Bernardo O ' Higgins Bernardo O ' Higgins Riquelme ( ; 1778 – 1842 ) was a Chilean independence leader who , together with José de San Martín , freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence . Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile ( 1817 – 1823 ) , he is considered one of Chile ' s founding father s , as he was the first holder of this title to head a fully independent Chilean state . O ' Higgins was of Spanish and Irish ancestry . Early life . Bernardo O ' Higgins was a member of the O ' Higgins Family who was born in the Chilean city of Chillán in 1778 , the illegitimate son of Ambrosio O ' Higgins , 1st Marquis of Osorno , a Spanish officer born in County Sligo , Ireland , who became governor of Chile and later viceroy of Peru . His mother was Isabel Riquelme , a prominent local lady and daughter of Don Simón Riquelme y Goycolea , a member of the Chillán " Cabildo " , or council . O ' Higgins spent his early years with his mother ' s family in central - southern Chile , and later he lived with the Albano family , who were his father ' s commercial partners , in Talca . At age 15 , O ' Higgins was sent to Lima by his father . He had a distant relationship with Ambrosio , who supported him financially and was concerned with his education , but the two never met in person . It is unclear why Ambrosio did not marry Isabel . High - ranking Spanish government officials in The Americas were forbidden to marry locals , but at the time of O ' Higgins ' birth , Ambrosio O ' Higgins was only a junior military officer . It has been suggested that Isabel ' s family would not have seen the match as advantageous at the time . Two years later , she married Don Félix Rodríguez , an old friend of her father ' s . O ' Higgins used his mother ' s surname until the death of his father in 1801 . Ambrosio O ' Higgins , Bernardo ' s father , continued his professional rise and became Viceroy of Peru ; at seventeen Bernardo O ' Higgins was sent to London to complete his studies . There , studying history and the arts , O ' Higgins became acquainted with American ideas of independence and developed a sense of nationalist pride , coming to admire liberalism in the Georgian British model . He also met Francisco de Miranda , a Venezuelan idealist and believer in independence , and joined a Masonic Lodge established by Miranda , dedicated to achieving the independence of Latin America . In 1798 O ' Higgins went to Spain from England , his return to the Americas delayed by the French Revolutionary Wars . His father died in 1801 , leaving O ' Higgins a large piece of land , the " Hacienda Las Canteras " , near the Chilean city of Los Ángeles . O ' Higgins returned to Chile in 1802 , adopted his father ' s surname , and began life as a gentleman farmer . In 1806 O ' Higgins was appointed to the " cabildo " as the representative of Laja . Then , in 1808 , Napoleon took control of Spain , triggering a sequence of events in South America . In Chile , the commercial and political elite decided to form an autonomous government to rule in the name of the imprisoned king Ferdinand VII ; this was to be one of the first in a number of steps toward national independence , in which O ' Higgins would play a leading role . Role in Chilean independence movement . On 18 September 1810 , O ' Higgins joined the revolt against the now French dominated Spanish government . The criollo leaders in Chile did not support Joseph Bonaparte ' s rule in Spain , and a limited self - government under the Government " Junta " of Chile was created , with the aim of restoring the legitimate Spanish throne . This date is now recognized as Chile ' s Independence Day . O ' Higgins was a close friend of Juan Martínez de Rozas , an old friend of his father , and one of the more radical leaders . O ' Higgins strongly recommended that a national congress be created , and was elected a deputy to the first National Congress of Chile in 1811 as a representative of the Laja district . Tensions between the royalist and increasingly pro - independence factions , to which O ' Higgins remained attached as a junior member , continued to grow . The anti - Royalist camp in Chile was deeply split along lines of patronage and personality , by political beliefs , and by geography ( between the rival regional groupings of Santiago and Concepción ) . The Carrera family had already seized power several times in different coups , and supported a specifically Chilean nationalism , as opposed to the broader Latin American focus of the Lautaro Lodge grouping , which included O ' Higgins and the Argentinian José de San Martín . José Miguel Carrera , the most prominent member of the Carrera family , enjoyed a power base in Santiago ; that of de Rozas , and later O ' Higgins , lay in Concepción . As a result , O ' Higgins was to find himself increasingly in political and military competition with Carrera — although early on , O ' Higgins was nowhere near as prominent as his later rival . De Rozas initially appointed O ' Higgins to a minor military position in 1812 , possibly because of his illegitimate origins , poor health , or lack of military training . Much of O ' Higgins ' early military knowledge stemmed from Juan Mackenna , another immigrant of Irish descent and a former client of Ambrosio ' s , whose advice centered mainly on the use of cavalry . In 1813 , when the Spanish