To James Madison from Ignacio Álvarez Thomas, 26 May 1815 (Abstract)
From Ignacio Álvarez Thomas, 26 May 1815 (Abstract)
§ From Ignacio Álvarez Thomas.1 26 May 1815, Buenos Aires. Takes the opportunity offered by Brig. Gen. José Miguel Carrera’s journey to the United States to present to JM his respects and those of the provinces he commands. These have had the misfortune of being unable to strengthen their ties with their brothers to the north owing to the war between the United States and Great Britain, but the treaty of peace recently enacted has put an end to these inconveniences. Thinks it his duty to explain to JM the needs of these people, and the glory JM would earn for aiding them in their heroic enterprise by providing articles of war, for which Thomas’s government would pay punctually. Carrera will inform JM in person of the revolutionaries’ situation and the types of aid they most need, which Thomas confidently hopes will be provided through JM’s generosity.
RC (DNA: RG 59, NFL, Argentina). 2 pp.; in Spanish. Attached to the first page is the following summary in an unidentified hand: “Buenos Ayres. Genl. Alvarez, Prest. of, writes to the Prest. of the US, that Genl. José Miguel Carrera is about visiting the US. and hopes the US will furnish War materials to his country for which Genl Carrera will pay promptly, &c.”
1. Ignacio Álvarez Thomas (1787–1857) was born in Arequipa, Peru, and by the age of sixteen was an officer in the Fijo infantry regiment in Buenos Aires. Two years later he served as secretary to the viceroy, Sobremonte, accompanying him to Córdoba and later to Montevideo. He was wounded in the seige on that city and held prisoner there until the July 1814 capitulation, after which he returned to Buenos Aires, was promoted to captain, and became provisional governor of Santa Fe. Rising to the rank of general, he was named interim director of the provinces of the Río de la Plata, but was soon forced out of office. He served as chief of staff, 1819; as a deputy, 1821; and as a diplomat in Peru and in Chile, 1824 and 1826, after which he retired to private life (Julio A. Muzzio, Diccionario histórico y biográfico de la República Argentina [2 vols. in 1; Buenos Aires, 1920], s.v. “Alvarez Thomas [Ignacio]”).