THE AFTERNOON OF THE 5TH JULY
The salvo of British guns at dawn on the 5th July roused General Liniers
from the soundest sleep he had enjoyed for several days. He sprang up
with the alacrity of one who, having a hard task before him, had made
every possible preparation and was confident of success. In ten minutes
the whole of the troops in and about the Plaza Mayor, were under arms,
and every post about the defences of the centre strongly occupied.
Beyond this there was nothing he could do but wait in readiness for any
emergency which might befall.
When Colonel Cadogan attacked the church of San Francisco he sent out a
strong detachment of Spanish infantry to aid the militia, and then took
charge in person of the defence of the entrenchment which was so
furiously assailed by Colonel Pack. When these attacks were repulsed he
turned his attention to the north of his position, where two
subdivisions of the 88th regiment had established themselves in two
houses about a square distant from each other in the vicinity of the
Merced Church. On the azoteas around these houses he massed about 3000
men, chiefly militia and armed citizens, and then directed an attack
upon them by the streets and from the beach by strong parties of Spanish
troops with artillery. At the head of these troops marched the "Morenos
de Ponce," led by Lieutenant Asneiros. The English, driven from the
azoteas by the overwhelming fire concentrated upon them, stubbornly held
their position till nearly twelve o'clock; Lieutenant-colonel Duff then
yielded to the summons of Asneiros and handed him his sword, after
having 220 men and seventeen officers killed and wounded. Major
Vandeleur, whose loss had been almost as heavy, surrendered immediately
afterwards.
After this success, General Liniers repaired to the tower of the
Cabildo, and looked forth around him. To the north the English flag
waved on the church of Las Monjas Catalinas, and over some houses nearer
the river; to the west on the tower of San Miguel, and to the south on
the church of Santo Domingo; it was upon this last flag that his gaze
lingered. Round each position so held by the foe the azoteas were
crowded with armed men, the rattle of musketry was incessant, and the
guns from the fort were firing steadily and with sure aim upon those
houses near the beach which were held by the 26th regiment.
Calling to him Colonel Elio, his second in command, General Liniers
directed him to march with a strong force of infantry and four guns
upon these houses near the beach, and upon the church of Las Monjas
Catalinas. Then sending for Asneiros, he directed him to return at once
with the "Morenos" to his former station contiguous to the church of San
Miguel, and to instruct Don Roderigo Ponce de Leon to concert measures
with the commander of the Arribeño regiment, which occupied the two
neighbouring blocks, for the recapture of that position. Having so
provided for the north and west, he then turned his attention to the
recapture of the church of Santo Domingo.
The first measure of Colonel Elio was to go forward himself with a flag
of truce to the position held by General Lumley. Telling him that
further resistance was useless, and informing him of the fate of the
88th regiment, he summoned him to surrender. To this General Lumley
returned a scornful refusal, and the firing which had ceased on the
appearance of the flag of truce, recommenced with greater fury than
ever.
Again Colonel Elio went forward with a flag of truce, and this time with
a written order from General Liniers, commanding him to surrender within
a quarter of an hour, to which General Lumley replied as before. A
strong force of Spanish infantry then advanced by the beach and opened
fire with two field-pieces at point-blank range. Lieutenant-colonel
Bourne sallied out at the head of fifty grenadiers, drove the infantry
at the point of the bayonet back to the walls of the fort, and spiked
both guns. At the same time another strong body of infantry which
advanced by the streets was met by Major King with a wing of the 5th
regiment and driven back with heavy loss.
The loss of the 36th was already heavy, both in officers and men; the
ammunition was almost exhausted, the numbers of the enemy increased
every moment. After communicating with Colonel Davie, who still held the
church of Las Monjas Catalinas, General Lumley determined upon
evacuating both positions, and retiring by the beach to the Retiro,
where what remained of the two columns of the left and centre
concentrated soon after two o'clock, and restricted their attention to
securing that position.
On the block contiguous to the church of San Miguel Don Roderigo Ponce
de Leon held the command on the morning of the 5th July, having under
his orders the "Morenos de Ponce" and about 300 armed citizens and
slaves, the adjacent blocks fronting him being held by detachments of
the Arribeño regiment.
Lieutenant-colonel Duff, marching down the Calle Piedad in the early
morning with his wing of the 88th regiment, had attempted to force an
entrance into the church of San Miguel, but the massive door resisted
all his efforts to break it open, and the fire of the Arribeños from the
opposite azoteas was so destructive that he was compelled to relinquish
his attempt and march on, leaving thirty of his men lying dead or badly
wounded under the porch.
When a second party of English attacked the church some hours later, Don
Roderigo had few men with him. The "Morenos" and the Arribeños had been
summoned by General Liniers to aid in the attack upon the 88th regiment,
and many of the armed citizens had gone with them. With such as remained
under his orders, Don Roderigo withdrew to the far side of the block,
out of range of the fire of the English sharp-shooters. As the English
burst into the church, a large double door further down the street was
opened, a horseman issued from it having a boy behind him _en croupe_,
who, instantly setting spurs to his horse, galloped off, while the door
closed behind them.
