José Maria Vergara y Lozano de Peralta (1792–1857) was a Colombian major general and hero of Independence of New Granada and Gran Colombia, Deputy for Casanare in the Congress of Angostura and diplomat of Colombia in London representing the South American country in the Congress of Troppau.

He fought in numerous battles alongside colombia´s founding fathers such as Simon Bolivar and Francisco de Paula Santander.

During the tumultuous years of the Spanish war against Napoleon, José María played a significant role in the fight against the French.

An American provided assistance, and consequently, he spent a period of time in the United States before arriving at the port of Cartagena de Indias.

[4][5] In 1813, Antonio Nariño, a leader in the independence movement of Colombia, ordered José María Vergara to lead the Cundinamarca battalion in the southern campaigns.

Vergara fought alongside his troops in several battles, including Palacé, Calibio, Juanambú, Cebollas, Tasines, and Pasto.

"The union of New Granada and Venezuela cannot and should not be like that of a conquered country, or ceded as a dowry to be in the interest of two families, or on the other hand, of another for the same or different political view.

His funeral was attended by several notable figures, including the president of the republic at that time, Mariano Ospina Rodriguez, the archbishop of Bogotá, and generals such as Tomas Cipriano Mosquera, Rafael Urdaneta, Joaquín Paris, Mendoza, Buitrago, Briceño, and Piñerez.

The luster of his lineage, the brilliance of his intelligence, his profound nationalism and his vast culture, would have elevated him to the sphere of great men, if madness, which annihilated his intelligence at the age of thirty, when he was honorably serving in London, , in 1822, a transcendental diplomatic mission, would not have deprived Colombia the Great of this worthy peer of Santander.“ He hailed from a family line that had a long history of nobility and aristocracy in Santafé.