José de San Martín is the national hero of Argentina, Chile and Peru, and along with Simón Bolívar, the most important Libertador of the Spanish American Wars of Independence. For this reason, he is paid homage and depicted in several cultural works of those countries, and even internationally. He led the Campaign across the Andes from Argentina to Chile which has been studied around the world for its complexity.

Remains José de San Martín died on 17 August 1850, in his house at Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. He requested in his will to be taken to the cemetery without any funeral, and to be moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, afterwards. He also bequeathed his curved saber to the Argentine governor Juan Manuel de Rosas. Mariano Balcarce informed Rosas and the foreign minister Felipe Arana of San Martín's death. Balcarce oversaw the embalming of his remains and his temporary stay in a chapel of the city. He also sent the saber to Buenos Aires.Galasso, pp. 569-574

However, the rebellion of Justo José de Urquiza against Rosas in 1851, Rosas' defeat at the battle of Caseros and the resulting chaos delayed the move of San Martín's remains to Buenos Aires. Still, both Rosas and Urquiza organized public homages to San Martín, regardless of their ongoing conflict. Buenos Aires seceded from Argentina as the state of Buenos Aires, dominated by Unitarians who despised San Martín. Thus, the move of his remains was postponed indefinitely. Aware that there were no favourable conditions to the project, Balcarce arranged the creation of a tomb in the Boulogne-sur-Mer cemetery.Galasso, pp. 574-577

The remains of San Martín were finally repatriated on May 29, 1880, during the presidency of Nicolás Avellaneda. The mausoleum was placed inside the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. As San Martín was suspected of being a freemason, the mausoleum was placed in an expanded wing of the cathedral.Galasso, p. 584

Historiography

San Martín was first acclaimed as a national hero of Argentina by the Federals, as Rosas and Urquiza. Bernardo de Irigoyen published the Recuerdos del General San Martín () in 1851. The unitarians still resented his refusal to aid the Supreme Directors with the Army of the Andes against Estanislao López and Francisco Ramírez, which led to their downfall at the Battle of Cepeda, and San Martín's constant support to Rosas.Galasso, pp. 574-576

The unitarian Bartolomé Mitre wrote a series of biographies, and established Bernardino Rivadavia as a national hero of Argentina. However, as Rivadavia was a statesman without a military career, Mitre sought to create a military national hero, to complement Rivadavia, and wrote a biography of Manuel Belgrano. This attempt did not prove completely effective, as Belgrano had grave defeats in his military career."General Belgrano is a historical man who does not seduce by his appearance; he did not shine in the art of war, as San Martín, nor left undying traces in fundamental institutions, as Rivadavia" (Domingo Faustino Sarmiento) - Galasso, p. 579 Thus, Mitre wrote a biography of San Martín, "Historia de San Martín y de la emancipación sudamericana" (). By that time, several accounts of San Martín were being written at many countries: Valentín Ledesma from Lima wrote in 1853 about San Martín's campaign in Peru, and Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna from Chile wrote in 1856 about the Chilean War of Independence.Galasso, p. 579

San Martín's support for Latin American integration contradicted the strong centralism of the government party. As a result, the biography written by Mitre modified details about him. The Spanish American wars of independence are not treated as a continent-wide revolution, but merely as an Argentine revolution that extends freedom to Chile and Peru. Bolívar is portrayed instead as a conqueror, annexing the new free countries into an artificial unity. The war is described to be separatist from the beginning, and encouraged and supported by Britain.Galasso, p. 582-583 However, in the specific case of San Martín this scenario could seem contradictory, as he had left America as a child and served for the Spanish army for 22 years. As a result, his military career in Spain is summarized in six pages (the whole book has more than six hundred), giving very little detail about him before his arrival to Buenos Aires.Galasso, p. 583 As for the reason for his departure from the Spanish army to join the South American ones, the book describes that "he decided to return to his distant nation, which he had always loved as a true mother, to offer her his sword and devote her his life".Mitre, p. 77 Meaning, that his first six years living in America shaped his personality more than the twenty eight he had lived so far in Spain. This point generated controversy among historians.

The historiography outlined by Mitre was first questioned in the 1930s, by historians who sought to update the information about Juan Manuel de Rosas. The support of San Martín to Rosas and the bequeathing of his saber was usually concealed or downplayed by the Mitrist historians, those new ones highlighted it. Later historians would point even more informations that contradicted the portrayal by Mitre, such as his good relations with the other caudillos and his personal enmity with Rivadavia, which included a cancelled duel.Galasso, p. 586

Monuments and memorials

When the news of the death of San Martín arrived to Entre Ríos, the governor Justo José de Urquiza erected a column in his recognition at the main plaza of Paraná.Galasso, p. 574 Tomás Guido proposed a statue at the Santa Fe Province in 1854.Galasso, p. 580 Louis-Joseph Daumas began a monument of San Martín in Santiago de Chile in 1859, so another one was requested to the sculptor and rushed in Buenos Aires at the Plaza Marte (modern Plaza San Martín). The monument in Chile was inaugurated in 1863, and the one in Buenos Aires in 1862.Galasso, p. 581

Statues of San Martín appear in most cities of Argentina, as well as in Santiago and Lima.

