Hi all,
Several years ago I wrote an article for The Double Tressure about the arms of Bernardo de Gálvez, a famous eighteenth-century governor of Spanish colonial Louisiana. Since that time I have stumbled upon some additional information about his coat of arms that I find very interesting. I don’t think it is enough to fill a second article, but it probably merits at least an internet posting.
I based most of my article on the 1783 patent creating Gálvez a Spanish count that survives in the collection of the University of Virginia’s McGregor Library. It conveniently contains a painting of his arms along with the corresponding blazon. The arms as given in the patent are: quarterly, 1st Madrid, 2nd Marques, 3rd Cabrera, 4th an augmentation of honour (granted November 12, 1781), on a point in base another augmentation of honour (granted May 20, 1783) over all an escutcheon of pretence for Gálvez.
The first thing I stumbled upon is that there is an almost identical patent owned by the Historic New Orleans Collection. The patent in Virginia and the one in New Orleans are both signed by the same herald: Cronista Rey de Armas Ramón de Zazo y Ortega (1740-1792). The patent in New Orleans has also been scanned and can be viewed on THNOC’s website:
http://hnoc.minisisinc.com/THNOC_314/mss314.1_02_web.jpg
http://hnoc.minisisinc.com/thnoc/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/M2A/WEB_DETAIL_M2A/SISN 8597?SESSIONSEARCH
There also appears to be a catalog entry for a similar-sounding document in the Biblioteca Nacional de España: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/776673198
In my article in The Double Tressure I wrote about Gálvez’s augmentation of 1781 which was granted in recognition of his military victories against the British (victories that aided the infant American republic during the Revolution). The augmentation includes as a charge his flagship the Gálveztown. The second thing I stumbled upon after I wrote my article is that there are some accounts that the Gálveztown was present in New York harbor during George Washington’s first presidential inauguration in 1789.
According to Washington Irving’s Life of George Washington:
Quote:
...at New York, Washington…embarked on board of a splendid barge, constructed for the occasion…the ships at anchor in the harbor, dressed in colors, fired salutes as it passed. One alone, the Galveston, a Spanish man-of-war, displayed no signs of gratulation, until the barge of the general was nearly abreast; when suddenly as if by magic, the yards were manned, the ship burst forth, as it were, into a full array of flags and signal, and thundered a salute of thirteen guns…
https://archive.org/stream/lifeofgeorgewash04irvi2#page/471/mode/1up
Unfortunately I have also read that the Gálveztown was not in New York harbor during the inauguration, so it is unclear if this is accurate. This is too bad…I think it would be cool if a ship that served as an heraldic charge also saluted America’s first President.
The third thing I stumbled upon is probably more interesting. The augmentation granted to Gálvez in 1783 (Azure a fleur-de-lis Or) was made by the King in response to a petition of the residents of Louisiana. In his book Tribute to Don Bernardo de Gálvez (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6531994), Ralph Woodward references a petition dated 1781 in the Biblioteca Nacional de España submitted by the residents of Louisiana to the King Charles III. Woodward includes a transcription of the original French petition as well as an English translation:
Quote:
...from the greatest Prince always emanate the highest benefits: this undeniable precept encourages the Province of Louisiana to present itself before the throne where it dares hope for a special grace from Your August Majesty, all the more precious since it will be bestowed upon the person of Don Bernardo de Gálvez, this worthy governor…as His Very Christian Majesty formerly decorated this Colony’s arms with a field blue sown with fleurs de lis, so then it is your Royal right to authorize the emplacement of one of them on his coat of arms, so that the Intimacy which his intrepidity has so rapidly enlarged between this province and its conqueror may forever reign, so that the most remote future will not be able to alter in the slightest this honorable trophy…
I think this is most interesting since I cannot remember any other example where the residents of an American colony petitioned their sovereign for an heraldic augmentation of honour to be granted to their governor.
The last thing I stumbled upon is the interesting story of a librarian from Galveston, Texas, named Frank Patten. Mr. Patten worked at the Rosenberg Library in Galveston in the 1920’s, and he was apparently interested in painting Gálvez’s coat of arms. According to an article in the Galveston Daily News dated August 8, 1926:
Quote:
...a fascinating story has come to light through the research in the old archives of the Spanish Indies, conducted by the College of Heralds of Spain, in response to a request of Frank C. Patten of the Rosenberg Library for the authentic personal coat-of-arms of Don Bernardo de Galvez, which he planned to have painted for display in the library…Congressman Clay Stone Briggs, first consulted on the matter December, 1925, referred it to Frank B. Kellogg, secretary of state, and through Ogden H. Hammond, ambassador to Spain, it was taken up by the College of Heralds in Madrid under the direction of the dean, Don Jose de Rujula, who, considering it as contributing valuably to Hispano-American friendship, refused to accept any fee for the work and expense involved…
Rújula goes on to identify several primary source documents identifying Gálvez’s arms, and the article contains some (poor quality) photographic reproductions of some of these interesting documents. You can see the full article here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydhy8ho8qypjma9/galvez_article.jpg
The file is pretty large and the type is small. If you have difficulty viewing the article online you might want to download it.
