Background
Alexander O'Reilly was born at Baltrasna, County Meath, Ireland, the son of Thomas Reilly. Later he was taken by his parents to Spain.
Alexander O'Reilly was born at Baltrasna, County Meath, Ireland, the son of Thomas Reilly. Later he was taken by his parents to Spain.
In Spain, at the age of ten Alexander O'Reilly became a cadet in the Hibernia Regiment. Though crippled for life by a wound received in Italy in the War of the Austrian Succession, he won rapid promotion, thanks to native ability and to the patronage of various magnates, one of whom was the Irishman, Richard Wall, then an influential Spanish minister. A rare knowledge of modern warfare, acquired through a mission to Austria and France during the Seven Years' War, made O'Reilly a leader in the reform of the Spanish army. His services in the war with Portugal and in the reorganization of the defenses of Cuba and Puerto Rico won him the rank of major-general (1763) and lieutenant-general (1767).
After the uprising of 1768 against Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, O'Reilly was sent with a force of some three thousand men to take formal possession of the province, punish the rebels, and assimilate the government of the province to that of the other Spanish dominions in America. He carried out his orders with vigor and success. The comprehensive regulations which he drew up for the administration of Louisiana remained in effect with little change to the end of the Spanish period.
His conduct was highly praised by the King and the council of the Indies, and in October 1770 the French ambassador reported that O'Reilly was regarded as the leader of the military party in Spain. Honors were heaped upon him: in 1770 he was made inspector-general of infantry and placed in charge of a school for officers, and in 1771 he was given the title of count. Even the utter failure of his expedition against Algiers in 1775 did not deprive him of the King's favor; but he was demoted from the military governorship of Madrid to that of Cadiz, and his intrigues against Floridablanca later led to his banishment to the province of Galicia.
Recalled in 1794 to take command of the army in Catalonia, he died at Bonete, near Chinchilla (Murcia), on the way to his post. His eldest son inherited the title and took up his residence in Cuba.
Alexander O'Reilly is known today as the "father of the Puerto Rican militia" for his numerous military reforms. Being Governor of colonial Louisiana, O'Reilly reformed many French bureaucratic practices which were in place before Spanish rule. He also allowed slaves to purchase their freedom, banned the trade of Native American slaves, and abolished Indian slavery. For his services to the Crown of Spain, O'Reilly was ennobled as a count, and granted a coat of arms.
O'Reilly was regarded as the leader of the military party in Spain.
Having executed the ringleaders who had led the Louisiana Rebellion of 1768, O'Reilly won him the sobriquet, "Bloody O'Reilly. "
O'Reilly's wife was Rosa de las Casas, a sister of Luis de Las Casas, who served as Governor of Cuba.