Two monuments were erected in Peru in the early 20th century, one in front of the Real Felipe Fortress in 1901 and another in Lima in 1921. A statue was built in Rosario in 1883. Santa Fe got one in 1901, Mendoza in 1904, Corrientes in 1806, and so on. Finally, the Cerro de la Gloria in Mendoza was inaugurated on February 12, 1914, an anniversary of the Battle of Chacabuco.Galasso, p. 585

The neighbourhood of San Martín in Bogotá, Colombia's Centro Internacional area is named for the large equestrian statue of the General situated in a small plaza also named for him.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has an avenue named Avenida San Martín in his honor that connects the colonial zone to the west of the city.

An equestrian statue of the General was erected in Boulogne-sur-Mer; the statue was inaugurated on 24 October 1909, at a ceremony attended by several units from the Argentine military. The statue was erected through purely private initiative, with the support of national government of Argentina, the municipal council of Buenos Aires and a public funding campaign. The statue is 10m high, on a 4m by 6m base; it is well known to locals. Located on the beach, it was virtually untouched by the numerous bombings campaigns during both world wars.

There is an equestrian statue of General San Martín in Washington D.C. along NW Virginia Street. It is a copy of a statue in Buenos Aires. It was given in 1925 from Argentina.

There is also a bust of San Martin at the Intramuros or Walled City of Manila, which was erected in 1950 at the request of the Perón government as a reminder that San Martin's brother, Juan Fermín, served in the Philippines from 1801 to 1822.

There is an equestrian statue of General San Martín in New York City, on the southern side of Central Park. It was dedicated in 1951 and was donated by the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

There is a bronze sculpture at Belgrave Square, London, United Kingdom. Another outdoor sculpture is installed at the McGovern Centennial Gardens in Houston, Texas, in the United States.

There is a memorial featuring a bust of General San Martín in Beverly Hills, California. The bust was designed by Fernando Di Zitti and dedicated in 2001.

General Liberator San Martin Drive roadway in the Ku-ring-gai National Park north of Sydney Australia is named in his honour.

Anthems and marches The battle of San Lorenzo, the only battle actually fought by San Martín in the modern territory of Argentina, is the theme of the San Lorenzo march. The military march was composed in February 1901 by Cayetano Alberto Silva following a proposal from Representative Celestino Pera. It was first officially played on October 30, 1902, at the inauguration of the monument to General San Martín in Rosario. The lyrics were written by professor Carlos Benielli in 1908. The march became famous in other countries and, according to the Argentine British Community Council, it has been considered in Europe to be one of the five best military marches ever written. The military bands of Uruguay, Brazil and Poland, amongst others, include it in their musical repertory.

Anthem to the Liberator General San Martín Music: Arturo Luzzatt Lyrics: Segundo M. Argarañaz

Yerga el Ande su cumbre más alta, Dé la mar el metal de su voz, y entre cielos y nieves eternas se alce el trono del Libertador.

Suenen claras trompetas de gloria y levanten un himno triunfal, que la luz de la historia agiganta la figura del Gran Capitán.

De las tierras del Plata a Mendoza, de Santiago à la Lima gentil, fue sembrando en la ruta laureles a su paso triunfal San Martín.

San Martín, el señor en la guerra, por secreto designio de Dios, grande fue cuando el sol lo alumbraba, y más grande en la puesta del Sol.

¡Padre augusto del pueblo argentino, héroe magno de la libertad! A su sombra la Patria se agranda en virtud, en trabajo y en paz.

¡San Martín! ¡San Martín! Que tu nombre, honra y prez de los pueblos del Sur, asegure por siempre los rumbos de la Patria que alumbra tu luz.Rise the Andes its highest peak; Give the sea the metal of his voice. And between skies and everlasting snows, shall arise the throne of the Liberator.

May trumpets of glory sound clearly and play a triumphal anthem because the light of history aggrandizes the figure of the Great Captain.

From the lands of River Plate to Mendoza, from Santiago to genteel Lima, he went, planting laurels along the way in his triumphal journey, San Martín.

San Martín, the lord of war, by secret choice of God, was great when the Sun was shining on him, and even greater in the sunset.

Great father of the Argentine People, Greatest hero of freedom! beneath his shadow the fatherland grows in virtue, in work, and in peace.

San Martín! San Martín! may your name, the honour and glory of the people of the South, assure for ever the fates of the fatherland enlightened by your light.

Portraits

San Martín was born in Yapeyú, Corrientes, in a poor family, and moved to Spain a short time afterwards. For evident reasons, he did not pose for any portrait during his infancy. Neither he did during his military career in Spain, as he lived in the barracks and it was not common to make portraits of young military. He was usually reluctant to pose for portraits, because of modesty and his frugal military lifestyle. During his stay in Argentina there is a drawing on ivory in his mounted grenadier uniform, of unknown author.