Captain Pedro Velarde y Santiyán (19 October 1779 – 2 May 1808) was a Spanish Army officer best known for his participation in the Dos de Mayo Uprising against the French occupation of Madrid.

Born to a Cantabrian family in Muriedas, Camargo, Velarde enrolled in the Artillery College (Colegio de Artillería) at the Alcázar of Segovia in 1793.

[1] Velarde returned to the Artillery College after the war and worked as an instructor in mathematics and ballistics, in which he became something of an expert.

When the Dos de Mayo Uprising against France's occupation of Madrid erupted on 2 May 1808, Velarde took up arms and rallied his men.

Acting on orders from the local junta, Velarde and fellow captain Luis Daoíz y Torres led 20 Spanish soldiers and approximately 80 civilian volunteers, including women, to defend the Monteleón artillery barracks against a force of 2,000 French troops.