Bernardo de Gálvez Memorial

Bernardo de Gálvez was born into a noble family on July 23, 1746 in the small town of Macharaviya in the Spanish province of Málaga. He studied military science at the Academy of Ávila before experiencing his first taste of combat in 1762 at the age of sixteen when Spain invaded neighboring Portugal, an episode in the larger, global conflict that was the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). In subsequent years, Gálvez gained additional battlefield experience fighting the Apache in what is now Mexico and participating in Spain’s disastrous attempt to capture Algiers in 1775. This, combined with his family connections, led to several promotions. 

On New Year’s Day 1777, at the age of thirty, Gálvez became governor of Spanish Louisiana. A vast territory once controlled by France, it stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and north to about what is now the U.S.-Canada border. At the time, Great Britain was embroiled in a war with its North American colonies, which sought their independence. In an effort to weaken Great Britain, Spain’s long-time European rival, Gálvez facilitated the smuggling of essential supplies, such as arms, gunpowder, and medicine, to the American rebels via the Mississippi River. After making their way up the Mississippi River, these goods traveled on the Ohio River to what is now western Pennsylvania and eventually into the hands of the rebel forces.  

Two years after Gálvez became governor, Spain declared war on Great Britain and officially entered the conflict. With an army, Gálvez attacked British West Florida, capturing the outposts of Baton Rouge and Natchez. In 1780, he took Mobile and, the following year, Pensacola. As a result of his series of military victories, Gálvez not only recaptured the territory for Spain, but also aided the American cause by eliminating the British military threat south of the colonies and depriving the British of valuable resources that could have been put to use elsewhere. 

Following the war, Gálvez received several honors from his king and the newly established United States of America. George Washington and Congress officially acknowledged him for his service to the cause of American independence. In 1785, King Charles III of Spain appointed Gálvez viceroy of New Spain, a position previously occupied by his late father. Unfortunately for him, his tenure was brief. About a year later, on November 30, 1786, Gálvez died in Mexico City after contracting an illness. He was forty years old. 

Nearly two hundred years later, Spain gifted a sculpture of Gálvez to the United States to mark the latter’s bicentennial. Designed by Spanish artist Juan de Ávalos and perched atop a tall stone pedestal, the bronze equestrian statue depicts Gálvez dressed in full military garb, sitting confidently upright on his loyal steed. Scanning the horizon, he holds his tri-corner hat at his side with his right hand and firmly grasps the reigns with his left. While on an official state visit to the United States, King Juan Carlos I of Spain dedicated the memorial on July 3, 1976, a day after addressing a joint session of Congress. 

"Bernardo de Galvez." battlefields.org. American Battlefield Trust. Web. 15 April 2021 <https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/bernardo-de-galvez>.

"Bernardo de Gálvez Memorial." NPS.gov. U.S. Department of the Interior. 27 October 2020. Web. 15 April 2021 <https://www.nps.gov/places/000/bernardo-de-galvez-memorial.htm>.

Trickey, Erick. "The Little-Remembered Ally Who Helped America Win the Revolution." smithsonianmag.com. Smithsonian Magazine. 13 January 2017. Web. 15 April 2021 <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/little-remembered-ally-who-helped-america-win-revolution-180961782/>.