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Blas de Lezo
Admiral Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta (3 February 1689 – 7 September 1741) was a Spanish Navy officer best known for his victory at the 1741 Battle of Cartagena de Indias, where forces under his command defeated a large British invasion force under Admiral Edward Vernon.
Throughout his naval career, Lezo sustained many severe wounds; he lost his left eye, complete mobility of the right arm, and had his left leg amputated in situ after being hit by the projectile of a cannon. He perceived his wounds and physical limitations as medals, refusing to wear an eye patch to hide his blind eye. Wearing his past battles history on his flesh won the respect of his peers and soldiers. Lezo used to say that the lack of a leg does not imply the lack of a brave heart. It is said that he sometimes recalled famous Dutch admiral Cornelis Jol, called "pegleg" because of his wooden prosthesis, as an example of a sailor who undertook great enterprises and achieved great renown, especially in piracy and privateering, despite his theoretical disability.
Lezo's defense of Cartagena de Indias against Vernon's vastly larger force consolidated his legacy as one of the most prominent military commanders in the history of Spain. He is often recognized as one of Spain's finest naval officers.
Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta, son of Pedro de Lezo y Urrecho, and Agustina de Olavarrieta y Arnaowas born on 3 February 1689 in Pasajes de San Pedro (then a district of San Sebastián, now part of Pasajes in the Basque Province of Gipuzkoa, Spain), a coastal town deeply tied to maritime trade and seafaring. He was baptized on 9 February 1689 in the Church of San Pedro Mártir. Both his parents were from minor nobility with a maritime tradition. Blas was the third of eight children, many of whom did not survive infancy.
Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta attended school in France and commenced his naval career in the Franco-Spanish fleets, then united by the Bourbon alliance of the War of Spanish Succession, in 1701 as a midshipman. In 1704, he fought in the War of the Spanish Succession as a crew member in the Franco-Spanish fleet against the combined forces of Great Britain and the Netherlands at the indecisive Battle of Vélez-Málaga. During the battle, his left leg was hit by cannon-shot and was amputated under the knee. Promoted to ensign, de Lezo was present at the relief of Peñíscola, Spain, and Palermo in Sicily; his service in these and other actions resulted in his promotion to ship lieutenant. Participating in the 1707 defence of the French naval base of Toulon cost him his left eye. In 1711 he served in the Spanish Navy under the orders of Andrés de Pez. In 1713 he was promoted to captain. In 1714 he lost use of his right arm in the Siege of Barcelona. Later in this campaign, his ship captured the Stanhope commanded by John Combes, sometimes claimed to be a 70-gun but actually just a 20-gun merchantman.
Thus, by age 25, depending on the sources, de Lezo had lost his left eye, his left leg below the knee, and the use of his right arm. Modern sources often focus on these salient features and refer to de Lezo with nicknames such as "Patapalo" (Pegleg) and "Mediohombre" (Half-man). There is no contemporary proof that these (or others) were actually used during de Lezo's lifetime.
De Lezo served in the Pacific in 1720–1728. Although it has been claimed that he took many prizes during this period, documentary evidence indicates that he captured just two French frigates and not in the Pacific but in the Atlantic. He reached Callao in the Viceroyalty of Peru with them in January 1720, although he had left Spain in 1716 as second-in-command of the Nuestra Señora del Carmen or Lanfranco as part of the expedition commanded by Juan Nicolás de Martinet (he separated from the expedition while sailing past Cape Horn). The prizes attributed to de Lezo were actually taken by Martinet, who reached Callao in June 1717 and left the Pacific in 1719 before de Lezo's arrival. de Lezo married in Peru in 1725.
In 1730 he returned to Spain and was promoted to chief of the Mediterranean Fleet; with this force he went to the Republic of Genoa to enforce the payment of two million pesos owed to Spain that had been retained in the Bank of San Jorge. Deeming the honor of the Spanish flag to be at stake, de Lezo threatened the city with bombardment.
