James Towers English

Who was James Towers English?

James Towers English was an Irish commander of British Legions forces in the Spanish American wars of independence.

James Towers English was the son of a well-to-do Dublin merchant. He went into business supplying horses to the British Army until his company went bankrupt, then took a job with the army Commissariat as a clerk. In May 1817 he met Luis López Méndez, the representative of Simon Bolívar in London. Claiming to have been a cavalry lieutenant, he was made a captain in the '1st Venezuelan Hussars' and sailed for South America in December 1817. He fought with distinction at the battle of Ortiz on 26 March 1818, and was promoted to full Colonel and appointed second-in-command of the British Guard of Honor led by James Rooke.

In May 1818, he signed a contract with the Patriot government to recruit and equip a British force of 1,000 men, in return for which he was promised £50 per head and a General's commission. By painting a rosy picture of pay and conditions in South America, he succeeded in recruiting between 1,000 and 2,000 mercenaries, who sailed during the following months.