José Antonio Anzoátegui

José Antonio Anzoátegui (1789–1819) was a Venezuelan military officer who fought in the Venezuelan and Colombian Wars of Independence.

Born in Barcelona, he supported the Venezuelan independence movement in 1810 and joined the patriot army, one of the first military campaigns he participated in was in the Eastern Campaign led by General Santiago Mariño which saw him reach the rank of captain. From 1813 to 1814, he was present at almost every important battle; such as Bocachico, Araure, Carabobo and San Mateo.

After the fall of the Second Republic of Venezuela into Royalist hands, he fled with Generals Simón Bolívar and Rafael Urdaneta to New Granada. There he participated in the failed campaign to capture the royalist controlled province of Santa Marta, he later fled abroad to Jamaica.

In 1816 he returned to Venezuela, as part of the Los Cayos expedition and was made commander of the infantry troops in Carúpano. He took part in the invasion of the province of Guyana and captured Angostura, which became the capital of the Third Republic of Venezuela. He was a prosecutor in General Manuel Piar’s court martial and also participated in the Congress of Angostura. Upon being promoted to the rank of Brigadier General he received command of the Bolívar's Honor Guard.

Anzoátegui played a vital role in the New Granadan Campaign of 1819 where he commanded the rearguard division of the Liberator army of New Granada and Venezuela and was noted for his active and courageous participation in that campaign, especially at the Battle of Boyacá which earned him his promotion to General of Division.

After the battle Bolívar appointed him as Commander of the Army of the North based in Cúcuta and while; en route to take command, he died at the young age of 30 in the town of Pamplona on November 15, 1819. The Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui is named in his honor.