Antonio Beruti
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Antonio Luís Beruti (Buenos Aires, 1772-1841) was an Argentine revolutionary who participated in the May Revolution that started the Argentine War of Independence.
In the Cabildo Abierto of May 22, 1810 he voted for the deposition of the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros and was the most fervent opposer to a Junta presided over by him. He was quoted as saying: "A Junta presided by Cisneros is the same as Cisneros' viceroy". In addition, Beruti proposed the list of politicians that was triumphant on the May 25 election and became the first government of Argentina known as the First Junta presided over by Cornelio Saavedra. During the revolution he was a well known agitator and distinguished himself by giving white and blue ribbons to the people together with his friend Domingo French.
A month later Beruti was named lieutenant colonel of the America Regiment, created by the Junta, and organized by himself and Domingo French. A partisan of Mariano Moreno, Beruti continued being faithful to his ideals after the death of the Junta's Secretary. For that reason he participated in the meetings at Marcos Café, where the opposition to the saavedrista faction in the government was increasing. A revolution was organized on 5 and 6 of April 1811, directed indeed by this faction to remove their opponents from the governmental rows. Together with some members of the Junta like Azcuénaga, Hipólito Vieytes and Nicolás Rodriguez Peña who had to resign their positions and leave Buenos Aires, Beruti was also moved away like the most active members of the Patriotic Society: French, Donado and Posadas, among other places to Chile.
Beruti then participated in the Chile campaign alongside General José de San Martín in early 1817 and fought in the Battle of Chacabuco. His wife, Doña Mercedes Ortíz, was one of the ladies who, in 1816, along with Doña Remedios de Escalada de San Martín, had donated their jewels for the liberation campaign. On March 13, 1817, Bernardo O'Higgins, by order of San Martin, asked Beruti to return to the city of Mendoza and arranged his passport with governor Luzuriaga. He was able to return to Buenos Aires on November 17. Following that, he participated in the Unitarian Party and got involved in the civil war against the Federalists.
Antonio Beruti died in the Battle of Rodeo del Medio (during the civil war) in 1841. The place where he was buried was not to be marked and it was not possible to identify his body, that was thus lost forever.
