Santiago....Foundation....Description of the City....Contrast
between the Society here and at Lima....State of Chile....Manners
and Customs....Revolution....Carreras....O'Higgins....Defeat at
Rancagua....Chileans cross the Cordillera....Action of
Chacabuco....Of Maypu....Death of Don Juan Jose, and Don Luis
Carrera....Murder of Colonel Rodrigues....Formation of a Naval
Force....Death of Spanish Prisoners at San Luis....Naval Expedition
under Lord Cochrane....Failure of the Attack on Callao....Attack at
Pisco....Death of Lieutenant-Colonel Charles....Capture of Vessels
at Guayaquil....Squadron returns to Chile.
SANTIAGO, the capital of Chile, was founded on the 24th February, 1541,
by the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. Its situation is in an
extensive valley called de Mapocho, bounded on the east by the
Cordillera, on the west by the hills or mountains de Prado and Poanque,
on the north by the small river of Colina, and on the south by the river
Mapocho, or Topocalma, which passes the city on one side, and feeds many
_asequias_, small canals for irrigation; it also supplies the city with
water.
About the year 1450 Chile was invaded by the prince afterwards the Inca
Sinchiroca, who, more by persuasion than by force, possessed himself of
this valley; it was called at that time, Promocaces, the place of
dancing, or merriment. The Peruvian government was not established here
on the first arrival of the Spaniards, owing perhaps to the opposition
made by the Promaucians, who resided between the rivers Rapel and Maule,
and whom they never subdued; thus, although Garcilaso de la Vega Inca
places the boundary of the territory governed by the Incas on the river
Maule, it is more probable that it was on the Rapel, for near the union
of the Cachapoal with the Tinguiririca, taking the name of Rapel, there
are some ruins of a Peruvian fortress, built in the same manner as those
of Callo and Asuay, in the province of Quito; these apparently mark the
frontier, and especially as none are found more to the southward.
Santiago is divided into squares or _quadras_, containing in the whole,
if we include the suburbs, about a hundred and fifty, which are marked
out by the streets; but many are incomplete, wanting houses to finish
the boundaries. The principal public buildings are the mint, the palace
of the supreme director, and the cathedral, which, like that of
Conception, is in an unfinished state. The mint is a very handsome
edifice, vieing in elegance with any other in South America, and equal
to many of considerable note in Europe. It was built by Don Francisco
Huidobro, at the expense of nearly a million of dollars: he presented it
to the king, and in return received the title of Marquis of Casa Real;
but this and all other titles are declared extinct by the independent
government. The palace of the supreme director is incomplete; the right
wing, which should correspond with the left, is entirely wanting. In it
are the different offices belonging to the government, and also the
public gaol. The unfinished state of the cathedral is likely to
continue; for large funds are wanting to finish so extensive a building.
The bridge across the Mapocho is a handsome structure of brick and
stone. The _tajamar_, breakwater, serves to preserve the city from being
inundated by the river when the waters increase, either by heavy rains
in the Cordillera, or the melting of the snows in the summer, at which
time this stream, though at other times insignificant, becomes a rapid
torrent. Here is a public promenade, like the Alamedas at Lima, having a
double row of Lombard poplars on each side, forming a shady walk for
foot passengers, while the middle one serves for carriages and horses.
The tajamar is formed of two walls of brick-work, and the interior is
filled with earth; a very agreeable promenade is made on the top, having
several flights of steps to ascend it; some seats are also placed in the
parapet which fronts the river; the whole being two miles long. The
snow-covered Andes are about twenty leagues from the city, yet they seem
to overhang it, and the view of them from the tajamar is very majestic.
Santiago is divided into four parishes; San Pablo, Santa Ana, San
Isidro, and San Francisco de Borja. It has three Franciscan convents,
two of the Dominicans, one of San Augustin, and two of La Merced: those
belonging to the Jesuits were five. Here are seven nunneries, two of
Santa Clara, two of Carmelites, one of Capuchins, one of Dominicans, and
one of Augustinians; a house for recluse women called el Beaterio, and a
foundling hospital.
Santiago was made a city by the king of Spain in 1552, with the title of
very noble and very loyal; its arms are a shield in a white ground, in
the centre a lion rampant holding a sword in his paw, and orle eight
scallops, Or. It was erected into a bishopric by Paul IV. in 1561. It
was the residence of the President, and Captain-General of the kingdom
of Chile, and counts fifty governors from Pedro de Valdivia, the first,
to Don Casimiro Marcó del Pont, the last; also twenty-three bishops,
from Don Rodrigo Gonsales Marmolijo to the present Don Manuel Rodriguez.
