León de Pallejas

José Pons de Ojeda (1816 – July 18, 1866), later known as León de Palleja, was a Uruguayan general of Spanish origin who participated in the First Carlist War, the Argentine Civil Wars and the Paraguayan War.

Biography Pallejas was born as the son of Manuel Pons de Palleja who was a surgeon in the Spanish Army and María de los Reyes de Ojeda. When the Carlists were defeated, he changed his name and fled to France, from where he emigrated to Uruguay .

He worked as a merchant in Paysandú, but when Manuel Oribe returned to Uruguay in 1842, after the Battle of Arroyo Grande, he accompanied the withdrawal of Fructuoso Rivera's supporters to Montevideo, and joined the Colorado Party.

Curiously, he served a year as a private and only later did he present himself to General José María Paz, identifying himself as a career officer. In the defense against the Great Siege of Montevideo, he began to show his qualities, recognized by his own and enemies: courage, ability to command and cruelty.

In the Battle of Boquerón he repeated his exploits, but was killed during the battle. A photo of him from a few days before that battle is preserved, and of his soldiers moving his body, both obtained by the photographers . He was promoted post mortem to the rank of general.