Francisco Javier Abadía y Aragorri

Francisco Javier Abadía y Aragorri (1770–1836) was a Spanish lieutenant general and, briefly, minister of war.

Early career

Abadía enlisted as a cadet in the Toledo Infantry Regiment and was garrisoned at Ceuta and Melilla.

In 1793, during the War of the Pyrenees, he saw action as a sub-lieutenant at Toulon and promoted to second lieutenant for his bravery in action. He saw further action at Balaguer, at the strategic bridge at Molins de Rei and at Sant Llorenç de la Muga.

That August, 30,000 French troops under Jean-Marie Dorsenne, set on expelling the Spanish forces from region of Astorga, attacked Abadía's outposts. Fortunately for his army, Abadía, heeding the advice of his predecessor, Santocildes, had already taken to the hills and his divisions only suffered serious defeats at the mountain passes of Manzanal (under General Federico Castañón) and Fuencebadon (under Conde de Belvedere).

And although Abadía had started the June campaign with some 15,000 men present under arms, his army had now been reduced to, at most, 10,000 men.

1812 In June 1812, while still commander-in-chief of the army of Galicia, Abadía was appointed minister of War, although he later resigned both posts for health reasons. Once recovered, in November, he was transferred to the Army of the Reserve being created at El Puerto de Santa María, and the following month accepted the command of its 1st Division.

1813 In February 1813 he was commissioned to organise the corps to be sent overseas and later that year he was appointed chief inspector of these corps stationed at Isla de León. He was then tasked with setting up a military academy and an arsenal in Granada. However, his health again led him to resign his post and request permission to concentrate on recovering fully.

1814 Unable to return to service until October 1814, he was then given command of the newly created General Inspection of Veteran Troops and Infantry and Cavalry Militias of America, based in Madrid

Post-war career In 1815 he was promoted to lieutenant general and awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. Towards the end of the year, he was transferred to Cádiz.

In August 1816 he was arrested by General Álvarez Campana, and imprisoned in the Cartuja de Jerez, before being transferred to the Alhambra at Granada and from there to Valencia, where he was imprisoned for some six months in the Monastery of San Miguel de los Reyes. He then spent two years confined to barracks at Peñíscola, and later moved to Benicarló and Alicante, without ever being interrogated or being informed of any charges against him.

Whilst confined to barracks at Alicante in 1819 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit, the highest honour for distinguished service awarded to officers.

With the advent of a new political regime, in 1820 he was allowed to travel to Málaga, where he spent much time visiting spas to recover his health as well as trying to recover all the documentation that had been confiscated from him when he was arrested.

That December, he was appointed interim military governor of Málaga.

In April 1821 he resigned his post and was appointed political head of the province of Murcia. While at Murcia, he was denounced by a deputy for his opposition to the Government, for which the Supreme Court of Spain, following a request from Parliament, initiated proceedings against him.

In August 1823 he was taken prisoner by the Milicia Nacional who had an order signed by General Riego to deport Abadía to Tangier. However, during the voyage another boat rescued Abadía and brought him back to Spain. That October Abadía was appointed commander-in-chief of Campo de Gibraltar, and the following December, captain general of Granada.

In January 1824 Fernando VII gave Abadía permission to return to Málaga.

In January 1832 he was called to Madrid and commissioned with studying the situation of the convicts of the Kingdom.

In August 1833 he presented his resignation as captain general of Granada for health reasons. However, on detecting an outbreak of cholera in Huelva that same month, he stayed on to prevent the epidemic spreading further. The following November he was able to resign and was appointed member of the Supreme Council of War and the Navy.

In April 1834 he was appointed member of the War commission of the Royal Council of Spain and the Indies, although he resigned the following October and took up residence at the barracks at Granada.