Here was also a tribunal of royal audience, one of accompts, a
consulate, or board of trade, treasury, and commissariate of bulls. The
whole of the territory extends from the desert of Atacama to the
confines of Arauco, and was subject to the above-mentioned authorities
from the foundation of the government in 1541 to the beginning of the
fortunate revolution in 1810.
The contrast between the society which I had just quitted in the capital
of Peru and that which I here found in the capital of Chile was of the
most striking kind. The former, oppressed by proud mandataries,
imperious chiefs, and insolent soldiers, had been long labouring under
all the distressing effects of espionage, the greatest enemy to the
charms of every society: the overbearing haughty Spaniards, either with
taunts or sneers, harrowing the very souls of the Americans, who
suspected their oldest friends and even their nearest relations. In this
manner they were forced to drain the cup of bitterness to the last
dregs, without daring by participation or condolence to render it less
unpalatable; except indeed they could find an Englishman, and to him
they would unbosom their inmost thoughts, believing that every Briton
feels as much interest in forwarding the liberty of his neighbour, as he
does in preserving his own. In Lima the tertulias, or chit-chat parties,
and even the gaity of the public promenades, had almost disappeared, and
_quando se acabará esto?_ when will this end? was the constantly
repeated ejaculation. In Santiago every scene was reversed; mirth and
gaity presided at the _paseos_, confidence and frankness at the daily
tertulias; Englishmen here had evinced their love of universal liberty,
and were highly esteemed; friendship and conviviality seemed to reign
triumphant, and the security of the country, being the fruits of the
labour of its children, was considered by each separate individual as
appertaining to himself; his sentiments on its past efforts, present
safety, and future prosperity were delivered with uncontrolled freedom,
while the supreme magistrate, the military chief, the soldier, and the
peasant hailed each other as countrymen, and only acknowledged a master
in their duty, or the law.
Another prominent feature in Chile is the state of her commerce,
entirely formed since the revolution; it has rendered her not only
independent of Spain, but of Peru also. Formerly the fruits and produce
of this fertile region of the new world were entirely indebted to Peru
for a market; but with the spirit of freedom that of speculation arose,
and markets and returns were found in countries, of whose existence ten
years ago (1819) even the speculators themselves were ignorant. Several
of these provinces were conceived to be so situated, that no one
attempted to visit them, judging that such a journey would be attended
with almost insurmountable difficulties; dangers as great as the
majority of the inhabitants of Europe supposed were to be encountered by
a visit to the coasts of Peru.
The manners and customs of the inhabitants of Santiago are now very
different from those of Conception in 1803, which was at that time
nearly as affluent as the capital; the estrado is almost exploded; the
ladies are accustomed to sit on chairs; the low tables are superseded by
those of a regular height, those on which the family, who at that period
crossed their legs like turks or tailors, sat on a piece of carpet, are
now abolished; formerly all ate out of the same dish, but now they sit
at table in the same manner as the English, and their meals are served
up with regularity and neatness. The discordant jarring of the old half
strung guitar has given place to the piano, and the tasteless dance of
the country to the tasteful country-dance. In many respects, indeed, the
Chileans here appear half converted into English, as well in their dress
as in their diversions and manners.
The following brief statement of the revolution in Chile, extracted from
official documents, and faithful reports, will I flatter myself be found
interesting to all classes--its details, however, must necessarily be
confined within short limits.
One of the peculiar features in all the South American revolutions was
the accomplishment of the principal object, which consisted in deposing
the constituted authorities without bloodshed. This was the case at
Caracas, Santa Fé de Bogotá, Quito, Buenos Ayres and Chile; and at a
later period at Guayaquil, Truxillo, Tarma, and even at Lima; for the
Spanish forces quitted the city, and the Chilean entered without the
occurrence of a skirmish either in the capital or its vicinity.
