Hilario Rivas Reynolds

Hilario Remigio Rivas Reynolds (19 April 1799 – 29 November 1888) was a Bolivian military officer and Commander of the Bolivian Army during the presidency of José María Pérez de Urdininea. He was a loyal supporter of Andrés de Santa Cruz and would be one of the only military officers not to desert him before the Battle of Yungay.

Early life Rivas was the son of Antonio Miguel Rivas Portillo and Juana Manuela Reynolds Carter. At a young age, his parents arranged his marriage to the member of a prominent Upper Peruvian family, Eloísa Cifuentes Godoy. The marriage was unhappy and they had no children.

In Bolivar's Army

He was able to enlist in Bolívar's army and participated in the battles of Pichincha, Junín, and Ayacucho. Because of his courage, he was promoted to the rank of colonel by Bolívar himself after Ayacucho.

Now in the service of the nascent Bolivian nation, Rivas was a staunch supporter of Bolívar and Sucre. Urdininea was only a temporary replacement for Sucre and was soon replaced by José Miguel de Velasco, who failed to convince the national congress to elect him president. Therefore, Andrés de Santa Cruz was chosen in his stead.

Santa Cruz's presidency (1829–1839)

Rivas would serve Santa Cruz loyally. However, Santa Cruz did not trust him and reduced his position and powers by isolating him and rarely involving him in plans of state. Regardless, Rivas fought valiantly and loyally by his side in the battles of Socabaya, Yanacocha, and Yungay. Eloísa would die in 1848. It was there he met his second wife, Antígona Cisneros Guerra. They were married in 1849 and would have one son. In 1857, with the overthrow of Jorge Córdova by José María Linares, Rivas was exiled to Peru.

But Morales was shot dead in 1872 by his nephew and aide-de-camp, supposedly out of self defence. The new president, Tomás Frías would give Rivas the position of governor of La Paz. This would last until Hilarión Daza's coup in 1877 that deposed Frías’ civilian regime.

Under Daza, Bolivia would go to war with Chile in the infamous War of the Pacific. His son would enlist as an officer in the Bolivian Army and was killed in the Battle of Tacna, on May 26, 1880.

Family Rivas was married twice. First with Eloísa Cifuentes Godoy, with whom he had no children. The two would become estranged and eventually she would die in 1848. The marriage is said to have been an unhappy one. Second, Rivas married Antígona Cisneros Guerra in 1849, they had a son: Narciso Rivas Cisneros (15 April 1850 - 26 May 1880).