Liberators: 1810 - 1825 South American Wars of Liberation
During the period 1810 - 1824, the Spanish colonies were wracked by revolution; by 1824 Mexico and all the South American Colonies were independent. The Portuguese had their own problems and Brazil was independent by 1825.
This period appeals to me for several reasons:
- Marks the decline of the Spanish Empire
- Napoleonic uniforms
- Small battles
I've listed several sources below but the essential reference is John Fletchers series of "Liberators" books (Fletcher, 2005, 2006).
Summary
| Years | War |
| 1810-16 |
Argentinean War of
Independence
At the time Argentina was the main component of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. This viceroyalty also included Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia (Upper or Alto Peru), portions of Brazil and southern Chile. |
| 1810-18 |
Chilean War of Independence
The Captaincy-General of Chile stretched covered only the central part of the modern country, from Antofagasta in the north to Chiloe Island in the south. |
| 1810-24 |
Peruvian War of Independence
As mentioned above, Upper Peru is modern Bolivia and was part of Rio de la Plata. |
| 1810-23 | Mexican War of Independence |
| 1811-22 |
Columbian War of Independence
Note: Gran Columbia included modern Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela. |
| 1822-25 | Brazilian War of Independence |
Chronology
Note, I have followed Fletcher (2005) in using the following terms for the protagonists:
- Royalist = Those supporting Spanish Rule.
- Patriots = Those advocating independence. Also called Republican or Liberal.
10 May 1808: King Ferdinand Abdicates
Napoleon forces King Ferdinand VII of Spain to abdicate (Gate, 1986).
25 May 1809: Royalist Junta Declare for Ferdinand
A junta in Chuquisaca Audiencia in Upper Peru declared for Ferdinand (Hooker, 1991). La Paz and Quito followed suit.
Jul 1809: First Patriot Junta Appears
In July 1809, at La Paz in Upper Peru, the first Patriot junta called for self rule (Fletcher, 2005). Other Patriot juntas also began to declare against Spain (Hooker, 1991):
- Rio de la Plata: Buenos Aires in Argentina (25 May 1810), Asunción in Paraguay (24 Jul 1810), Montevideo in Uruguay.
- Gran Colombia : Caracas (19 Apr 1810) in Venezuela, Bogota in Nueva Granada, (20 Jul 1810) Cartagena in Columbia
- Chile: Santiago (18 Sep 1810).
1810-11: First Campaign of Upper PeruIn response to the declaration in La Paz, José Fernando Abascal y Sousa, the Viceroy of Peru, sent troops into Upper Peru to restore Royalist control (Fletcher, 2005). Brigadier General Jose Manuel de Goyeneche led the force from Peru and retook La Paz, while Brigadier General Vincente Nieto led the force from Rio de la Plata and retook Potosi. The Royalists drove the Patriots into the mountains. Then Radicals took control of Buenos Aires in May 1810 and on 9 Jul 1810 despatched the "Peruvian Auxiliary Army" (latter Northern Army) under General Antonio Gonzalez Balcarce to challenge the Royalists in Upper Peru. 1,500 men left Buenos Aires but the army grew to 5,000 through recruitment on the march. Among the volunteers was a group of gauchos lead by Martín Miguel de Güemes (Wikipedia: Battle of Suipacha). The Royalists won the Action at Cotagaita (27 Oct 1810) and lost the Battle of Suipacha (7 Nov 1810), allowing the Patriots to capture Potosi, Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, La Paz (Apr 1811), and Oruro (Harvey, 2000); the Patriots also captured the two Royalist generals, Cordoba and Nieto. The remaining Royalists in the area retreated to the border of Peru under General Goyeneche. After a two month truce the reinforced Royalists defeated the Patriots at the Battle of Huaqui (20 Jun 1811) and forced them south. The Royalist won again at Sipé Sipé (13 Aug 1811). Brigadier General Domingo Pio Tristán pursued the shattered Patriots into northwest of present-day Argentina, whilst Goyeneche consolidated the Royalist position in Upper Peru. The Argentine General Pueyrredón secured an armistice, allowing the Northern Army to retreat across the Bolivian plateaux, via Jujuy and Tucuman, to the relative safety of Salta in the lowlands (Harvey, 2000). |
27 Oct 1810: Action at Cotagaita
Nieto's army - under the command of General Jose de Cordoba y Roxas - repulsed the vanguard of the Patriot Northern Army near Cotagaita, about 560 km south of La Paz (Fletcher, 2005). The Northern Army withdrew and occupied a position on the southern bank of the River Suipacha (Wikipedia: Battle of Suipacha).
[Fletcher, 2005, says 1,500 Patriots swelled to 5,000, but Wikipedia: Battle of Suipacha says that Balcarce had 600 men and 10 guns when he reached Upper Peru. It is possible that the Wikipedia is giving the number of men present in the first action, i.e. in the Patriot vanguard.]
