Antonio González de Balcarce
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Antonio González de Balcarce (June 24, 1774 - August 15, 1819) was an Argentine military commander in the early 19th century.
González de Balcarce was born in Buenos Aires. He joined the armed forces as a cadet in 1788. In the battle for Montevideo in 1807, he was captured by the British forces and taken to England. After his release, he fought in Spanish service in the Napoleonic Wars. After his return to Buenos Aires, he participated in the May Revolution in 1810. Subsequently, he was named second commander for the military campaign of the independentist forces in the Viceroyalty of Perú, where he won the battle of Suipacha on November 7, 1810, the first victory over the Spanish royal forces.
Eventually, he was called back and became the governor of Buenos Aires in 1813. In 1816, he served as the Supreme Director of the country ad interim, and became the Major General of the armed forces the following year under the government of Pueyrredón. According to William Denslow (10000 Famous Freemasons, Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Richmond, Virginia, 1957), Antonio Balcarce was a member of the well-known masonic lodge Lautaro.
He died of ill health in Buenos Aires in 1819.
