Rudecindo Alvarado (1 March 1792-22 June 1872) was an Argentine general and politician who fought in the Argentine War of Independence and the Argentine Civil Wars.
Biography[]
Rudecindo Alvarado was born in Salta, Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1792, the son of a Spanish merchant. He took over the family business before joining the Army of the North during the Argentine War of Independence, fighting in Upper Peru and taking part in the Jujuy Exodus. He later commanded a cazadores battalion in the Army of the Andes, serving in Juan Gregorio de las Heras' division at the Battle of Chacabuco and at the Battle of Maipu. Alvarado was promoted to colonel after the Battle of Biobio, and he was later accused of murdering Manuel Rodriguez, an opponent of Bernardo O'Higgins. He was among the first officers to enter the city of Lima, and he was made Chief of Staff of the Peruvian Army. In 1822, Jose de San Martin made Alvarado a Marshal of Peru and commander of all Argentine forces, and he was entrusted with attacking Arequipa and Cuzco. However, he was defeated at Torata and Moquegua, and the garrison of Callao revolvted against him. He was imprisoned at La Paz until the Battle of Ayacucho, after which he was freed. He served as Inspector General of Arms back in Buenos Aires, and he took part in Juan Agustin Moyano's revolution in Mendoza in 1828 and was appointed Moyano's puppet governor in August 1829. He was taken prisoner by General Jose Felix Aldao, but he was later released and became Governor of Salta. Alvarado refused to assist General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid at the Battle of La Ciudadela, and he was ultimately overthrown by Facundo Quiroga in 1831. He was briefly exiled to Bolivia before returning to Salta. His support for Roque Alvarado against Juan Manuel de Rosas earned him a new exile until 1848. He went on to serve as Governor of Salta from 1854 to 1855 and as Justo Jose de Urquiza's War Minister, and he resigned in 1855 amid internal struggles in Tucuman. He died in 1872.