Sixto Casanovas (1802 – August 1852) was an Argentine military officer and politician who briefly served as the provisional governor of Córdoba Province in 1835. His career spanned the Argentine War of Independence, the subsequent civil wars, and the conflicts that shaped early Argentine nationhood.
Early Life and Military Beginnings
- Born in 1802 in the province of Salta, then part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.
- In 1816, at the age of fourteen, he enlisted in the Army of the North, joining a dragoon regiment that fought royalist forces during the Argentine War of Independence.
Captivity and Continued Service
- Casanovas was captured by royalist troops and imprisoned at the Callao prison near Lima, Peru.
- He was liberated in 1821 during negotiations led by Viceroy Joaquín de la Pezuela, after which he joined General José de San Martín’s Army of the Andes.
- He fought in the battles of Torata and Moquegua, where he was wounded and taken prisoner again, subsequently being detained on Chicuito Island in Lake Titicaca until the royalist surrender at the Battle of Ayacucho.
Return to Argentina and Rise through the Ranks
- After returning to Buenos Aires in 1824, Casanovas was appointed an officer in a dragoon regiment.
- He participated in the 1825 campaign against Brazil (the Cisplatine War), distinguishing himself at the Battle of Ituzaingó under Colonel José María Paz, which earned him a promotion to colonel.
Involvement in the Argentine Civil Wars
- Casanovas supported Juan Lavalle’s Unitarian revolt in December 1828, later moving to Córdoba Province on orders from General Paz.
- He fought in several key engagements, including the Battles of San Roque, La Tablada, and Oncativo, and helped suppress federalist rebellions in the Córdoba hills.
- Following the capture of Paz in 1831, Casanovas remained in Córdoba as part of the interim governor’s guard. He later aligned with the Reynafé brothers, who governed Córdoba, and was appointed commander of a dragoon regiment.
Provisional Governorship of Córdoba (1835)
- After the assassination of caudillo Facundo Quiroga in 1835, the federalist Reynafé brothers were deposed. With no immediate successor, Casanovas was elected provisional governor of Córdoba.
- His appointment was not recognized by neighboring federalist governors (Pascual Echagüe, Estanislao López, and Juan Manuel de Rosas), leading to political isolation.
- After ten days in office, he resigned under pressure. During his brief tenure, he captured Santos Pérez, the assassin of Quiroga, but subsequently released him; Pérez was later recaptured and executed.
Later Military and Political Activities
- Casanovas continued to serve the federalist cause, supporting caudillo Manuel Quebracho López’s repressions in Córdoba.
- In 1839 he was appointed military commander of the northern departments of the province.
- In August 1840, amid Lavalle’s retreat, Casanovas rebelled against the incumbent Córdoba governor but was defeated at Río Seco and fled to Tucumán. He later fought in the Battle of Quebracho Herrado and the Battle of Famaillá, after which he went into exile in Bolivia, Chile, and Montevideo.
Final Years and Death
- Returning to Buenos Aires, Casanovas aligned himself with General Justo José de Urquiza, though it is unclear whether he participated in the Battle of Caseros (1852).
- He remained a target of the Unitarian Party, which viewed him as responsible for the 1841 treason of the federalists.
- In August 1852, Casanovas was assassinated in a Buenos Aires street by a Unitarian partisan.
Legacy
Sixto Casanovas is remembered as a representative figure of the turbulent early Argentine Republic, embodying the shifting allegiances between federalist and Unitarian forces. His military service across multiple wars and his brief political leadership illustrate the complexities of Argentine nation‑building in the first half of the 19th century.