Lorenzo de Medrano y Treviño

Lorenzo de Medrano y Treviño (August 10, 1787 – April 11, 1854) was a noble from the House of Medrano, the Spanish Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers, the sole representative of the Spanish Military Corps of Engineers, artilleryman, and brigade sergeant major of the coast of Granada, notable for his extensive military service during the Peninsular War. Medrano played critical roles in several key battles and military engagements, including the defense of the Júcar River crossing, the Battle of the Fields of Tudela, and the sieges of Morella and Sagunto castles. He was particularly distinguished during the "Escape of the Sappers" at the outset of the Peninsular War, leading troops from Alcalá de Henares to Valencia. Lorenzo was the younger brother of the important military leader and liberal politician Diego de Medrano y Treviño.

Military career
Don Lorenzo de Medrano was the Captain, Chief, and Lieutenant Colonel of Engineers and the sole representative of the Spanish Military Corps of Engineers in the Spanish Empire during the 19th century, ensuring the military legacy of his family. The Spanish Military corps of Engineers has its origin in the teachings of the first modern and Royal Military and Mathematics Academy of Brussels in Europe, established in 1675 and directed by the Master of Mathematics, Engineer and General of the Artillery Don Sebastian Fernández de Medrano (and later patronized and protected by the Marquess and Governor Don Francisco Antonio de Agurto Salcedo Medrano Zúñiga) at the request of Don Carlos de Aragón de Gurrea, 9th Duke of Villahermosa, in order to correct the shortage of artillerymen and engineers from the Spanish Tercio.

When Sebastian's disciple Lieutenant General Jorge Próspero de Verboom was appointed Chief Engineer on January 13, 1710, and tasked with establishing and organizing the Corps of Engineers, one of his first thoughts was the creation of Military Academies using the same curriculum as his mentor's. Verboom proposed Military Academies in Oran, Cueta and Barcelona, all three were established. The Colonel of Engineers Joaquín de la Llave gave a lecture about Medrano's enduring influence on the methodologies employed in later military academies and its pivotal role in training engineers and military personnel during a 1905 conference on establishing the Military and Mathematics Academy director Sebastián Fernández de Medrano as a geographer.

Education and early military career
Don Lorenzo de Medrano's military career commenced in July 1802 when he joined as a cadet in the Provincial Regiment of Ciudad Real. Self-taught in mathematics, he advanced to the Corps of Engineers as a second lieutenant on July 13, 1803, and subsequently pursued further studies at the Engineering Academy of Alcalá de Henares. Upon completing his studies, he was promoted to lieutenant on February 25, 1806, and assigned to the Corps' Sub-inspection Directorate in Valencia.

Enlisting in the army
When news of the May 2, 1808 uprising in Madrid reached Valencia, Lorenzo joined the army formed there, serving until September 1809 before transferring to command a Sappers' Company in the Army of Catalonia.

Escape of the Sappers (1808)
During the early stages of the War of Independence, an incident known as the "Escape of the Sappers" occurred. It involved a mass departure of officers and troops from the Engineering Academy in Alcalá de Henares to Valencia to join forces rebelling against the French occupation. After enduring difficult marches and constant threats from French forces, they arrived in Cuarte on June 5. Sergeant Major Veguer arrived on June 7 and dispatched Second Lieutenant Manzanares with a letter to the captain general, following advice from Lieutenant "D. Lorenzo Medrano." Upon visiting the Count of Cervellón, they were instructed to surrender their weapons as other garrisons had. However, Upon hearing the troops should surrender their weapons, Lieutenant Lorenzo de Medrano declared they would "perish a thousand times with them rather than surrender." A cross was awarded for their bravery.

Battle of the fields of Tudela
Medrano later played a key role in the defense and subsequent pursuit of the enemy at the Júcar River crossing, and fought at the Battle of the Fields of Tudela in November 1808. Following a grueling retreat to Cuenca, he returned to Valencia.

Regional fortification of Cuenca
The Segorbe town council later sought Don Lorenzo de Medrano's expertise for regional fortification in Cuenca, requesting: "an agreement on the fortification of the area and commissioning of Engineer Captain Lorenzo Medrano to oversee the works."

Army of Catalonia
In 1809 Don Lorenzo de Medrano was assigned a Sapper company in the Army of Catalonia. In his role with the Army of Catalonia, he aided in the relief of Girona and the retreat from Albentosa to Valencia. Lorenzo's brother Don José de Medrano y Treviño was also a combatant in the War of Independence as an artilleryman, participating in the siege of Girona and the defense of Montjuich in Barcelona, where his heroism earned him a promotion to captain. His brother Don José de Medrano authored a manuscript about the siege of Girona.

As Commander of Engineers of the Vanguard Division in early 1810, Lorenzo de Medrano faced the French forces of Napoleon near Valencia. He was also active in 1810 around Morella and during the siege of its castle, and aided in the relief of the fortress of Tortosa. In May 1811, he marched with his division from Peñíscola to aid the fortress of Tarragona.

