Mariano %C3%81lvarez de Castro

Brigadier Mariano Jos Manuel Bernardo lvarez Bermdez de Castro y Lpez Aparicio was a Spanish military officer, and the military governor of Girona during the siege by the French during the War of Spanish Independence.

lvarez was born in Granada. He joined the army in 1768 , and studied at the Military Academy of Barcelona, graduating in 1775. He gained steady promotions, saw action in the siege of siege of Gibraltar in 1783, and by 1793 was a Colonel of Infantry. During the War of the Pyrenees against France he took part in many notable actions, was wounded, and spent 75 days under fire at the siege of Collioure. As a result he was promoted to Brigadier.

Source: Wikipedia