Liberal general, born in Salinas de Añana (Álava) in 1822 and died in 1893.
When he was still very young (16 years old), he joined the army as a second lieutenant. He fought against the Carlists on the San Sebastián front, defended by O'Donnell. In 1845 he was promoted to lieutenant. During the African War, he formed part of the tercios that were organised in the Basque Country under the orders of General Latorre. His outstanding performance in the battle of Wad-Ras earned him the rank of lieutenant colonel. Having obtained the rank of colonel in 1870, two years later (1872) he fought again against the Carlists on the various fronts in the North. He stood out in the battles fought near Andoain against the troops of the priest Santa Cruz and the Carlist general Lizarraga, which led to his promotion to brigadier (2 June 1872).
In the same year he managed to free Tolosa from the siege of the Carlist troops. For this new action he was promoted to field marshal. In the siege of Bilbao (March 1874) he was wounded, but recovered shortly afterwards. In the same year he took part in the siege of Irun by the Carlists (November). A few days later (7 and 8 December) he suffered a heavy defeat in the battle of Urnieta. He was wounded again and his troops suffered a large number of casualties. He ended the year with the rank of lieutenant general and the title of Marquis of Oria. In 1875 he took part in the battle of Zumelzu or Treviño, where the Carlist troops suffered a serious setback. Once the conflict was over, he held various posts, including that of Captain General of the Basque Country.
Captain General of the region. He intervened militarily in the mining strike of 1890 and acted as mediator, accepting the official representation of the socialists in the strike and using his influence in favour of the workers' demands: reduction of the working day and suppression of “tasks” and compulsory barracks. Thanks to his intervention, the conflict ended with the signing of the so-called ‘Loma Pact’ in which the workers' demands were accepted. He also intervened in the strike of 1891 and in the strike of February 1892 after the declaration of a state of war. Ref. Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada Europeo-Americana; Oyarzun, R.: Historia del carlismo, Madrid, 1939, pp. 370, 384, 385-386, 387, 398, 399, 413, 414, 503, 512 and 522.
Urb. Plaza del General. Plaza Vitoriana located the streets of San Antonio, Prado and Becerro de Bengoa. When La Florida Park was laid out in 1820, it was called “La Unión” and until then belonged to San Antonio Street. On November 25, 1891, the city council agreed to dedicate it to General José María de Loma Argüelles. Customs, the Post Office, the Captaincy General and the Civil Government were originally here. In this square is the Franciscan Poor Clares convent of San Antonio. Ref. V. of the V.: «C. V.».