"Don't fire, men, it is only a boy!" shouted the officer in command of
the English, and the horse carried his double load in safety to the
first cross street.
The horseman was Venceslao Viana, the boy was Evaristo Ponce de Leon.
On the return of Asneiros, Don Roderigo left the azotea, and descending
into the cross street where the "Morenos" were halted, proceeded to make
arrangements with the commandant of the Arribeño regiment for the
recapture of the church. In half an hour the streets to the north and
east of the church were occupied by strong parties of the Arribeños, and
hundreds of armed citizens, flushed with their recent triumph over the
88th regiment, poured on to all the adjacent azoteas, crouching down
behind the parapets, and creeping nearer and nearer to the British
position.
"Now we shall see what you are worth, Morenitos," said Venceslao Viana,
as he galloped up to Don Roderigo with a message from the commander of
the Arribeño regiment that all was ready.
"Adelante! Marchen!" shouted Asneiros, as Don Roderigo gave him a
signal.
Steadily the well-drilled negroes marched to the corner, wheeled into
the street not 120 yards from the British guns, and then with a loud
yell charged straight upon them. Round-shot and grape answered their
shout of defiance, and swept them from the centre of the street, but,
spread along the side-walks, they still advanced, firing upon the
artillerymen. The infantry drawn up in front of the church advanced to
the support of the artillery, red-coated soldiers poured from the houses
of the block beyond, of which the invaders had taken possession. The
advance of the negroes was stopped, but the roar of the cannon had given
the signal, men sprang to their feet on every azotea round about, on
every side militia marched into the open streets. The red-coated
soldiery, facing in every direction, kept their foes at bay with a
steady fire of musketry, one gun was wheeled round, and a shower of
grape drove back the Arribeños, who came by the cross street from the
north straight upon the church.
Again Asneiros formed up the negro corps. Don Roderigo himself led them
on, waving his hat, and calling upon them to trust to the bayonet. The
negroes answered him with shouts, and rushed on. Again a shower of grape
tore through them. A dozen men fell. The first to fall was Don Roderigo.
Several of the negroes, throwing down their muskets, ran to him, and,
raising him in their arms, carried him to the shelter of the next
street.
Evaristo had seen his father fall, and ran up to him.
"Tata! Tata!" he cried; "speak to me! speak to me, Tata!"
"I am not dead yet, my son," said Don Roderigo, "I think my leg is
broken--a small matter. Run and tell Asneiros----"
"Yet there is one Ponce de Leon to finish these," said Evaristo, running
off.
In front of the church of San Miguel, the second house from the corner
had a peaked roof, covered with large red tiles. This house, by breaking
the line of the azotea, had been a great protection to the English
formed in the street below. The adjacent azotea was crowded with armed
citizens, who saw with consternation the second repulse of the negroes.
"Cost what it may, we must stop the fire of that gun," shouted a young
officer of the Spanish navy who was among them. "Follow me, boys!"
So saying he clambered up on to the roof of the tiled house, and tearing
up one of the tiles from the coping threw it at the gunner, who at that
moment held the linstock in his hand. The tile struck him on the side of
the head, down he fell, and the burning tow dropped under the gun
instead of firing it. The citizens gave a loud shout as they saw him
fall. Laying down their firelocks, scores of them followed the young
officer, showering heavy tiles upon the artillerymen as fast as they
could tear them from the roof.
"Ah! Morenitos! are you afraid of a cannon?" said Venceslao Viana to the
negroes, as they clustered at the street corner: "follow me, and I will
show you how cannon are taken!"
He had already arranged the coils of his lasso in his hand; he now
galloped up the street whirling it round his head. A dozen yards from
the gun he checked his horse, threw the noose over the breech of the
cannon, then turned and drove in his spurs. For a few yards he dragged
the gun after him, then it turned over, and the fastenings of the
trunnions giving way, he galloped off with his prize, leaving the wheels
and body behind him.
"Follow me, Morenitos!" shouted Evaristo, as the gun upset; "yet there
is a Ponce de Leon to show you the way."
The negroes yelled, and losing all order, followed him pell-mell; a
party of the Arribeños followed them, wild cheers and shouts rose from
all sides, the fire from the azoteas was more furious than ever. The
negroes drove the English infantry before them from the front of the
church and captured the other gun, but were in their turn charged and
driven back, but they took the gun with them.
Then the Arribeños again advanced by the cross street from the north,
poured in a volley at not more than twenty yards' distance, and charged.
The small English force was cut in two, one part made good its retreat
to the suburbs, the other, driven into the church by a fresh advance of
the negroes led by Asneiros, had no alternative but to surrender.
The officer in command surrendered to Lieutenant Asneiros, his men threw
down their arms, the English flag was removed from the tower of the
church, and Asneiros won the second sword he took that day.
