apr 1, 1809 - Peninsular War (Spanish War of Independence)

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France had threatened to invade the Spanish colony of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic). in 1808, the Spanish Crown sent their Navy, under the command of Puerto Rican Captain Ramon Power y Giralt, to prevent the invasion of Santo Domingo by the French by enforcing a blockade. Col. Rafael Conti organized a military expedition to defend to Domican Republic. They were successful and were proclaimed as heroes by the Spanish Government.

San Juan native Demetrio O'Daly was a Sergeant Major in the Spanish Army when he participate in the 1809 Peninsular War, also known as the Spanish War of Independence, after the Napoleonic Invasion of 1808 and the kidnapping of both King Charles IV and Prince Ferdinand, later King Ferdinand VII. When King Ferdinand returned from exile and kidnapping, he repealed the Constitution of 1812, which as the rest of European monarchs, he felt was a Napoleonic maneuver to weaken the countries.

But O'Daly was a defender of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 and was considered a rebel and exiled from Spain by King Ferdnando in 1814. in 1820 O'Daly was a liberal constitutionalist, together with fellow rebel Col. Rafael Riego organized and led the Revolt of the Colonels. It was not a revolt against the king, but a revolt to force him to reinstate the constitution which was successful. This was called the Trienio Liberal/Liberal Three Years (1820-1823). During this process, O'Daly was promoted to Field Marshal and awarded the Cruz Laureada de San Fernando (Laureate Cross of Saint Ferdinand), the highest military decoration awarded by the Spanish government.

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