Thirty-two bolivianos per month served as the official compensation for Ignacia Zeballos Taborga after she transitioned from infantry support to the Army Ambulance service during the War of the Pacific. Recognized as the Mother of the Bolivian Soldier, she remains a defining figure in the history of military medical care within her country.
Early life and political involvement
Born on 27 June 1831 in La Enconada, which is known today as Warnes in the Santa Cruz Department, she was the daughter of Antonia Taborga and Pedro Zeballos. Her siblings were Daniel and Matilde. After the death of her second husband, she relocated to La Paz to work as a seamstress. Her political engagement appeared in 1876 during the coups d'état led by Hilarión Daza against President Tomás Frías, where she participated in the burning of the Palacio Quemado.
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Following the Chilean invasion of the Port of Antofagasta in 1879, Zeballos returned to La Paz from Puno. She adopted her late husband's uniform and enlisted in the Colorados Battalion of the Eastern Rifles of the Velasco Squadron. Her role initially involved riding on horseback with troops toward Tacna, where she served as a rifle loader and assisted the rabonas, who functioned as camp followers providing nursing, supply transport, and intelligence gathering.
Nursing and military service
General Eliodoro Camacho promoted her to the Ambulances of the Army, marking her transition into formal medical support. She became one of the first nurses to wear the Red Cross emblem during active combat. Her duties included field care for wounded soldiers and the children of the camp followers. She performed search operations on battlefields following combat to protect survivors from hostile forces. In September 1880, after eighteen months of service, she petitioned President Narciso Campero for leave to visit her daughter in Puno.
Official recognition and death
The Bolivian National Convention of 1880 designated her the Meritorious Heroine of the Homeland, granting her the title of Colonel of Health, a gold medal, and a pension of forty bolivianos monthly. She died on 5 September 1904 in La Paz and received burial with military honors in the Pantheon of Nobles. Her remains were moved in 1982 to a monument near Warnes. In 1948, President Enrique Hertzog established the National School of Nurses in her name.
Fast facts
- Born: 27 June 1831, La Enconada
- Died: 5 September 1904, La Paz
- Nationality: Bolivia
- Primary Occupation: Nurse
- Military Rank: Colonel of Health
- Key Conflict: War of the Pacific
- Honorific: Mother of the Bolivian Soldier
Questions readers ask
What was the significance of the rabonas?
They were camp followers who provided vital logistics, including nursing services, carrying munitions, and gathering intelligence for the military.
Where are her remains currently located?
Her remains are interred at a monument near Warnes, situated at a northern roundabout on the highway to Montero.