The same causes which operated in Venezuela and Quito, and have been
already stated, were felt in Chile, and produced similar effects. On the
18th July, 1810, the president Carrasco was deposed by the native
inhabitants, under the plea of his incapacity of preserving this part of
the Spanish dominions for Ferdinand, when he should be freed from his
captivity, and a junta which was formed of the Cabildo took upon itself
to govern according to the old system, but with the secret intention of
following the course and example of Buenos Ayres in declaring her
independence. In 1811 Don Juan Jose Carrera, the son of Don Ignacio
Carrera of Chile (who had been sent to Europe, and in the continental
war had attained the rank of a lieutenant-colonel and commandant of a
regiment of hussars) crossed the Atlantic to succour his native country,
which he was considered by his friends as the only person capable of
saving from the impending ruin which threatened it from the result of
the steps taken; and he was in consequence nominated by the junta
supreme president of the congress which was convened, besides which he
was appointed general in chief of the army about to be formed. The first
step which Carrera took was to establish a defensive army, which he
immediately began to recruit and discipline, choosing his officers from
among the most zealous friends of liberty. He constituted himself
colonel of the national guards, appointed his elder brother, Don Jose
Miguel, colonel of grenadiers, and his younger, Don Luis, colonel and
commandant of artillery. At this time the principal military force of
Chile was at Conception; indeed the whole of the force, excepting two
companies, which had always been on duty in the capital, and about fifty
stationed as a garrison at Valparaiso, was employed on the frontiers of
Arauco. On hearing of what had taken place in the capital, the troops at
Conception declared themselves in favour of the cause of liberty. The
inhabitants of Conception pretended that their city was better
calculated to be the seat of government than Santiago; and as the troops
were principally composed of Pencones, natives of the place, they were
persuaded to join in the request, which occasioned some difficulties to
Carrera, and it was feared that this untimely pretension would be the
cause of a civil war; but it was finally adjusted that, for a specified
time, the troops of Conception should remain to the southward of the
river Maule, and those of Santiago to the northward. This gave Carrera
an opportunity to gain over the troops, which he did by sending
emissaries to Conception, when a general reconciliation took place, and
the whole of the troops were placed under the command of Don Juan Jose
Carrera.
The Spanish troops from Lima, Coquimbo and Chiloe, under the command of
Colonel Gainsa, began hostilities in the south of Chile; various actions
and skirmishes occurred between them and the undisciplined Chileans, the
result being favourable to the latter. In 1812, Don Bernardo O'Higgins
(then a captain of militia) joined Carrera, who bestowed on him the rank
of lieutenant-colonel of the line, and shortly afterwards raised him to
that of brigadier general, for the important services he rendered with
the Guerilla parties.
In 1813, the three Carreras, with a considerable number of their
officers, were retaken prisoners by the Spaniards, and confined at
Talca. The command of the army devolved on O'Higgins, he being the
senior officer. He availed himself of this opportunity, assumed the
civil power, caused himself to be proclaimed president, and appointed a
substitute in the capital to govern during his absence. The Carreras
being possessed of money bribed the soldiers at Talca and made their
escape. O'Higgins instantly offered a reward for their apprehension. The
three Carreras immediately set off to Santiago, disguised as peasants,
and made themselves known to some friends; Don Luis was apprehended and
imprisoned; Don Juan Jose went in his disguise to the artillery
barracks, and having entered, discovered himself to the officers and
soldiers, who welcomed his arrival, and promised to support him; in
consequence of which he marched with the soldiers to the plasa, and
liberated his brother Luis. The citizens promptly reinstated the
Carreras, and the news being conveyed to O'Higgins, he marched his army
towards the capital, leaving the enemy to avail himself of the civil
discords of the Chileans. Carrera proposed to unite their respective
forces, proceed against the common enemy, and leave their private
quarrels to be decided by the fortune of war, or by the suffrages of the
people. To these proposals O'Higgins objected, and the two generals
prepared for action. Carrera chose the plain of Maypu, when O'Higgins
soon began the attack, and was repulsed; the peasantry, under the
command of Carrera, although victorious, called on their countrymen to
desist, not to fly, but to surrender to their first and best chief; this
they did, were generously received, and forgiven. O'Higgins and his
principal officers were made prisoners. They all expected that their
offended general would bring them to judgment as traitors; but they were
pardoned, restored to their former situations in the army, and
O'Higgins was reinstated in the command of the van-guard, and received
orders to march towards Rancagua, where Carrera soon afterwards repaired
with the remainder of the army. The Spaniards profited by the
dissentions of the patriot chiefs, recruited and disciplined more
troops, and invested the town of Rancagua on the first of October, 1814.
Carrera and his troops defended themselves here forty-eight hours, and
when their ammunition was expended and they were obliged to evacuate the
place, they cut their way through the ranks of the Spanish soldiery
sword in hand. General Carrera and his two brothers, O'Higgins,
Benevente, the unfortunate Rodrigues, and several of the more wealthy
citizens, crossed the Cordillera, leaving General Osorio in possession
of the whole of Chile.
