Teodoro de Argumosa y Bourke

Notes on Officer

Google Translation of the Spanish language original.

Argumosa and Bourke, Teodoro. Guadalajara, 26.III.1760 – Santander (Cantabria), 24.VI.1818. Military and marine.

From a family of Santander and Irish origin, he began to serve in the Army, where he reached the rank of captain of the Infantry on May 9, 1776.

On January 1, 1777, he passed to the Navy's war officer corps with the job of lieutenant in the Battalion service in the department of Ferrol. On April 25 he embarked on the ship Magnanimo; he left for Havana and was added to the forces stationed in that post. When war was declared on Great Britain, he crossed the Antilles and when Lieutenant General José Solano entered Havana with his squadron in August 1780, the Magnanimous joined this force. Argumosa participated in the siege and seizure of the Panzacola plaza (April-May 1781) and returned to Havana. On December 11, his ship captured the English corsair frigate Hero.When a British squadron appeared in front of Havana in 1782, Argumosa had command of a battery in the Morro castle and performed the duties of sergeant major of a Marine battalion that was formed in the post for that reason. He traveled to Guarico and Puerto Rico with Solano's ships during the Antilles campaign that sought the recovery of Jamaica together with a French squadron.

Once peace was signed, he returned to Cádiz, successively passing to the ships Velasco and Triunfante (August and September 1783) and promoted to frigate captain in October.

He embarked on the ship Rayo on February 23, 1784, the insignia of General Barceló's squadron destined for the second expedition against Algiers. Argumosa intervened in the eight attacks on the plaza in July and anchored in Cartagena on the 27th. El Rayo, flagship of a division of smaller ships, crossed the Mediterranean and transported troops to Mazalquivir and Mahón (August 1784 to March 1785).

From March 28 to October 1, 1787, he embarked on the frigate Nuestra Señora de Loreto, which, under the orders of Vicente Tofiño, mapped the northern coasts of Spain using the ports of Santander, Vigo and La Coruña as a base of operations; at the end she returned to Cádiz. On February 15, 1788, aboard the Castilla ship , she traveled to Havana; In this post, she successively passed through the ships San Pedro de Alcántara, Real Carlos, again the San Pedro de Alcántara and the frigate Venus . As of May 20, 1788, he was attached to the Havana engineers. On June 7, 1789, he embarked on the frigate Santa Paula;in it he traveled to Ferrol and upon arrival ceased in this destination on August 4 of the same year. On the following September 24, he took charge of the second headquarters of the arsenal.

The execution of Louis XVI provoked the declaration of war on March 23, 1793 to the Convention of France. Argumosa had been assigned to the ship Reina Luisa on the previous March 4; He left Ferrol with him on May 5, 1793 and entered Cádiz on the 12th, from where he left again for Cartagena to join the squadron of Lieutenant General Francisco de Borja.

From there he went to sea in mid-May and took part in the Sardinia and Cape Creus campaign.

Returning from the Mediterranean, the Reina Luisa arrived in Cádiz, from whose bay it returned to levy on July 6, 1793. Attached to the squadron of Lieutenant General Juan de Lángara, it headed again for the Mediterranean and on August 27, 1793, to At the request of British Admiral Hood, he entered Toulon, immediately occupying the city, forts and arsenal, whose garrisons had risen up against the Paris authorities and sought the restoration of the Monarchy.

Argumosa had command of the troops of the squadron assigned to the relief of Balaguer on November 15, and returned to Toulon. Besieged by the Republicans, this port held out until December 18 of the same year, the day it was evacuated by both squads. He attended the re-embarkation of the Army troops under the command of a piece of sailors from the Spanish squadron.

The ship Reina Luisa returned to Cartagena on the 31st of the same month. Argumosa promoted there to captain of the ship on January 16, 1794; there he disembarked on February 1 to move on the following day 18 to the Mexican ship, from the squadron of Francisco Melgarejo. In it he went to sea towards Rosas and from here he went to cross over Collioure in custody of three ships placed under the command of Domingo de Grandallana to support the army on the French border. As of March 18, he found himself in the operations of Rosas, Santa Margarita and Hières Islands and returned to Cádiz. Argumosa transferred to the ship Purísima Concepción on July 12, 1795. After a stay in Mahón he went to Cartagena, where he had the interim command of the ship Ángel de la Guardafrom August 18 to September 20 and returned to Concepción .

On October 15, 1795, he took charge of the command of the ship San Isidro in Cartagena. In possession of the ship San Francisco de Paula, he traveled to Barcelona twice to take army supplies to Cádiz. At war with Great Britain, he went to sea on January 31, 1797 as part of the squadron of Lieutenant General José de Córdova, whose mission was to protect a convoy on its way from Cartagena to Cádiz. Once the objective was accomplished, the formation headed towards Cape San Vicente, where it dawned on February 14, 1797 with low visibility and disorder. Córdova's squadron fought there with the British squadron of Admiral Jervis; the San IsidroHe was one of the most committed to action. The ship suffered many casualties and damages, which forced the surrender. Argumosa was wounded and remained a prisoner of war, being later exchanged.

On October 20, 1798, he was appointed commander of the La Carraca arsenal. By order of December 18, 1802, he took charge of the ships Neptuno and Príncipe de Asturias, both disarmed in Ferrol. On September 20, 1803, he took command of the department's defense gunboats, and the following October 25, he was appointed commander of the Monarch ship assigned to the squadron that was in the harbor basin.

Given the worsening of relations between Spain and Great Britain, on November 13 of the same year the Government ordered its complete armament to add it to the squadron that was enlisting in Ferrol; On January 24, 1805, it left the arsenal once enabled.

After leaving this port on August 10 together with the rest of Gravina's ships, he joined the combined squadron of Vice Admiral Villeneuve that set sail on August 13 and entered Cádiz on August 20.

On October 20, he went to sea added to the same squadron. The following day he bizarrely participated in the Trafalgar combat held with the British of Vice Admiral Nelson. Argumosa would be wounded, he surrendered his ship and on the 27th he landed in Gibraltar.

Upon returning to the department of Cádiz, he was promoted to brigadier on November 9, but remained a prisoner of war on parole. In November 1807 he was given the second command of the Ferrol arsenal. In June 1808 he was appointed interim governor of the same departmental capital, in whose post he ceased on February 24, 1810. The following September 16 he would be appointed interim military commander of the province of Santander. He died in the same city on June 24, 1818.