Portal:Biography/Selected biography military/13

Manuel Marques de Sousa, Count of Porto Alegre (13 June 1804 – 18 July 1875) was an army officer and politician of the Empire of Brazil. Porto Alegre joined the army at a young age, and first saw combat in the conquest of the Banda Oriental, which was annexed and became the province of Cisplatina in 1821. Over the next decade he fought in the struggle for Brazilian independence and then in the Cisplatine War, which saw Cisplatina split from Brazil to become the state of Uruguay. He played a key role in the Ragamuffin War, saving the provincial capital. In 1852, he led a Brazilian division during the Platine War, and for his service he was awarded a noble title, eventually becoming a count. In the postwar years, Porto Alegre turned his attention to politics, retiring from his military career as a lieutenant general, the second-highest rank in the Imperial army. He entered the lower house of the Brazilian parliament and was briefly Minister of War. When the Paraguayan War erupted in 1864, he returned to active duty and became one of the main Brazilian commanders during the conflict.