Gregorio García de la Cuesta

Gregorio García de la Cuesta y Fernández de Celis (9 May 1741 – 25 November 1811) was a Spanish army officer and commander of Spain's forces at the beginning of the Peninsular War.

According to historian Charles Oman (1902):

Throughout the two years during which he held high command in the field, Gregorio de la Cuesta consistently displayed an arrogance and an incapacity far exceeding that of any other Spanish general.

Early military career Cuesta entered military service in 1758 as a cadet in the Toledo Infantry Regiment and was sent to Oran in June of that year, where he was stationed for the following four years. While there, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant of the Granada Infantry Regiment in 1762.

In March 1795, Cuesta was appointed governor of Girona. His corps of 7,000–9,000 troops captured 1,500 French soldiers at Puigcerdà on 26 July. The following day, he took the town of Bellver with its 1,000-man garrison. Both actions took place after the Peace of Basel had been signed on 22 July 1795, though Cuesta was unaware of this at the time.

Interim years With the war concluded, Cuesta returned to his post as governor of Girona. In September 1795, he was promoted to lieutenant general. the Central Junta convened in Madrid to decide on a unified military command structure. Cuesta demanded appointment as Commander-in-Chief, Cuesta left the meeting. Shortly afterwards, he ordered the arrest of Antonio Valdés, president of the Junta Suprema of Galicia, and Joaquín Flórez-Osorio, president of the Junta Suprema of León, imprisoning them in the Alcázar of Segovia.

In response, the Central Junta, under the presidency of the Count of Floridablanca, relieved Cuesta of his command and had him arrested. His command was given to Juan Pignatelli. Following Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Somosierra in November 1808 and the fall of Madrid in December, popular demand in Extremadura pressed for Cuesta's reinstatement. Floridablanca reappointed him captain general of Extremadura at the end of the month. Cuesta pursued an offensive strategy as soon as he had raised a force, achieving some early successes, but was decisively defeated at the Battle of Medellín in March 1809, where he lost half his army and was wounded.

In June 1809, Cuesta was appointed captain general of New Castile. He subsequently joined forces with a British Army contingent under Arthur Wellesley. Relations between Cuesta and his British allies were strained, though they fought together at the Battle of Talavera on 28 July 1809, a coalition victory for which Wellesley was elevated to Viscount Wellington. Cuesta, for his part, was awarded the Grand Cross of Carlos III by the Central Junta.

Despite this success, Cuesta resigned his command in December 1809. Shortly thereafter, he suffered a stroke in Badajoz and was evacuated for medical treatment to Seville, Málaga, and later Mallorca as French forces advanced. He arrived in Palma in May 1810 and, in January 1811, assumed the captaincy general of the Balearic Islands and the presidency of the Real Audiencia. During this time, he clashed with Samuel Whittingham, a British cavalry officer who had served alongside him at Medellín and Talavera, as well as with Bernardo Nadal, Bishop of Mallorca, who submitted reports requesting Cuesta's dismissal.

While in Mallorca, Cuesta published a manifesto defending his actions during the Peninsular War.

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