José María Coppinger

José Coppinger (April 5, 1773 - August 15, 1844) was a prominent Spanish soldier of Cuban origin who served in the infantry of the Royal Spanish Army (Ejército de Tierra) and governed Spanish East Florida between 1816 and 1821. He was a member of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Ferdinand and San Hermenegildo.

Biography
José María Lopez de Gamarra y Coppinger was born in Havana, Cuba on April 5, 1773 and baptized on April 18 at the Cathedral of Havana. He was the son of Cornelius Coppinger y O'Brien and María de los Dolores López de Gamarra. His father, of Irish origin, in 1767 became a naturalized Spanish citizen; his mother was Cuban, her family being originally from Seville, and having emigrated to Cuba in the 17th century. Coppinger was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. In 1797 he was Captain of the Regiment of Hibernia and Ayudante Mayor (Adjutant Commander) of the Second Battalion.

In 1801 Coppinger became the political and military governor of the third largest province in Cuba, Pinar Del Rio, previously known as Nueva Filipinas (New Philippines), and the town of Bayamo. Later, in 1814, he was appointed governor and Capitán a Guerra (a chief magistrate invested with military power) of the Cuatro Villas of Cuba (the towns of Trinidad, Santo Espiritu, Villa Clara, and San Juan de los Remedios).

Colonel Coppinger left this position on 6 January 1816 when he was appointed to replace Governor Kindelan as governor of East Florida. That same month he moved to the provincial capital, St. Augustine. He held this post until 10 July 1821 when Spain ceded Florida to the United States, making him the last Spanish governor of the province. On January 28, 1825, Coppinger relieved General Francisco Lemaur of command of the fortress complex of San Juan de Ulúa in Mexico. In the battle fought there during the attempted Spanish reconquest of Mexico, Coppinger, the last commander of the fortress, finally capitulated on November 21, 1825, after an epidemic of scurvy broke out among the Spanish troops. Coppinger died on August 15, 1844, in Cárdenas, Cuba.

Personal life
Jose Maria Coppinger married María Josefa Saravia y Villegas of Cuba in the Parish of Santo Christo del Buen Viaje in Havana on July 11, 1797. They had four children: María de la Trinidad, Jose Maria, José Cornelius and María Antonia. His second marriage was to Narcisa Armenteros y Muñoz.