José Francisco Gana Castro (19 February 1828 – 8 July 1894) was a Chilean military engineer, army general and politician who served as Minister of War and Navy under President José Manuel Balmaceda. A veteran of the War of the Pacific, he also served in the Senate of Chile.
During the Chilean Civil War of 1891, he supported the Government of José Manuel Balmaceda but were decisively defeated at the Battle of Placilla on August 28, 1891.
This caused all supporters of Balmaceda's government exiled and General Gana took refuge in the United States embassy at Santiago before going into exile in Barcelona where he remained until his death on August 7, 1894. His corpse was then recovered and given a burial at the Santiago General Cemetery on November 25, 1894.
Biography Castro was born on February 19, 1828, as the son of Rafael Gana López and Benigna Castro Cruz. At the age of 15, he entered the Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy before going to study military engineering at France at the Metz Military School in 1843. He also married Carmen Vicuña Cañas around 1838.
After graduating, he became a member of the French Army as artillery lieutenant until 1850 where he moved to the United Kingdom before returning to Chile in 1852. He was promoted to captain in 1854 and to sergeant major in 1859. He was then made lieutenant colonel of engineers in 1867 and was made chief of staff of the Army of Arauco. From 1870 to 1871, he was commander of the Army of Araucanía as well as laying out the foundations for the city of Mulchén.
In 1878, he was one of the main advocates for the use of Armstrong guns with the next year having him commanding the Army of Valparaíso during the War of the Pacific and participating in the Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos. After Lima was occupied, Gana was made Chief of Callao as well as Commander-in-Chief of the Tarapacá Division. Due to his services, he was promoted to Brigadier General in 1882.
In 1884, Castro was appointed General Commander of Arms of Santiago and was an Inspector General of the National Guard. On October 15, he assumes as Minister of National Defense, a position he held until May 20, 1891, around the same time that he assumed the Command in Chief of the Army from January 12, 1891.
Political career In 1882, Gana was elected substitute senator for Talca for the 1882–1888 term. He formally joined the Senate on 1 December 1882 and served as a replacement member of the Permanent Commission on Government and Foreign Relations.
In 1886, he was appointed commander of arms of Santiago, and in 1889 he was elected a municipal councillor of Santiago.
Under President José Manuel Balmaceda, Gana served as Minister of War and Navy from 15 October 1890 to 14 May 1891. During the 1891 Chilean Civil War, he also served as commander-in-chief of the government army.
Gana was elected senator for Talca to the Constituent Congress convened in 1891, serving from 15 April to 18 August. Following the defeat of Balmaceda's government, he sought asylum at the United States legation before leaving Chile for Peru and later Europe.
He died in Barcelona, Spain, on 8 July 1894. His remains were repatriated to Chile later that year and interred at the General Cemetery of Santiago.
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