MacGregor arrived in the Venezuelan capital Caracas a fortnight after much of the city had been destroyed by an earthquake . With swathes of the country under the control of advancing royalist armies , the revolutionary government was losing support and starting to fracture . MacGregor dropped his pretended Scottish baronetcy , reasoning that it might undermine the republican credentials he hoped to establish , but continued to style himself " Sir Gregor " on the basis that he was , he claimed , a knight of the Portuguese Order of Christ . He offered his services directly to Miranda in Caracas . As a former British Army officer — from the famous " Die-Hards " , no less — he was received with alacrity and given command of a cavalry battalion with the rank of colonel . In his first action , MacGregor and his cavalry routed a royalist force west of Maracay , between Valencia and Caracas . Subsequent engagements were less successful , but the republican leaders were still pleased with the glamour they perceived this dashing Scottish officer to give their cause
an earthquake
1812 Caracas earthquake
Gregor MacGregor