Alejandro O'Reilly

The Count of O'Reilly
Portrait of Alejandro O'Reilly, Francisco José de Goya
Portrait by Francisco Goya
3rd Spanish Governor of Louisiana
In office
April 1769 – December 1769
MonarchCharles III
Preceded byCharles Philippe Aubry Acting
Succeeded byLuis de Unzaga
Personal details
Born
Alexander O'Reilly

(1723-10-24)October 24, 1723
Baltrasna, County Meath, Ireland
DiedMarch 23, 1794(1794-03-23) (aged 70–71)
Cádiz, Spain
Resting placeBonete, Spain
SpouseRosa de Las Casas
NicknameBloody O'Reilly
Military service
AllegianceSpain Kingdom of Spain
Branch/serviceSpanish Army
RankMarshal of Spain
Battles/warsWar of the Austrian Succession
Seven Years' War
Louisiana Rebellion
Invasion of Algiers
French Revolutionary Wars

Alejandro O'Reilly, 1st Count of O'Reilly, KOA (Spanish pronunciation: [aleˈxandɾo oˈrejli]; October 24, 1723 in Baltrasna, County Meath, Ireland – March 23, 1794 in Bonete, Spain),[1] English: Alexander, Count of O'Reilly, Irish: Alastar Ó Raghallaigh, was an Irish-born military reformer and Inspector-General of Infantry for the Spanish Empire in the second half of the 18th century. O'Reilly served as the second Spanish governor of colonial Louisiana, and is the first Spanish official to exercise power in the Louisiana territory after France ceded it to Spain following defeat by Great Britain in the Seven Years' War. For his much appreciated services to the Crown of Spain, O'Reilly was ennobled as a conde de O'Reilly (Count of O'Reilly), and granted a coat of arms. He fell out of favour after his calamitous failed attempt at the Invasion of Algiers.

  1. ^ Montero de Pedro, José, Marqués de Casa Mena (2000). The Spanish in New Orleans and Louisiana. Translated by Chandler, Richard E. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Co. Inc. ISBN 1-56554-685-7 – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)