Captain and the sole representative of the Corps of Engineers
He was involved in the retreat from the kingdom of Aragon to Valencia and in the defense of the castle of Murviedro (Valencia). Lorenzo de Medrano participated, as captain and the sole representative of the Corps of Engineers, in the defense of the castle of Sagunto. Specifically, during the defense of Sagunto castle from September 23 to October 26, 1811, he was noted for his command alongside sapper Villalta:

"'The Chief of Engineers Captain D. Lorenzo Medrano, and the sapper Villalta, along with other commanders and troops of other Arms were distinguished.'"

He skillfully managed the breach repairs, with the governor later commending the defenders for their "amazing bravery," and recognizing their efforts with awards. He was made a prisoner by the French when the fortress surrendered.

Rise in ranks and retirement
After the war, Medrano was justified for his military and political actions and assigned to Granada's coast as a brigade sergeant major in September 1815, having been promoted to lieutenant colonel of Engineers earlier that month. He served in the Command of the Corps in Navarre until 1821, when he retired to Ciudad Real. He died on April 11, 1854.

Marriage and children
Don Lorenzo de Medrano y Treviño was the husband of Doña María de Morales, and father of Don José de Medrano y Morales, Doña Carmen, and Doña Manuela de Medrano y Morales.

Family
Don Lorenzo belongs to the ancient and noble House of Medrano, one of the most powerful in the Sierra de Cameros and in Soria within the Kingdom of Castile. Lorenzo de Medrano and his family are generational patrons of the Franciscan Order. In approximately 1211, a captain of the Medrano family held the lordship of the castle and town of Agoncillo, situated near the city of Logroño, in the region of La Rioja, a territory under the Kingdom of Navarre and in 1276, the Kingdom of Castile. Medrano's son was suffering from a mysterious and untreatable ailment. In 1211, Saint Francis of Assisi roamed those very paths of Agoncillo. In a saintly manner, he visited Medrano's Agoncillo castle, placed his mystical hands upon the ailing Medrano boy, and miraculously healed him, securing the Medrano lineage in Agoncillo. As a result, the Medrano family are distinguished by their devotion to Saint Francis of Assisi and their generational patronage of the Franciscan order. The Medrano family generously donated some land, including a tower, situated close to the Ebro River within the city of Logroño as a gift to Saint Francis, establishing the first Spanish convent of his Order there. Unfortunately, despite its centuries-long legacy of glory and sanctity, the convent met its demise in the 19th century due to the advent of liberalism and its accompanying laws. Today, the remnants of its walls still remain.

For their military contributions, the House of Medrano obtained a second coat of arms in 1212, it featured an argent or golden fleur-de-lis cross of Calatrava on a blood-red field, symbolizing their ancient lineage through its straightforward design. Don Martín López de Medrano and Don Pedro Gonzalez de Medrano bore this emblem into the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 and again during the notable battle of Baya on Saint Andrew's Day in 1221. To commemorate this victorious day, the shield was adorned with eight crosses of Saint Andrew, similar to other noble banners. The Medrano family brought a white flag with their coat of arms adorned in the center, featuring the cross of Calatrava and gold saltires on a field of war when participating in the Battle of Salado on 30 October 1340 against Sultan Abu al-Hasan 'Ali of the Marinid dynasty and Yusuf I of Granada.

Parents
Don Lorenzo de Medrano was the son of Don José de Medrano y Monroy, baptized in Almagro on 31 March 1748. Lord of all the majorats, entailments, and patronages of the family, José de Medrano y Monroy married the VI Lady of the Majorat of Valdarachas, Doña Isabel de Treviño y Treviño. Through this marriage, Don José de Medrano became a resident of Ciudad Real. The wedding took place in the town of Miguelturra, four kilometers from Ciudad Real on the road to Almagro, on 16 February 1776. Don José de Medrano significantly increased and improved his and his wife's assets, as evidenced in the family archive, finally making his will in Ciudad Real on 30 September 1800. His wife, the VI Lady of the Majorat of Valdarachas, made hers in the same city on 10 August 1787.

Ancestry
Don Lorenzo de Medrano y Treviño was the paternal great-great-great-grandson of Don Juan Valeriana de Medrano y Herruz. In the city of Almagro, in La Mancha, upon marrying into and inheriting the lordships and representations of the House of Zúñiga, Don Juan Valeriana de Medrano y Herruz from La Mancha added the well-known sable band of Zúñiga to the shield of the Medrano family.

Don Juan Valeriana de Medrano y Herruz was the son of Don Juan de la Cámara de Medrano and Doña Antonia de Herruz y Vergara and the paternal grandson of Don Sancho González de Almazán, of the Medrano lineage, a resident of the town of Garray, in Soria, around the year 1480. Don Juan Valeriana was baptized in the town of Arenas on 14 April 1599, with his aunt and godparents Doña Catalina de Medrano and her husband, licentiate Avila de Alarcón. He married Doña Mariana de Zúñiga y Oviedo in Almagro on 3 September 1626. Don Juan Valeriana de Medrano made his will in Almagro on 29 November 1649, and his wife, Doña Mariana de Zúñiga, in the same place on 21 January 1675.