The Spanish regime being thus re-established in Chile, the different
functionaries who had been deposed resumed their offices, and a new
tribunal called _de la purification_ was established, through which
ordeal all those natives who wished to be considered as loyal subjects
to Spain had to pass. It was composed of Spaniards, principally
officers, having the celebrated Major San Bruno as president. Nothing
can be imagined more arbitrary than the conduct of this tribunal; its
assumed duties were to examine the proceedings of the inhabitants, and,
independently of any established laws or set forms, to sentence or
acquit. The prisons were filled with the objects of persecution, the
places of exile were crowded with the victims of this political
inquisition, and Chile groaned under the unwise administration of
Osorio. This tyrannical general and Marcó, instead of pursuing
conciliatory measures, which would have attached the mal-contents to
their party, adopted every kind of persecution, and cultivated distrust;
until enmity, which ripened in secret, at the first favourable
opportunity produced conspiracies and all the fatal effects of revenge.
General Carrera pursued his route to Buenos Ayres, where he embarked for
the United States to solicit assistance; while O'Higgins, Rodrigues,
McKenny, and Calderon began to recruit and discipline a new army for the
re-occupation of Chile: the command of the army was given to San Martin;
it crossed the Cordillera, and the battle of Chacabuco was fought on the
twelfth of February, 1817, the result of which has already been stated.
On the arrival of the patriot troops in Santiago an elective government
was formed, of which General San Martin was nominated the supreme
director; but he declined the offer, and recommended his friend, General
O'Higgins, to fill the place.
The refusal of San Martin to accept the first and highest post of honour
in Chile was misunderstood at the time; it was construed into a
deference to the superior abilities of O'Higgins, and to modesty on the
part of the hero of Chacabuco; whereas some who knew him better were
persuaded, that he intended to govern the government, and to make it
subservient to his own purposes. Besides, a wider field for the ambition
of San Martin now presented itself. He began to look forward to Peru,
which afterwards became the theatre of his warlike virtues.
The Spaniards kept possession of Talcahuano, as well as the southern
provinces, and received supplies from Peru, principally composed of the
regiment of Burgos, one of the finest bodies of troops ever sent from
Spain. General Osorio again took the command of the army, and marched
towards the capital, while the patriots mustered all their forces to
oppose him. The Spanish force was composed of about five thousand
regulars, and it gained several advantages, particularly one at
Cancharayada, where they surprised the Chilean army in the night, and
completely dispersed it; and had Osorio continued his march, he might
have entered the capital without any opposition; but he remained at
Talca, and allowed the patriots to collect their scattered forces. This
they were not slow in performing, for on the fifth of April they
presented themselves on the plain of Maypu about seven thousand strong,
including the militia; indeed very few of them could be called veterans,
except in their fidelity to the cause of their country. O'Higgins having
been severely wounded in his right arm at Cancha-rayada, could not take
the field, but remained in his palace at Santiago. San Martin and Las
Heras commanded the patriots, and Osorio the royalists on this memorable
day, which sealed the fate of Chile. The conflict was obstinate and
sanguinary during the greater part of the day; in the afternoon fortune
appeared to favour the Chileans, when lieutenant-colonel O'Brian
observed, that the regiment of Burgos were endeavouring to form
themselves into a solid square; he immediately rode up to General San
Martin; and begged him to charge at the head of the cavalry and prevent
the completion of this manoeuvre, stating, that if it were effected
nothing could prevent their marching to the capital. San Martin, instead
of charging at the head of the cavalry, ordered O'Brian to charge,
which he did, and completely routed the Spaniards, and gave the victory
to the patriots. Osorio on observing the fate of the regiment of Burgos
fled with a few officers and part of his body-guard. When O'Brian
returned to the commander in chief and reported to him the news of the
victory, he was answered by a bottle of rum being offered to him by the
hero of Maypu, accompanied with this familiar expression, _toma!_ take
hold!
Of the five thousand men commanded by Osorio two thousand fell on the
field, and two thousand five hundred were made prisoners, with one
hundred and ninety-three officers, who were immediately sent across the
Cordillera to the Punta de San Luis and Las Bruscas; General Osorio,
with about two hundred followers, escaped from the field of action and
fled to Conception.
This victory over the Spaniards gave to the Chileans that complete
independence for which they had been struggling ever since 1810; but the
glory of the achievement was tarnished by what took place as well at
Mendosa on the east side of the Cordillera as at Quillota on the west.