Rújula gives his pre-1781 arms (before the augmentations) as: quarterly, 1st Gálvez, 2nd Madrid, 3rd Garcia, 4th Cabrera. This matches the entry for Gálvez on the AHS’s Roll of Early American Arms: http://www.americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=Roll.G
The herald, Cronista Rey de Armas José de Rújula y Ochotorena (1892-1961), sixth Marqués de Ciadoncha, was an interesting fellow. About half a dozen members of his family served as officers of arms in Spain over the centuries, including his own father José de Rújula y Escobal (1862-1909) and grandfather Félix de Rújula y Martín-Crespo (1838-1930). Don José was also one of the few Spanish heralds appointed before the fall of the Spanish monarchy who later obtained recognition as a Cronista de Armas from the Ministry of Justice after the Spanish Civil War in 1953.
I find this article in the Galveston Daily News very interesting, assuming that it is accurate. The thought that Mr. Patten was able to enlist an heraldic authority to research the blazon of a colonial governor with the help of his congressman, the US Secretary of State and the US Ambassador to Spain is, in my opinion, pretty cool. The article also provides a fascinating insight into the research methodology and heraldic resources used by a continental officer of arms to research the blazon of an eighteenth century armiger in America. Of particular interest is the reference to the herald Ramón de Zazo’s “minute book…Archives of Rujula.” There is, apparently, a microfilm copy available of this collection’s inventory:
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/865606814
I can only speculate about what other heraldic treasures might reside there!
Another interesting element is that at least one of the heraldic documents examined by Rújula appears to be some sort of colonial order or proclamation issued by Gálvez as governor of Louisiana. I have seen similar documents online issued by other Spanish colonial officials along America’s Gulf Coast during the eighteenth century that also bear the arms of the governor (such as Manuel Gayoso de Lemos and Juan Manuel de Salcedo). This Gálvez document would seem to support the idea that this heraldic practice was commonplace.
Rújula also identifies the Gálvez augmentation of 1781 and incorporated that into a new painting of his arms that was apparently presented to the Rosenberg Library. A poor quality image of this can be seen in the newspaper article, but apparently the library still has the original in its collection:
http://rosenberg.pastperfect-online.com/35953images/005/6856.JPG
Since this painting incorporates the augmentation of 1781 but omits the fleur-de-lis granted in 1783, I wonder if this represents what Gálvez’s arms were like circa 1782? The fact that this painting still survives in the collection of the Rosenberg Library makes me wonder if they also still have photographs of the other heraldic documents identified by Rújula and mentioned in the newspaper article, or the accompanying correspondence. It might shed light on this fascinating heraldic story!
Quote:
Another interesting element is that at least one of the heraldic documents examined by Rújula appears to be some sort of colonial order or proclamation issued by Gálvez as governor of Louisiana. I have seen similar documents online issued by other Spanish colonial officials along America’s Gulf Coast during the eighteenth century that also bear the arms of the governor (such as Manuel Gayoso de Lemos and Juan Manuel de Salcedo). This Gálvez document would seem to support the idea that this heraldic practice was commonplace.
Here is a side-by-side comparison:
https://31.media.tumblr.com/0b5f60ef00324a7635e56bf4c2113c8f/tumblr_n4nadtpd3u1rq2fm7o1_1280.jpg
Left to right: Gálvez (Governor of Louisiana from 1777-1785); Gayoso de Lemos (Governor of the District of Natchez [West Florida] from 1787-ca. 1797); Manuel de Salcedo (Governor of Louisiana from 1801-1803).
snelson;101947 wrote:
Another interesting element is that at least one of the heraldic documents examined by Rújula appears to be some sort of colonial order or proclamation issued by Gálvez as governor of Louisiana. I have seen similar documents online issued by other Spanish colonial officials along America’s Gulf Coast during the eighteenth century that also bear the arms of the governor (such as Manuel Gayoso de Lemos and Juan Manuel de Salcedo). This Gálvez document would seem to support the idea that this heraldic practice was commonplace.
Yes, I’ve noticed that on various documents as well, many of them ones that Seb pointed us to. The printed coat of arms of the governor seems to have served the same purpose that would have been performed by the colonial seal in the English colonies.
I wonder if this practice was limited to Spain’s possessions along the Gulf Coast, or if it was seen elsewhere as well. It would be neat to find other similar heraldic documents for the governors of places like Spanish colonial Texas, New Mexico and California.
Story in today’s L.A. Times about attempt to get Galvez’s portrait in the U.S. Capital and bestowing on him honorary U.S. citizenship (story even mentions his coat of arms):
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-forgotten-hero-20140505,0,3774588.story#axzz30sDCl8Xi
arriano;102016 wrote:
Story in today’s L.A. Times about attempt to get Galvez’s portrait in the U.S. Capital and bestowing on him honorary U.S. citizenship (story even mentions his coat of arms):
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-forgotten-hero-20140505,0,3774588.story#axzz30sDCl8Xi
Well, he’d certainly be a better candidate for one of Louisiana’s two "Statuary Hall" statues at the Capitol than Huey "Kingfish" Long.
