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George Martin Guise was born on 12 March 1780 in Gloucester and his parents were John Guise and Elizabeth Wright (Ref 1). Their family home was Highnam Court (see separate profile). George Martin Guise is recorded in 1794, aged just 14, as a member of the crew of the Royal Navy ship “Marlborough”. He served as an officer in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He was a Lieutenant in the RN in 1807 when involved in boarding the US frigate Chesapeake near Cape Henry to recover deserters from the RN boat Halifax. He reached the rank of frigate captain in 1815. After the French defeat at Waterloo he travelled in Europe including visiting France. However, in 1817 he was contacted by agents of Chile’s newly independent government and agreed to assist in the struggle for South American independence from the Spanish. He bought a second-hand 18-gun corvette, the “Hecate”, and sailed it to South America. The “Hecate” was renamed the “Galvarino” and placed under the command of the Chilean government based in Santiago. Three brigs were added and the group put to sea on October 8th, 1818, capturing the fifty-gun Spanish frigate “Maria Isabel” which joined the new fleet as the “O’Higgins”. This squadron was then under the auspices of the Chilean government and commanded by Lord Cochrane. Martin Guise, in command of the frigate “Lautaro”, was involved in campaigns along the Peruvian coast, including the capture of the port of Pisco in 1819. He was promoted to Captain in 1820 and returned to Peru with the Liberation Expedition which landed at Pisco on 8 September 1820. In November of that year he captured the Spanish frigate “Esmeralda” in Callao, attacked Callao’s fortifications and burned two Spanish ships. Following a dispute, Martin Guise left Lord Cochrane in October 1821. On 1 September 1822 General San Martín promoted him to the rank of Admiral of Peru. When José de la Riva Agüero became President, Martin Guise was promoted by decree dated 6 March 1823 to Vice Admiral responsible for the organisation and command of the Peruvian Navy, which continued to play a major part in the battle for independence. Following the final defeat of the Spanish at the Surrender of Ayacucho on 9 December 1824, Martin Guise was court-martialled but honourably acquitted of all charges. Following liberation of Peru Martin Guise married a Peruvian, Juana Valle Riestra, and retired in ill health to live just outside Lima in Miraflores. When war broke out between Peru and Colombia in 1827, Gen San Martín reappointed Martin Guise in command of the new Peruvian Navy. The Peruvian fleet was captured at Guayaquil but on 24 November 1828 Martin Guise was killed by a sniper during the battle. Martin Guise was buried with honours in Callao (the port of Lima) but was reburied in 1926 in the Pantheón de los Próceres (the Peruvian heroes’ cemetery). He may be found in the Elmore family tree as a son of Sir John Guise and Elizabeth Wright. He is my fourth cousin five times removed – the common ancestors being William Guise (1593-1633) and his wife Cecilia née Dennis (1597-1682). The Peruvian British Cultural Association published a biography in Spanish in 2017. The Peruvian Navy is naming a new corvette the “Vicealmirante Jorge Martin Guise” (Dec 2020). References

1. Boletín Apeberu No. 8, January 2008.
2. Naval History of Great Britain by William James Vol IV page 329 et seq.
3. “A History of Peru” by Sir Clements Markham, Chapters X and XI George Martin Guise 1780 – 1828 (Admiral)

2 4. “Eagles of the Andes” by Beals 5. Wikipedia’s brief description appears unreliable. 6. “Elmore and the Guise Family” by J. Maclean. Note compiled by Richard Guise 2010 and revised 2020