government made its first attempt to reconquer Chile — sending an expedition led by Brigadier Antonio Pareja — Carrera , as a former national leader and now Commander in Chief of the Army , was by far the more prominent figure of the two , and a natural choice to lead the military resistance . O ' Higgins was back on his estates in Laja , having retired from the Army the previous year due to poor health , when news came of the invasion . O ' Higgins mobilised his local militia and marched to Concepcion , before moving onto Talca , meeting up with Carrera , who was to take command of the new army . Carrera sent O ' Higgins to cut the Spanish off at Linares ; O ' Higgins ' victory there resulted in his promotion to colonel . The unsuccessful Siege of Chillan followed , where O ' Higgins produced a brave , but unspectacular , performance ; however , as commander , Carrera took most of the blame for the defeat , weakening his prestige with the " Junta " back in Santiago . O ' Higgins continued to campaign against the royalists , fighting with a reckless courage that would make him famous . In October , fighting at the Battle of El Roble under Carrera , O ' Higgins took effective command at a crucial moment and gave one of his more famous orders : Lads ! Live with honor , or die with glory ! He who is brave , follow me ! Despite being injured , O ' Higgins went on to pursue the royalist forces from the field . The " Junta " in Santiago reassigned command of the army from Carrera , who had retreated during the battle , to O ' Higgins , who then appointed Juan Mackenna as commandant - general . Carrera was subsequently captured and imprisoned by the royalist forces ; in his absence , in May 1814 O ' Higgins supported the Treaty of Lircay , which promised a halt to the fighting . Once released , however , Carrera violently opposed both O ' Higgins ' new role and the treaty , overthrowing the " Junta " in a coup in July 1814 and immediately exiling Mackenna . O ' Higgins turned to focus on Carrera , and their forces met at the battle of Las Tres Acequias , where Luis Carrera inflicted a modest defeat on O ' Higgins . Further conflict was postponed by news that the royalists had decided to ignore the recent treaty , and were threatening Concepción under the leadership of General Mariano Osorio . Carrera and O ' Higgins decided to reunite the army and face the common threat . Carrera ' s plan was to draw the Spaniards to the Angostura del Paine , while O ' Higgins preferred the town of Rancagua . They decided to make a stand at the Angostura de Paine , a gorge that formed an easily defended bottleneck . At the last hour , however , O ' Higgins instead garrisoned the nationalist forces at the main square of Rancagua . Carrera did not arrive with reinforcements , and O ' Higgins and his forces were promptly surrounded in October . After an entire day of fighting at the battle of Rancagua , the Spanish commander , Mariano Osorio , was victorious — but O ' Higgins managed to break out with a few of his men , issuing the command : Those who can ride , ride ! We will break through the enemy ! Like Carrera and other nationalists , O ' Higgins retreated to Argentina with the survivors , and remained there for three years while the royalists were in control . Mackenna , still a key supporter , was killed by Luis Carrera in a duel in 1818 , deepening the ongoing feud . Whilst O ' Higgins was undoubtedly a brave soldier , indeed often bordering on the reckless , and an inspirational commander , his qualities as a tactician have been questioned , both by his contemporaries and since . O ' Higgins as Supreme Director . While in exile , O ' Higgins met the Argentinean General José de San Martín , a fellow member of the Lautaro Lodge , and together the men returned to Chile in 1817 to defeat the royalists . Initially the campaign went well , with the two commanders achieving a victory at the battle of Chacabuco . San Martín sent his troops down the mountain starting at midnight of 11 February to prepare for an attack at dawn . As the attack commenced , his troops were much closer to the Spanish than anticipated , and they fought hard and heroically . Soler ' s troops had to go down a tiny path that proved long and arduous , and took longer than expected . General O ' Higgins , supposedly seeing his homeland and being overcome with passion , defied the plan of attack and charged along with his 1 , 500 troops . What exactly happened in this part of the battle is fiercely debated . O ' Higgins claimed that the Spanish stopped their retreat and started advancing towards his troops . He said that , if he were to lead his men back up the narrow path and retreat , his men would have been massacred one by one . San Martín saw O ' Higgins ' early advancement , and ordered Soler to charge the Spanish flank , which took the pressure off O ' Higgins and allowed his troops to stand their ground . The ensuing firefight continued into the afternoon , and the tides turned for the Patriots as Soler captured a key Spanish artillery point . At this point , the Spanish set up a defensive square around the Chacabuco Ranch . O ' Higgins charged the center of the Spanish position , and Soler got into place behind the Spanish forces , effectively cutting off any chance of retreat . O ' Higgins and his men overwhelmed the Spanish troops , who attempted to retreat , but Soler ' s men cut off their retreat and pushed towards the ranch . Hand - to - hand combat ensued in and around the ranch , until every Spanish soldier was dead or taken captive . Five hundred Spanish soldiers were killed , and 600 were taken captive . The Patriot forces lost 12 men in the battle , but an additional 120 died of their wounds . The Second Battle of Cancha Rayada in 1818 , however , was a victory for the Royalists , and it was not until the Battle of Maipú that ultimate victory was assured . San Martín was initially offered the position of power in the newly - free Chile , but he declined , in order to continue the fight for independence in the rest of South America . O ' Higgins accepted the position instead , and became the leader of an independent Chile . He was granted dictatorial powers as Supreme Director on 16 February 1817 . On 12 February 1818 , Chile proclaimed itself an independent republic . Throughout the war with the royalists , O ' Higgins had engaged in an ongoing feud with José Miguel Carrera . After their retreat in 1814 , O ' Higgins had fared much better than Carrera , who found little support forthcoming from San Martín , O ' Higgins ' political ally . Carrera was imprisoned to prevent his involvement in Chilean affairs ; after his escape , he ended up taking the winning side in the Argentine Federalist war , helping to defeat the pro - San Martin government in 1820 . Marching south to attack O ' Higgins , now ruler of Chile , Carrera was arrested by supporters of O ' Higgins and executed under questionable circumstances in 1821 ; his two brothers had already been killed by royalist forces in the preceding years , bringing the long - running feud to an end . The argument as to the relative contribution of these two great Chilean independence leaders , however , has continued up to the modern day , and O ' Higgins ' decision not to intervene to prevent the execution coloured many Chileans ' views of his reign . For six years , O ' Higgins was a largely successful leader , and his government initially functioned well . Within Chile , O ' Higgins established markets , courts , colleges , libraries , hospitals , and cemeteries , and began important improvements in agriculture . He also undertook various military reforms . He founded the Chilean Military Academy in 1817 , aiming to professionalise the officer corps . O ' Higgins remained concerned about the threat of invasion , and had declared after the battle of Chacabuco that " this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea " . Alongside the Military Academy , he founded the modern Chilean Navy under the command of the Scottish officer Lord Cochrane , establishing the First Chilean Navy Squadron , the Academy for Young Midshipmen ( the predecessor of the current Naval Academy ) , and the Chilean Marine Corps . O ' Higgins continued in his desire to see independence across Latin America , utilising his new forces to support San Martín , sending the Liberating expedition to Perú . In time , however , O ' Higgins began to alienate important political groupings within the still - fragile Chilean nation . O ' Higgins ' proposed radical and liberal reforms , such as the establishment of democracy and abolition of titles of nobility , were resisted by the powerful large landowner s . He offended the church in Chile early on — in particular , the Bishop of Santiago , Jose Rodriguez Zorrilla . Having offended the aristocracy and the church , he also lost the support of the businesspeople , his last semi - powerful ally within the country . The government became bankrupt , forcing O ' Higgins to send Antonio José de Irisarri to England to negotiate a £1 million loan — Chile ' s first foreign debt — whilst a massive earthquake in central Chile added more difficulty for the ruler . In 1822 , O ' Higgins established a new " controversial " constitution , which many regarded as a desperate attempt to hang on to power . The deaths of his political enemies , including Carrera and Manuel Rodríguez , returned to haunt him , with some accusing him of abusing state power . The provinces increasingly viewed him as centralising power to an excessive degree . O ' Higgins was deposed by a conservative coup on 28 January 1823 . Chile ' s new dictator , Ramón Freire , formerly O ' Higgins ' " closest ally " , had slowly turned against O ' Higgins in the preceding years . Freire had fought under O ' Higgins at the Battle of Maipú , was promoted to colonel for his services to the independence , and finally named Intendant of Concepción . His friendship with O ' Higgins started to crack by degrees , however , until in 1822 he resigned his position in disagreement . His name became a rallying point for those discontented with O ' Higgins , but the two of them never came to an armed conflict . O ' Higgins ' abdication was typically dramatic : baring his chest , he offered up his life should his accusers demand it of him . In return , the " junta " declared they held nothing against O ' Higgins , and saluted him . O ' Higgins was made governor of Concepción , an appointment which did not last long : it was time for O ' Higgins to leave Chile . Peruvian independence and O ' Higgins ' final years . After being deposed , O ' Higgins embarked from the port of Valparaiso in July 1823 , in the British corvette " Fly " , never to see Chile again . Originally he had intended to return to Ireland , but whilst passing through Peru he was strongly encouraged by Simón Bolívar to join the nationalist effort there . Bolívar ' s government granted O ' Higgins the " Hacienda de Cuiva " and the " Hacienda Montalván " in San Vicente de Cañete , near Lima . O ' Higgins lived in exile for the rest of his life accompanied by his illegitimate son , Pedro Demetrio O ' Higgins ( 1817 – 1868 ) , his mother , and his half - sister Rosa Rodriguez Riquelme ( 1781 – 1850 ) . According to a 2001 documentary , Bernardo O ' Higgins also had a daughter , Petronila Riquelme O ' Higgins ( b . 