Sebastián Calvo de la Puerta, 1st Marquess of Casa Calvo

Sebastián Calvo de la Puerta y O'Farrill, 1st Marquess of Casa Calvo, KOS (b. 1751/4, d. 1820) was a Spanish nobleman and soldier who served as Governor of Louisiana between 1799 and 1801.

Early life and career

He was born in Havana around 1751[1] or possibly 1754, according to different sources.[2] He was the son of Pedro Calva de la Puerta and Catalina de O'Farrill.[3] He pursued a military career from an early age, starting with enrollment as a cadet in the Company of Nobles in 1763.[1][2] He first came to Louisiana in 1769 as part of Alejandro O'Reilly's company, and served under Bernardo de Galvez in the Mobile campaign in 1780.[3] He received a title of nobility and knighthood in the Order of Santiago in 1786.[1]

While living in Havana, he married Louisa Peñelvar y Navarette (b. 1764), a native of Havana, in 1781.[4]

Governor of Spanish Louisiana

At the time of Governor Gayoso's death in 1799, Casa-Calvo was residing in Cuba, where he was serving as a judge advocate.[5] Casa-Calvo was appointed interim military governor until the arrival of Juan Manuel de Salcedo, whose arrival was delayed by ill health until 1801.[5] When Salcedo returned Louisiana to the French in 1803, Casa-Calvo was there to assist in the transition, making him the only one of the Spanish governors of Louisiana to have been present at both the beginning and end of Spanish rule.[2]

Later life

Tomb of Sebastián Calvo de la Puerta y O'Farrill in Père Lachaise Cemetery

Before Spain returned Louisiana to France, the latter had promised to keep the colony from falling into American hands, but in reality had already sold it to the United States. Casa-Calvo remained in Louisiana after the transition to American rule, ostensibly to help determine the western border with Texas.[5] However, the first American governor, William C. C. Claiborne, did not trust Casa-Calvo and ordered him to leave in 1806.[1][2][5] He departed for Pensacola, narrowly avoiding a shipwreck en route, and requested permission to lead a military expedition against Louisiana.[2][3] His request was denied, and he moved to Madrid. He was a fervent Bonapartist during the reign of Joseph Bonaparte; after the fall of the Bonapartists in Spain, he fled to Paris, where he remained until his death in 1820.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dawson III, Joseph G. "The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards" pp. 76–77
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 de Pedro, Marques de Casa Mena, Jose Montero "The Spanish in New Orleans and Louisiana" pp. 83–85
  3. 1 2 3 Texas State Historical Association "Casa Calvo, Marques de"
  4. ↑ Villena, Guillermo Lohmann "Los Americanos en las Ordenes Nobiliarias" pg. 467 (in Spanish)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Cowan, Walter Greaves, and McGuire, Jack B. "Louisiana Governors: Rulers, Rascals, and Reformers" pg. 52
Preceded by
Manuel Gayoso de Lemos
Nicolás María Vidal		 Spanish Governor of Louisiana
1799–1801		 Succeeded by
Juan Manuel de Salcedo
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