# Don Alonso Gutierrez de Cisniega — Trafalgar character guide > Don Alonso Gutierrez de Cisniega in Trafalgar by Benito Pérez Galdós. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Don Alonso, Alonso, Don Alfonso, Don Alfonso Gutierrez de Cisniega **First appearance:** 0000-i ## Snapshot A wounded veteran of Cape St. Vincent who cannot stop reliving the one order that might have saved his ships, and who insists on sailing once more despite his wife's fury. ## Who they are Don Alonso belongs to an old Vejer family and has spent a lifetime in the navy, from Havana to the Straits of Magellan, ending in defeat and slow promotion. His body is broken and his mind is fixed on the past, yet his sense of duty still pulls him toward the fleet when others counsel prudence. His stubbornness collides with Doña Francisca's tirades and with his daughter's wedding plans, making him both the household's tragic center and the reason its peace keeps fracturing. ## Relationships ### [Godoy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/godoy) _professional_ Don Alonso and Godoy have a professional relationship as Spanish nobleman and prime minister, with political dealings. ### [Churruca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/churruca) _professional_ Churruca and Don Alonso are fellow Spanish naval officers, likely colleagues in the fleet. ### [Flora de Cisniega](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/flora_de_cisniega) _family_ Don Alonso is Flora's father, and their interactions reflect a protective paternal bond. ### [Churruca](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/churruca) _professional_ Churruca and Don Alonso are fellow Spanish naval officers, likely colleagues in the fleet. ### [Godoy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/godoy) _professional_ Don Alonso and Godoy have a professional relationship as Spanish nobleman and prime minister, with political dealings. ### [Flora de Cisniega](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/flora_de_cisniega) _family_ Don Alonso is Flora's father, and their interactions reflect a protective paternal bond. ## In the story ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/i) A ship's captain who rescues the narrator from the press-gang and employs him as a page. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/ii) Determined to join the fleet despite his age and old wounds; argues with his wife about his duty. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/iii) Retired naval officer, veteran of Havana (1748), the Algerine expedition (1775), Gibraltar (1782), Toulon (1793), and Cape St. Vincent. Obsessed with the idea that a wrong command caused his defeat; now determined to join the united fleet against the English. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/iv) Eagerly discusses naval plans with Marcial, tries to interest his wife in the battle, and recounts the disaster of the San Hermenegildo. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/vi) Plans to secretly join the fleet; tries to mollify his wife with gifts and amiability; studies a mariner's chart and defends the call to duty. ### [The Secret Departure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/vii) Packs hastily and sneaks away from home with Marcial and the narrator to join the fleet, showing initial excitement that later turns to sadness and concern for his wife's reaction. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/viii) Hosts Churruca; expresses eagerness for news and modestly denies his own fitness for command; praises Churruca after his departure. ### [The Departure of the Fleet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/ix) The narrator's master, who is present on the ship and is mentioned as having relayed information about Villeneuve's plans to Marcial. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xi) Don Alonso is wounded in the left arm and withdraws below after an officer beside him is killed by a cannonball. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xii) Grieves over lost friends and ships, learns of the deaths of Churruca and Galiano, and refuses to leave the sinking ship until last. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xiii) Don Alonso is in the boat with the narrator and Marcial; he insists they are prisoners and later boards the Santa Ana. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xiv) Don Alonso is found on the upper gun-deck training a cannon, trembling with satisfaction after firing it, and speaks of returning to Cádiz in triumph. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xv) Mentioned as having been on the Santa Ana, which was rescued by the Rayo. He is not directly present in this chapter. ### [Chapter XVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/chapters/xvii) Don Alonso sinks into deep melancholy after the battle and Marcial's absence, spending his time praying. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters/don_alonso_gutierrez_de_cisniega - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/trafalgar_se/characters