People

Duke of Caxias

The imperial general who besieged Humaitá and entered Asunción.

Name: Luís Alves de Lima e Silva
Life: 25 August 1803, present-day Duque de Caxias (Rio de Janeiro); 7 May 1880
In the war: Commander of the imperial forces from November 1866; allied commander from January 1868
Titles: Baron (1841), count (1845), marquis (1852) and duke (1869), the only duke created by Pedro II
Today: Patron of the Brazilian Army

He was the most prestigious general of the Empire of Brazil. Appointed after Curupayty, he reached the front on 18 November 1866 and reorganized the imperial army. He directed the siege of Humaitá and, in December 1868, the march through the Chaco that outflanked the Pikysyry line; at Ytororó he personally led the final assault, at the age of 65. In January 1869 he entered Asunción, declared the war over and returned to Rio de Janeiro, ill and without the emperor’s permission.

‡ Disputed.Allied command: Caxias held command in practice between February and July 1867, while Mitre was in Argentina, and permanently from January 1868. The phrase “Follow me, all who are Brazilians”, at Ytororó, is Brazilian military tradition.

Sources: “Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias” and “Siege of Humaitá”, English Wikipedia; Revista do Exército Brasileiro, the Pikysyry maneuver; “Morrer em silêncio”, Temporalidades (UFMG).

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