Don Lorenzo's great-great-great-grandmother Doña Mariana de Zúñiga was the daughter of Don Bernardo de Oviedo and Doña Bernarda de Zúñiga, the Lady of the Majorat of Esparragués, established by her third great-grandfather, Don García de Pisa, through his will in 1484. She also belonged to the patronage of Almagro, initiated by Don Crstóbal de Oviedo (her great uncle) through his will signed in Madrid on 3 April 1590. This connection brought additional lands and the Zúñigas' sable band to the Medrano family shield in Almagro.

Great-great grandfather
Don Lorenzo is the paternal great-great-grandson of Don Juan Manuel de Medrano y Zúñiga, born in Almagro on 17 June 1627. His great-great-grandfather served as a Familiar of the Holy Office and held prominent roles including Perpetual Alderman, and later the Mayorship and the Alderman of the Holy Brotherhood by the Noble Estate in Almagro. Juan Manuel de Medrano y Zúñiga married Doña María de Peralta y Reinoso, a native of Almagro born on 12 December 1629, on 6 November 1652. Doña María was deeply rooted in local nobility; she was the daughter of Don Juan Ossorio de Peralta, the fourth blood patron of Almagro's Franciscan convent and a Perpetual Alderman, and Doña Jerónima Gutiérrez de Guevara. Her lineage included several patrons of the same Franciscan convent, with her great-great-grandparents establishing their noble status in Illescas in 1585. Her great-granduncle, Don Jerónimo Dávila de la Cueva, founded the Franciscan convent in Almagro in 1597. Restoration efforts began in the 20th century under the patronage of the Medrano family. The mother of the beforementioned Doña María de Peralta y Reinoso was Doña Jerónima Gutiérrez de Guevara, daughter of Don Tomás Gutiérrez de Guevara, who made his will in the City of Saña, in the kingdom of Peru, on 23 May 1634, and Doña Francisca del Salto, sister of the latter and heiress of Don Andrés del Salto y Manzanares, who is the founder of the Majorat of Cervera by his will signed in Almagro on 17 August 1619, thus bringing the Majorat of Cervera and the patronages of San Bartolomé to the Medrano family.

Great grandfather
Don Lorenzo is the paternal great-grandson of Don Carlos-García de Medrano y Peralta, 8th generation of his name and eldest of the House of Medrano in Almagro due to the death without succession of his elder brother Don Juan de Medrano y Peralta, resident of Arenas, thereby becoming the possessor of the Majorats of Esparragués, Cervera, and other lands in Arenas, Illescas, and Almagro, patron of the Franciscan convent in Almagro and of the chapel of San Bartolomé in Almagro. He was born in 1659, baptized in San Bartolomé de Almagro on March 2. He served as Alderman and Alcalde of Almagro. He married Doña Catalina de León y de Córdoba on June 12, 1704. From this marriage, a sole son was born, Don Francisco de Medrano y de León Peralta y Córdoba.

Grandfather
Don Lorenzo de Medrano was the paternal grandson of Francisco de Medrano y de León Peralta y Córdoba, 9th generation of the name, born on October 27, 1706, who became the owner, upon his father's death, of the majorats, entailed estates, and patronages of the family. Dedicated to the military, he attained the rank of Colonel of the Royal Corps Guards. In his city of Almagro, he married Doña Clara de Monroy y Morales, born on October 6, 1714. Don Francisco de Medrano died in Almagro on May 27, 1765. Lorenzo's family are the perpetual lords of the Mayorazgo de Valdarachas.

Siblings
Lorenzo de Medrano y Treviño was the brother of 10 siblings:


 * Don Francisco de Medrano y Treviño.
 * Don Luis de Medrano y Treviño, who fought in the War of Independence with the rank of lieutenant and married Doña Josefa Carreño in Huésear, from which marriage there was no offspring.
 * Don José de Medrano y Treviño. He married Doña Josefa Morales y de la Fuente in Corral, and from their marriage was born Doña Isabel de Treviño y Morales, who married her first cousin Don Francisco de Treviño y Medrano (son of Doña Rita de Medrano y Treviño, sister of her father) and Don Francisco from the branch of the Treviños of Campo de Criptana.
 * Don Diego de Medrano y Treviño, who also actively participated in the War of Independence, served as Deputy to the Cortes in 1820, later Vice President of the Chamber of Peers in 1835, and finally Minister of the Interior in the Government presided over by Martínez de la Rosa.
 * Doña Encarnación de Medrano y Treviño, married to Don José de la Caballería in Almagro.
 * Doña María del Carmen de Medrano y Treviño, wife of Don Antonio José Montenegro.
 * Doña Rita de Medrano y Treviño, married, as mentioned before, to Don Francisco Treviño y Treviño in Campo de Criptana, and whose son, Don Francisco Treviño y Medrano, in turn marries his first cousin Doña Isabel Treviño y Morales, daughter of number 3 of this generation.
 * Doña Sinforosa de Medrano.
 * Doña Catalina de Medrano y Treviño, who married in Calzada de Calatrava to Don Francisco de Cisneros.
 * Doña Alejandra de Medrano y Treviño, married in Ahnodóvar del Campo to Don Francisco de Gijón y Pedrajas.