La justicia militar franquista contra los olvidados guardias de asalto prisioneros del capitán Cortés durante el asedio del santuario de la Virgen de la Cabeza

The siege of the sanctuary of the Virgen de la Cabeza in Jaén is one of the episodes of the Civil War that has attracted most attention. In general, the published studies focus on the war episode or on the experiences of the civilian population and the civil guards and usually forget, or treat superficially, the odyssey of a group of 6 assault guards who remained prisoners of Captain Cortés during the siege. This work focuses on the fate of these guardsmen. To Cortés in defense of the position, but their requests were not heeded by the leader of the rebels. Four of the prisoners escaped from the sanctuary a few days before the end of the siege. The prisoner guards were readmitted to the corps by the Republicans. Once the Civil War was over, they were subjected by the winners to military courts in order to clarify their conduct during the siege and afterwards. Two of the prisoners were sentenced to prison terms mainly for having denounced other comrades once the siege was over, although they were released a few years later. The remaining guards were acquitted.