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Blas de Lezo
Admiral Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta (3 February 1689 – 7 September 1741) was a Spanish Navy officer best known for his victory at the 1741 Battle of Cartagena de Indias, where forces under his command defeated a large British invasion force under Admiral Edward Vernon.
Throughout his naval career, Lezo sustained many severe wounds; he lost his left eye, complete mobility of the right arm, and had his left leg amputated in situ after being hit by the projectile of a cannon. He perceived his wounds and physical limitations as medals, refusing to wear an eye patch to hide his blind eye. Wearing his past battles history on his flesh won the respect of his peers and soldiers. Lezo used to say that the lack of a leg does not imply the lack of a brave heart. It is said that he sometimes recalled famous Dutch admiral Cornelis Jol, called "pegleg" because of his wooden prosthesis, as an example of a sailor who undertook great enterprises and achieved great renown, especially in piracy and privateering, despite his theoretical disability.
Lezo's defense of Cartagena de Indias against Vernon's vastly larger force consolidated his legacy as one of the most prominent military commanders in the history of Spain. He is often recognized as one of Spain's finest naval officers.
Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta, son of Pedro de Lezo y Urrecho, and Agustina de Olavarrieta y Arnaowas born on 3 February 1689 in Pasajes de San Pedro (then a district of San Sebastián, now part of Pasajes in the Basque Province of Gipuzkoa, Spain), a coastal town deeply tied to maritime trade and seafaring. He was baptized on 9 February 1689 in the Church of San Pedro Mártir. Both his parents were from minor nobility with a maritime tradition. Blas was the third of eight children, many of whom did not survive infancy.
Blas de Lezo y Olavarrieta attended school in France and commenced his naval career in the Franco-Spanish fleets, then united by the Bourbon alliance of the War of Spanish Succession, in 1701 as a midshipman. In 1704, he fought in the War of the Spanish Succession as a crew member in the Franco-Spanish fleet against the combined forces of Great Britain and the Netherlands at the indecisive Battle of Vélez-Málaga. During the battle, his left leg was hit by cannon-shot and was amputated under the knee. Promoted to ensign, de Lezo was present at the relief of Peñíscola, Spain, and Palermo in Sicily; his service in these and other actions resulted in his promotion to ship lieutenant. Participating in the 1707 defence of the French naval base of Toulon cost him his left eye. In 1711 he served in the Spanish Navy under the orders of Andrés de Pez. In 1713 he was promoted to captain. In 1714 he lost use of his right arm in the Siege of Barcelona. Later in this campaign, his ship captured the Stanhope commanded by John Combes, sometimes claimed to be a 70-gun but actually just a 20-gun merchantman.
Thus, by age 25, depending on the sources, de Lezo had lost his left eye, his left leg below the knee, and the use of his right arm. Modern sources often focus on these salient features and refer to de Lezo with nicknames such as "Patapalo" (Pegleg) and "Mediohombre" (Half-man). There is no contemporary proof that these (or others) were actually used during de Lezo's lifetime.
De Lezo served in the Pacific in 1720–1728. Although it has been claimed that he took many prizes during this period, documentary evidence indicates that he captured just two French frigates and not in the Pacific but in the Atlantic. He reached Callao in the Viceroyalty of Peru with them in January 1720, although he had left Spain in 1716 as second-in-command of the Nuestra Señora del Carmen or Lanfranco as part of the expedition commanded by Juan Nicolás de Martinet (he separated from the expedition while sailing past Cape Horn). The prizes attributed to de Lezo were actually taken by Martinet, who reached Callao in June 1717 and left the Pacific in 1719 before de Lezo's arrival. de Lezo married in Peru in 1725.
In 1730 he returned to Spain and was promoted to chief of the Mediterranean Fleet; with this force he went to the Republic of Genoa to enforce the payment of two million pesos owed to Spain that had been retained in the Bank of San Jorge. Deeming the honor of the Spanish flag to be at stake, de Lezo threatened the city with bombardment.
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