among others. He wanted to depose Urquiza so he embarked for Buenos Aires, with Sarmiento and Mitre.
At the end of 1851 he enlisted as a colonel in the Colorado troops campaigning against federal governor Juan Manuel de Rosas and fought in the Battle of Caseros. He was later appointed General Commander of Arms and Chief of Staff of the Army of the State of Buenos Aires. He served on the frontier against the Natives and made an unsuccessful expedition to Salinas Grandes and he was also a commander in San Nicolás de los Arroyos.