7 Nov 1810: Battle of Suipacha
The Patriot Northern Army repulsed a reinforced Royalist army on the southern bank of the River Suipacha (Fletcher, 2005; Wikipedia: Battle of Suipacha). The Royalist vanguard attacked with 800 men. The vanguard was driven back when the Republicans counter-attacked on the Royalist left flank. The Patriots then attacked the Royalist camp and force a general withdrawal. The victorious Northern Army captured General Cordoba and pursued northward to the river Desaguadero, capturing Nieto at Potosi. The remaining Royalists in the area retreated to the border of Peru under General Goyeneche.
1810-1811: Paraguay CampaignA small Argentine army under Manuel Belgrano invaded the Intendency of Paraguay (18 Dec 1810) (Wikipedia: Argentine War of Independence). The Argentine's defeated the Royalists at the Battle of Campichuelo (??), but then lost at the Battle of Paraguarí (19 Jan 1811) and Battle of Tacuarí (9 Mar 1811). Despite the Patriot's failure in this campaign, Paraguay subsequently broke with Spain and became independent. |
18 Dec 1810
On 18 Dec 1810 an Argentine force landed at the Paraná River port of Encarnación (Scheina, 2003). General Belgrano had 950 men, half of them poorly equipped recruits. The Argentine's defeated Velasco's vanguard at Battle of Campichuelo (??) and Belgrano decided not to wait for reinforcements from Misiones (400 militia and two cannon).
19 Jan 1811: Battle of Paraguarí
At the about 100 km from Asunción, 2,000 Paraguayans defeated Belgrano's Argentines. Belgrano lost 14 dead, 126 prisoners, and two guns, but the Paraguayans lost 70 dead and wounded.
2 Mar 1811: Battle of San Nicolás
12 Royalist Ships under defeated the small Argentine navy under Juan Bautista Azopardo after a bitter fight (Scheina, 2003). The Argentines had only three armed merchantmen: the 25 de Mayo (18 guns), Americana (3 guns), and Invincible (12 guns). 600 reinforcements for Belgrano were aboard.
9 Mar 1811: Battle of Tacuarí
Some 1,400 Paraguayans under Col Manuel Anastacio Cabañas defeated Belgrano's Argentine Army at the River Tacuarí (Scheina, 2003). Belgrano had 550 infantry, 400 cavalry, and 50 gunners with six guns. The Paraguayans captured General Jose Machain, 150 men and three guns, but allow Belgrano and the rest to slip across the river.
20 Jun 1811: Battle of Huaqui
After receiving large reinforcements from Peru the Royalist army under General Goyeneche shattered the Argentine Northern army at Huaqui, on the River Desaguadero, next to Lake Titicaca (Fletcher, 2005; Harvey, 2000). Only 800 Patriots reached Potosi.
13 Aug 1811: Battle of Sipé Sipé
The Royalists under General Goyeneche defeated the Argentine Northern Army at Sipé Sipé near Cochabamba in Upper Peru (Fletcher, 2005). Balcarce had 9,00 men. Brigadier General Domingo Pio Tristán pursued the shattered Patriots south into northwest of present-day Argentina, whilst Goyeneche consolidated the Royalist position in Upper Peru.
1812-13: Second Campaign of Upper PeruBrigadier General Pío Tristán led 3,000 Royalist south from Upper Peru into northwest of present-day Argentina (Wikipedia: Argentine War of Independence; Wikipedia: Jujuy Exodus). Manuel Belgrano, the new commander of the Argentine Northern Army, had only 1,500 men in arms so used scorched-earth tactics to hinder the invaders. Belgrano evacuated the inhabitants of the city of San Salvador de Jujuy and the surrounding area and burnt everything left behind; "The Jujuy Exodus" occurred 23-29 Aug 1812. The Patriot's repulsed the Royalist vanguard at Las Piedras River (3 Sep 1812), then defeated the Royalist army at the Battle of Tucuman (24 Sep 1812). Triston withdrew to Salta, while Belgrano remained at Tucuman to train his army. On 12 Jan 1813 Belgran headed north to win the Battle of Salta (20 Feb 1813). Belgrano captured the bulk of the royalist army although he then released Tristán and his men (a gentlemanly mistake). Belgrano headed north where Brigadier General Goyeneche was in the process of resigning. Brigadier General Joaquin Pezuela arrived from Lima with reinforcements and took command of the Royalist army at Oruro. Belgrano dawdled at Potosi and allowed Pezuela some months to prepare. The Royalists defeated the Northern Army at the Battle of Vilcapugio (1 Oct 1813) and the Battle of Ayohuma (14 Nov 1813) in Upper Peru. Belgrano retreated to Jujuy. During this period José de San Martín arrived in Buenos Aires (Wikipedia: Argentine War of Independence). The Junta recognised his rank of Lieutenant Colonel and instructed him to form his later famous cavalry unit, the Granaderos a Caballo. The men were recruited from the gauchos of the pampas and the officers from the best families in Buenos Aires (Harvey, 2000). |