1809 – ? ) , by Patricia Rodríguez . O ' Higgins travelled to join Bolívar ' s army in its final liberation of Peru , but upon arrival , he found that Bolivar did not intend to give him a command — instead appointing him a general of Gran Colombia and making him a special court - martial judge for Chilean volunteers . Making his way back to Lima , O ' Higgins heard of Bolivar ' s victory at the Battle of Ayacucho . He returned to Bolivar for the victory celebrations , but as a civilian . " Señor , " he toasted , addressing Bolívar , " America is free . From now on General O ' Higgins does not exist ; I am only Bernardo O ' Higgins , a private citizen . After Ayacucho , my American mission is over . " When Andrés de Santa Cruz became head of the Peru - Bolivian Confederation in 1836 , O ' Higgins endorsed his integrationist policies , and wrote a letter of support to him the following year when the Confederation came under attack from the Chilean forces of Diego Portales — ultimately offering to act as a mediator in the conflict . With the rise of Agustín Gamarra , O ' Higgins found himself out of favour in Peru . Meanwhile , the Chilean government had begun to rehabilitate O ' Higgins , reappointing him to his old rank of captain - general in the Chilean army . In 1842 , the National Congress of Chile finally voted to allow O ' Higgins to return to Chile . After travelling to Callao to embark for Chile , however , O ' Higgins began to succumb to cardiac problems and was too weak to travel . His doctor ordered him to return to Lima , where on 24 October 1842 , aged 64 , O ' Higgins died . Legacy . After his death , his remains were first buried in Peru , before being repatriated to Chile in 1869 . O ' Higgins had wished to be buried in the city of Concepción , but this was never to be . For a long time they remained in a marble coffin in the Cementerio General de Santiago , and in 1979 his remains were transferred by Augusto Pinochet to the Altar de la Patria , in front of the Palacio de La Moneda . In 2004 , his body was temporarily stored at the Chilean Military School during the building of the Plaza de la Ciudadanía , before being finally laid to rest in the new underground Crypt of the Liberator . O ' Higgins is widely commemorated today , both in Chile and beyond . The Chilean village of Villa O ' Higgins was named in his honor . The main thoroughfare of the Chilean capital , Santiago , is Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O ' Higgins . There is also the Bernado O ' Higgins National Park in Chile . There is a bust of O ' Higgins in O ' Higgins Square in Richmond , south - west London . Each year the borough ' s mayor is joined by members of the Chilean Embassy for a ceremony , and a wreath is placed there . A blue plaque was erected in his honor at Clarence House in Richmond , where he lived while studying in London . There is also a plaque in his honor in Merrion Square in Dublin and in the Garavogue River Walkway in Sligo , Ireland , and a sculpture near Central Railway Station in Plaza Iberoamericana , near 58 Chalmers St , Sydney . In Buenos Aires , there is a large statue of him in the center of the Plaza República de Chile , and several localities in Argentina are named after him . A plaque has also been erected in Cadiz , Spain , in the Plaza de Candelaria , where he resided for four years . In 2005 , a bust was erected " To the Liberator of Chile " by the Chilean Embassy in the Parque Morazan in San José , Costa Rica . A statue of Bernardo O ' Higgins in the city of Concepción was destroyed during the 2010 earthquake in Chile . In 1949 , American composer Henry Cowell composed an opera on the life of O ' Higgins titled " O ' Higgins of Chile " . The libretto was written by Elizabeth Harald , but the work was never orchestrated nor staged . In 1955 , the football team O ' Higgins F . C . was founded , named after him . Chile ' s highest award for a foreign citizen is named in honor of O ' Higgins , whilst the Chilean Navy has named several ships in his honor , including an armored cruiser ( 1897 – 1946 ) , a World War II – era light cruiser ( the former USS " Brooklyn " , CL - 40 ) ( 1951 – 1992 ) , and a French - built Scorpene class submarine ( 2003 – present ) . The Chilean Base General Bernardo O ' Higgins Riquelme research station in Antarctica is named in his honor . It is located on the northernmost part of the continent . On 28 October 2010 , An Post ( the Irish Post Office ) and the Chilean Post Office , CorreosChile issued 82c se - tenant stamps to commemorate the bicentenary of the beginning of the struggle for Chilean Independence . The stamps honor two men with Irish backgrounds , who played a crucial role in the quest for Chile ' s liberation , Bernardo O ' Higgins and John MacKenna .