Beltrán, Luis (1784–1827)
Beltrán, Luis (1784–1827)
Luis Beltrán (b. 7 September 1784; d. 8 December 1827), Franciscan friar and chaplain of several Platine armies during the struggle against Spain. Born near Mendoza, Argentina, Fray Beltrán entered the Franciscan order when barely sixteen years old and soon moved to the convent in Santiago, Chile. His military career started after he joined José Miguel Carrera's army as chaplain and took part in the battle of Hierbas Buenas in 1812. Although this battle was disastrous for the rebels, it allowed Beltrán to demonstrate his skills at military engineering. He later held, for example, the post of director of ordnance (1820–1824) for the Chileans and worked in that same capacity under Simón Bolívar in Peru in 1824. An argument with Bolívar, however, led to a suicide attempt by Beltrán and dimmed his work and health thereafter. Lieutenant Colonel Beltrán left the army in 1827 and retired to Buenos Aires, where he renewed his interest in the religious life he had never formally abandoned. He was named "heroic defender of the nation" by Buenos Aires. He died in Buenos Aires.
See alsoFranciscans .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alfredo Gargaro, Pedro Regalado de la Plaza, director de la maestranza del ejército de los Andes (1950).
Ricardo Piccirilli Et Al., Diccionario histórico argentino, vol. 1 (1953), pp. 520-521.
Fidel Iglesias