3 Sep 1812: Action at Las Piedras River
24 Sep 1812: Battle of Tucuman
3 Feb 1813: Action at San Lorenzo
On 31 Jan 1813 a Spanish fleet of 11 ships under General José Zavala departed from Montevideo and headed up the Parana river (Harvey, 2000; Wikipedia: Battle of San Lorenzo; Wikipedia: Argentine War of Independence). San Martín, ordered to stop raids on the west bank of the river, decided to intervene. Dressed as a gaucho in white hat and poncho he took 120 men of his newly formed Granaderos a Caballo along the bank in the wake of the Spanish. San Martin passed Rosario (about 240 km from Buenos Aires) and on 3 Feb 1813 reached San Lorenzo in the Santa Fe province. At 0500 hours, from the tower of the Franciscan "San Carlos" monastery, San Martin saw the Spanish landing 250-300 men and at least two cannon. San Martin immediately attacked and despite enemy covering fire from the ships, his Granaderos had defeated the Spanish within 30 minutes. The Royalists lost 40 dead, 14 captured, at least 12 wounded, and two cannon. The Argentines lost 14 or 15 dead and 27 wounded. As a consequence San Martín was promoted to General. [Wikipedia: Argentine War of Independence says the Spanish force was a company, but this might be used in the general sense of a group.]
20 Feb 1813: Battle of Salta
The reorganised Argentine Northern Army under General Belgrano defeated the Royalists under Brigadier General Pío Tristán at Salta (Fletcher, 2005). The Patriots approached Salta on 19 Feb 1813, and enveloped the Royalists, destroying them on 20 Feb. The Patriots captured nearly 3,000 men, including Tristán. Belgrano paroled most of the Royalist then advanced on La Paz.
1 Oct 1813: Battle of Vilcapugio
Royalists under Joaquin de la Pezuela defeated Patriot Army of the North under General Manuel Belgrano on the prairie of Vilcapugio (Wikipedia: Battle of Vilcapugio). Vilcapugio is a plateau surrounded by tall mountains to the north of Potosí in Alto Peru. The government in Buenos Aires had three field forces: the Army of the North under Belgrano himself, and two other groups under Colonel Baltasar Cárdenas and Colonel Cornelio Zelaya. The Colonels were under instructions to rally the local population to the Patriot cause. Colonel Zelya was based in Cochabamba. Colonel Cárdenas had managed to raise 2,000 poorly trained men. Belgrano was facing Pezuela, but was suffering from malaria and had had to incorporate new recruits into his veteran army. The Royalists under Pezuela and Major Saturnino Castro were encamped at Condo-Condo between Belgrano and the Colonels, so Belgrano tried a pincer movement. Belgrano arrived on the prairie of Vilcapugio at the end of September 1813. Pezuela intercepted despatches between Cárdenas and Belgrano, seized the initiative, and attacked the Army of the North on 1 Oct 1813. The Patriot left and centre drove the Royalists back to Virrey de Lima. The Patriot right flank was, however, defeated by the attackers. When the Royalist cavalry arrived the remaining Patriots fled in panic. Eustaquio Dìaz Vèlez rallied the surviving Patriots at Potosí. Belgrano established his headquarters at Macha (Wikipedia: Battle of Ayohuma)
14 Nov 1813: Battle of Ayohuma
Royalists under Joaquin de la Pezuela defeated Patriot Army of the North under General Manuel Belgrano at the prairie of Ayohuma (Wikipedia: Battle of Ayohuma). After his loss at the Battle of Vilcapugio Belgrano established his headquarters at Macha and began to reorganise his forces. By the end of October 1813 he had 3,400 men in arms, including 1,000 veterans. Pezuela was still at Condo-Condo. The Royalists were short of horses and supplies but Pezuela decided to attack the Patriots before more enemy reinforcements arrived. The Royalists marched out of Condo-Condo on 29 Oct 1813 reaching Toquirí, a hill dominating the prairie of Ayohuma, on 12 Nov. The majority of the Patriot officers wanted to withdraw to Potosí, but Belgrano convinced them to fight and the army marched to Ayohuma. The Patriots had a two-to-one superiority in cavalry, but the Royalists had the same superiority in infantry, plus 18 heavy artillery pieces to Belgrano’s eight lighter pieces. The Royalists advanced at dawn on 14 Nov 1813, deployed on the Patriot’s right whilst the latter were in Mass, and attacked. Out manoeuvred and facing superior fire power the Patriots retreated. The Patriots lost 200 dead, 200 injured, 500 prisoners and almost all his artillery. Belgrano extracted 500 men from the debacle and retreated to Potosi but had to abandon the city as the Royalists approached. Belgrano then retreated to Tucumán.
