Antonio José de Sucre (Grand Marshal of Ayacucho)

Antonio José de Sucre (1795–1830), Grand Marshal of Ayacucho, was Simón Bolívar's closest confidant, most gifted general, and the 2nd President of Bolivia. Joining the independence struggle in Venezuela as an engineering cadet at age fifteen, Sucre demonstrated flawless organizational ability, profound humaneness, and brilliant tactical poise under fire.

In May 1822, Sucre won the Battle of Pichincha on the slopes of a volcano 3,500 meters above sea level, liberating Quito and present-day Ecuador. On December 9, 1824, Sucre fought his crowning masterpiece at the Battle of Ayacucho in the Peruvian Andes. Outnumbered by the royalist army of Viceroy José de la Serna, Sucre rallied his troops with the cry: 'Soldiers, upon your efforts today depends the destiny of South America!' His victory captured the Viceroy, all his generals, and annihilated the last Spanish royalist army on the continent, liberating South America forever.