Hilário Maximiniano Antunes Gurjão

Hilário Maximiniano Antunes Gurjão (21 February 1820 – 17 January 1869) was a Brazilian military officer who is considered a hero of the Paraguayan War. He is known as the first general born in the state of Pará and participated in the battles of Tuyutí and Ytororó, dying of wounds in the latter battle.

Origin Hilário was born on 21 February 1820 in Belém, as the son of Major Hilário Pedro Gurjão and Dorothéa de Andrade Gurjão. His paternal grandfather was General Francisco Pedro de Mendonça Gorjão, who was the 18th Governor of the State of Grão-Pará.

Cabanagem and Education At the age of 14, he already accompanied his father alongside the loyalists, participating in the Cabanagem in 1834. At the age of 16, he was aboard the schooner Bela Maria during the blockade made on 13 May 1836, against the cabanos commanded by Eduardo Angelim, who fled to the municipality of Acará and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in the same year. On 28 February 1839, he was assigned to command the troops based in the fortress of São José in Macapá. On 2 December of that same year, he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. He returned to Belém, where he attended the School of Artillery and in 1841, was promoted to Captain at just 21 years old. Traveling to Rio de Janeiro, he enrolled in the , graduating with a BA in Mathematics and specializing in artillery courses.

Paraguayan War He held various military posts in Pará and Amazonas with the mission of fortifying the Amazon. In 1857, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, when he inspected the fortresses of Macapá, Gurupá and Óbidos. Returning to Rio de Janeiro, he took command of the 3rd Artillery Battalion, where he received the decoration of Knight of the Order of Christ and the Order of Aviz and given command of the 1st Infantry Battalion. In 1865, he distinguished himself in the Paraguayan War with the rank of Colonel as he went to participate in the Battle of Itapirú and the Battle of Tuyutí, commanding the 17th Artillery Brigade during the latter. The urn was taken by the Count of Eu, the Minister of War Marquis of Muritiba and by several Generals. Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil accompanied the procession on foot to the navy arsenal.

During the 77th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Castello and the birthday of General Gurjão, the Northern Military Command celebrated the anniversaries and visited the monument.