30 Jan 1814
Belgrano resigned command of the Northern Army to General San Martin (Wikipedia: Battle of Ayohuma).
14-17 May 1814: Argentine Navy defeats Spanish
The Argentine navy was formed on 1 Mar 1814 under Chief Commander William Brown (Wikipedia: Argentine War of Independence). Brown's tiny fleet engaged and defeated the Spanish off the coast of Montevideo between 14-17 May. This earnt William Brown the rank of Admiral.
1813-14: The 'Admirable' Campaign
1815: Third Campaign of Upper Peru
1815-16: The Gaucho War
1817-18: Chilean Campaign
See my 1817-18 Chilean Project1817-21: Bolivar's Campaigns
1820-23: San Martin's Campaign in Peru
1822-25: Brazilian War of Independence
Sources
Alan Saunders: Liberation! Wargaming the South American Wars of Liberation
Balkan Military History: South America
Not sure how South America relates to the Balkans, but this site has some nice pictures of 28mm armies for the wars of liberation in South America.
Bogar, C. H. and Hooker, T. D. (1996). Independence From Spain: The Quito Campaign. El Dorado, VI (4). On-line http://www.magweb.com/sample/seld/s72quit.htm.
Covers the Quito Campaign and the Battle of Pichincha (24 May 1812)
Conliffe, A. (1995). Shako: Rules and Army Lists for Napoleonic Wargaming. NY: Quantum Printing.
Ecuador and Its Armed Forces: The Battle of Pichincha
Fletcher, J. (2005). Liberators! Volume 1: The War in the South. Grenadier Productions.
Covers the fighting in the South, specifically Argentine, Chilean and Bolivian efforts against the Royalist stronghold of Peru. Brilliant piece of work. So much crammed into a small book. Includes organisational, uniform and historical data on the armies and campaigns, and 12 scenarios.
Fletcher, J. (2006). Liberators! Supplement 1: The War in the South. Grenadier Productions.
Includes a fast play set of rules, 6 new scenarios, and 125 uniform illustrations.
John Fletcher's web site including additional material and a shop to buy his books and figures. In particular:
Alternate Order of Battle: Battle of Maipu, Apri 5, 1818. Fletcher cites “Las Fuerzas Armadas de Chile” as the source for the data in these orders of battle.
Alternate Orders of Battle for Cancha Rayada and Maipo. Fletcher cites Soria (2004) as the source for the data in these orders of battle.
Argentine Flags of the War of Independence, 1810-1824
Uniform: Argentine Cazadores a Caballo de la Escolta del General.
Gates, D. (1986). The Spanish Ulcer: A history of the Peninsular War. London: Guild Publishing.
Harvey, R. (2000). Liberators: South America's Savage Wars of Freedom 1810-30. London: Robinson.
Hooker, T. (1991). The Armies of Bolivar and San Martin [Men-at-Arms 232]. Osprey.
Ian Fletcher: Bolivar's British Legion
Battle Report of the Battle of Tucuman although the photos are on flickr
The original discussion forum for John Fletcher and Grenadier Productions. Now deprecated in favour of the Liberators 1810-1830 Yahoo Discussion Forum.
Liberators 1810-1830 Yahoo Discussion Forum
The current discussion forum for John Fletcher and Grenadier Productions.
Leach, C. (1997). Fields of Glory: Napoleonic Scenarios for Shako Rules. NY: Quantum Printing.
Miller, J. (1829). Memoirs of General Miller: In the Service of the Republic of Peru [2 volumes]. [Available on-line at google books]
ProDiseño: Carabobo 1821 (Spanish)
Battle of Carabob (24 Jun 1821). An animated presentation.
Regimientos de América (Spanish and English)
Despite the title ("Uniforms of South America"), it also includes details of Battles, Flags
Tactics, Figures, Books, Equipment, Articles, Links, and Shows. Also has sections on the Napoleonic Wars.
SACAWars · South and Central American Wars Discussion Forum
Scheina, R. L. (2003). Latin America's Wars: The Age of the Caudillo, 1791-1899. Brassey.
Soria, D. A. (2004). Las Campañas Militar del General San Martin. Santa Fe.
The Hallowes Geneology: General Miller Hallowes
Tony Hammond: British Officers in PeruSoldier of Fortune
University of Alabama: General Background InformationBritish officers involved in the Independence of Peru
Vergara y Velasco, F. J. (1897). 1818: Guerra de Independencia [Spanish]. Bogota. [Available on-line here]
Wikipedia: South American Wars of Independence
Wikipedia: Argentine War of Independence
Wikipedia: Battle of Chacabuco