Meantime General Liniers, as a first step to the recapture of the church
of Santo Domingo, completely surrounded the house occupied by Colonel
Cadogan, keeping up a constant fire upon the small garrison, till, when
he had only forty men left able to fire a musket, that officer
surrendered.
Liniers then despatched an officer with a flag of truce to General
Crauford, telling him that the assault had failed in all quarters, that
the losses of the English had been fearful, that several detachments had
surrendered, that he himself was surrounded and completely cut off, and
calling upon him to yield himself and his men prisoners of war. To which
summons General Crauford returned a decided refusal.
On receipt of this answer General Liniers directed an advance from all
sides upon the church, militia and armed citizens swarmed on all the
neighbouring azoteas, and their concentrated fire soon overpowered that
of the British sharp-shooters who occupied the towers and leads of the
church, and forced them to retire.
In front of the principal door of the church was an open space, on which
a portion of the light infantry were stationed, screened by intervening
houses from the fire of the guns on the entrenchments of the Plaza
Mayor, and on the south side the fort. Don Felipe Navarro, who commanded
on the block to the west of the church, had just heard of the deaths of
his sister and of Don Isidro Lorea; furious at the intelligence, and
seeing the retreat of the sharp-shooters from the towers and roof of the
church, he led his men right up to the parapet overlooking the open
space, and springing upon it pointed with his sword to the troops below
him--
"There they are, muchachos! Fire upon the heretics! Fire!"
The words were hardly past his lips ere a ball struck him in the chest,
he fell from the parapet into the street below, dead ere he reached the
ground.
But now from every azotea round a deadly fire was directed upon the open
space, and the troops, unable to make any effective reply, were
withdrawn into the church.
Within the church the British troops were safe from the fire of
musketry, but their position was full of danger, the great doors might
easily be beaten in by cannon, and then the garrison would be at the
mercy of their foes. General Crauford called together a council of his
officers.
Colonel Pack, on rejoining his superior officer, after the failure of
the attack by himself, had counselled an immediate retreat upon the
Residencia, but General Crauford could not then see the necessity for
any such step, and considered that he was compelled by his instructions
to occupy the church of Santa Domingo. Later on Colonel Pack had
discovered in the church the flag of his old regiment, the 71st
Highlanders, which had been captured on the 12th August. Overjoyed at
the recovery of his flag, he had ascended to the roof and planted it on
the eastern tower of the church, and spoke no more of the necessity of
retreat. He now brought it down again and repeated his former counsel.
But most of the other officers agreed that without a strong diversion in
their rear, retreat was now impossible, that to attempt it would result
only in a wholesale slaughter of the men.
Then General Liniers mounted a heavy gun upon a neighbouring azotea and
opened fire with it upon the eastern tower of the church, at the same
time that the guns on the southern side of the fort were also turned
upon it, with the intention of bringing it down upon the heads of the
English garrison.
Until four o'clock General Crauford held out, hoping that General
Whitelock might make some effort to relieve him, while not a man of his
could show himself at any opening without drawing upon himself at once
the fire of 100 muskets, and the base of the tower crumbled away under
the steady fire of the cannon. Finding his situation hopeless, he then
hung out a flag of truce, the fire ceased, and he surrendered, yielding
himself, his officers, and 600 men as prisoners of war, and leaving 100
more, who were too severely wounded to be moved, lying on the floor of
the church under the great dome.
* * * * *
It was four o'clock in the afternoon, a wild shout of joy rose up all
over the city, Buenos Aires was once more in the possession of her own
people. Stern men, who seemed to have no softness in them, wept like
children; friends and brothers rushed into each others' arms, embracing
each other in the exuberance of their delight. For half an hour the city
gave itself up to the delirium of triumph.
Then while daylight yet lasted those who had been foremost in the strife
took the lead in the work of mercy. Bands of the Patricios scoured the
streets all over the city, collecting the wounded British soldiers who
had so lately been their deadly foes. Where the carnage had been the
greatest, where the struggle had been the fiercest, every house became a
hospital, and every household ministered to the wants of suffering men.
And in many a household there was mourning and loud lamentation over
those who were of that household no longer; in many a house fathers,
brothers, or well-loved friends lay moaning on beds of pain; yet every
house was open to the wounded foemen who had brought that sorrow upon
them, and upon whom it had so fearfully recoiled. Gentle hands raised
them from the earth, bound up their shattered limbs, and held cups of
water to lips pale with agony.
Then night once more covered the city with a veil of darkness, the roar
of the cannon, the rattle of the musketry, which had been incessant all
day, was no longer heard.
The great struggle of the 5th July was now a matter of the past, was
already an epoch in the history of a young nation, who recked not as yet
that she was a nation. Whose sons had fought under a flag that was not
theirs, and who laid the hard-won laurels of victory at the feet of an
older nation, looking up to her in loving reverence as to a mother.
So the night passed over, and on the morrow it was another day.