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This webpage reproduces a section of Antonio José de Sucre by Guillermo Antonio Sherwell Press of Byron S. Adams Washington, D. C., 1924 The text is in the public domain. This page has been carefully proofread and I believe it to be free of errors. If you find a mistake though, please let me know! next: Introduction

p. viip. vii Preface

This essay is published on the occasion of the centennial of the battle of Ayacucho, December 9, 1824, which concluded the era of the wars of American independence that began with the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775. Its purpose is to render homage to the memory of Antonio José de Sucre, who obtained this final victory, and left an unsullied memory as a source of pride and inspiration to the American continent.

With an analogous purpose, the present author has written an essay on the life of Simon Bolívar, which was published in 1921. These two works, in English, obey the desire of making known to the average American reader some of the great deeds of the Americans of Spanish descent, whose glory, like that of Washington, is a common inheritance of both North and South.

Neither this essay nor the essay on Bolívar presumes to present itself with the adornments of scholar­ship. They are mere works of vulgarization, so that those who have little time to devote to reading may nevertheless obtain some knowledge of the other fathers of America.

If life and leisure are granted to us, we shall continue this series. Miranda, San Martín, O'Higgins, Artigas, Hidalgo, Martí, and others may be the subjects  p.viii of future publications. Our strength is not equal to the undertaking, but our desire, and above all our love for an American continent united in ideals and purposes, may help us to carry out this task to its completion.

We have had at our disposal most of the works published on Sucre and the South American wars of independence, and many documents and sources of information not yet edited. In this connection we are indebted for substantial help to Venezuelan friends who modestly have requested omission of their names, and to the Venezuelan Government, which has kindly accepted this homage to Sucre's memory, as well as to friends in the United States, for valuable suggestions and assistance. His Excellency, Alberto Muñoz Vernaza, Minister of Ecuador to the Argentine Republic, has kindly furnished us with a set of illustrations from which we have taken the statue of Sucre at Quito, the battle monument of Pichincha, and the picture of that battlefield. Mr. Jordan Herbert Stabler has obliged our gratitude by personally obtaining the pictures of the Church in which Sucre is buried, and of the tomb.

None of the friends who kindly helped in the preparation of this work is responsible for such errors as may appear therein.

Guillermo A. Sherwell

Washington, D. C., 1924.

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