Galeano Moretti Romero (1788-) was an Argentine patriot, military officer, and guerrilla leader during the Argentine War of Independence. Born in Buenos Aires, he sided with the centralist Unitarios against the regionalist Federales during the Argentine Civil Wars.
Biography[]
Moretti in guerrilla uniform
Galeano Moretti was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1788, the son of the Padua-born Italian merchant Enrico Moretti and his Argentine-born wife Eusebia Romero. He worked as a shopkeeper's assistant as a young man before leaving his hometown to join the patriot cause in 1814 during the Argentine War of Independence. Moretti, a fervent supporter of Argentine independence, quickly rallied a band of 50 peasant volunteers for war against the royalists based in Upper Peru. Moretti interacted with patriot leaders like Manuel Belgrano and Jose de San Martin, but his offer of service as an officer in these generals' armies was rejected due to his lack of a reputation. Aiming to prove himself, Moretti launched devastating border raids into Upper Peru, burning and looting undefended villages and flooding Salta's markets with stolen goods. Moretti made his wealth from these predations, and, seeking to further build upon his legend, he led a daring incursion deep into Upper Peru and defeated Colonel Jose Santos de la Hera's Royalist army at the Battle of Las Campanillas on 25 September 1814. However, his return trip to Argentina was harried by large bands of outlaws, and his party suffered heavy losses before reaching safety. Over the next several months, Moretti made repeated forays into Upper Peru, using lower Paraguay and northern Argentina as a base. Through his raids on Royalist towns, his occasional victories over small Royalist armies, and several favors paid to Belgrano and his aides, Moretti ingratiated himself with the Rioplatense high command and, in December 1814, was formally granted a commission in the Argentine Army.
As commander of Compañía Moretti, he served under Major-General Eustoquio Díaz Vélez, including during the early months of the Argentine Civil Wars. While he had previously been on friendly terms with the Federalist Jose de San Martin's Army of the Andes, Moretti was compelled to fight against them for the Unitarian cause, which favored a centralized state run from Moretti's home city of Buenos Aires. In this capacity, he distinguished himself at the Siege of Salta, helping take the city from the Federalists and personally wading into the fray. As Moretti won several victories over both Federalists and Royalists, he was recognized for his services by General Belgrano, who made him Governor of Asuncion before that town's fall to the Royalists and later Governor of Paysandu.