On the return of General Carrera from the United States, bringing with
him several officers and some supplies of arms, for the purpose of
equipping an expedition for the liberation of his country, he found, on
his arrival at Buenos Ayres, that his two brothers were on their parole
of honour in this city, and were not allowed to return home nor to join
the army. This proceeding astounded Carrera, but he had scarcely time to
inquire into what had taken place, when he was himself arrested and
placed on board a gun brig belonging to Buenos Ayres; at which time his
two brothers, fearing the same fate, fled, Don Luis on the nineteenth of
July, 1817, and Don Jose Miguel on the eighth of August: on the
seventeenth they were apprehended near Mendosa, and thrown into prison,
when they were in hopes of having been able to cross the Cordillera and
again to serve their country.
It appears that Don Jose Miguel Carrera when at Rio Janeiro had obtained
a copy of the negociation which had been carried on in France by Don
Antonio Alvares Jonte, the agent of the supreme director of Buenos
Ayres, Pueyrredon, for the purpose of establishing a monarchy in this
place, and of giving the throne to Charles Louis Prince of Lucca, the
son of Don Louis of Bourbon, heir apparent to the Dukedom of Parma, and
Dona Maria Louisa of Bourbon, daughter to Charles IV. of Spain,
afterwards called the king and queen of Etruria. The possession of these
documents, and a knowledge of all that had transpired, rendered Carrera
an unwelcome visitor at Buenos Ayres, and a suspicious character to
Pueyrredon, who, to provide for his own safety, determined on the
destruction of this individual, but he escaped from the brig and fled to
Monte Video.
Don Jose Miguel and Don Luis were equally dangerous opponents to the
vices of San Martin, who on hearing of their being arrested sent over
his arch-secretary Don Bernardo Monteagudo to bring them to their trial;
and as it was necessary to forge some ostensible motive for their
execution, as that of having disobeyed the orders of a government to
which they had never promised fealty could not be accounted sufficient,
Don Juan Jose was accused of having murdered the son of the postmaster
of San Jose in the year 1814, of which act, however, Monteagudo himself
says, in his _Extracto de la Causa seguida contra los Carreras_, _p. 7_,
"although from the nature of the circumstances the murder could not be
proved by evidence, yet the whole of the procured evidence was such,
that the probability of the aggression was in the last degree
approaching to a certainty." As this accusation did not include Don
Luis another plan was laid that should inculpate the two brothers. Some
of the soldiers then on duty at Mendosa were directed to propose to the
prisoners the means of escaping, to which they acceded, and on the 25th
of February, 1818, Pedro Antonio Olmos informed the governor of Mendosa
that Don Juan Jose and Don Luis Carrera had formed a plan to escape from
prison on the following night, and brought in Manuel Solis to support
the information. This put the machine in motion, and five other soldiers
were adduced as evidence against the unfortunate brothers. On the 10th
of March the examinations closed, on the 11th they were requested to
appoint their counsel, and on the 4th of April the Fiscal solicited the
sentence of death; on the 8th the solicitation was approved of, as being
according to law, by Miguel Jose Galigniana and Bernardo Monteagudo, to
which was subjoined the following order: "let the sentence be
executed--Don Juan Jose and Don Luis Carrera are to be shot this
afternoon at five o'clock." (Signed) Toribio de Lusuriaga. The two
unhappy brothers heard their sentence at three o'clock in the afternoon,
and they were slaughtered at six. They left the dungeon arm in arm,
walked to the place of execution, and having embraced each other, sat
themselves down on a bench, and ordering the soldiers to fire, they
again embraced each other in death. The conduct of General San Martin in
this affair may perhaps be defended by his friends and partisans; but
the prevalent belief is, that on finding a considerable party in Chile
in favour of the Carreras, he was determined on their destruction, and
that the order for the execution of Don Juan Jose and Don Luis was sent
by him to Lusuriaga the governor. Nothing however can be conceived more
brutal than what occurred at Santiago after the execution of the two
brothers. San Martin sent to their unhappy father an account of the
expenses incurred on their trial and execution, with an order for
immediate payment, or that the father should be committed to prison. The
venerable old man defrayed the bloody charge, and two days afterwards he
expired, the victim of malice and of persecution. I was at Santiago at
the period, and followed the corpse to the grave.
At the same time that this tragedy was performed on the eastern side of
the Cordillera, another, which for its midnight atrocity exceeds even
the fabulous legends of cold-blooded cruelty, was performed by the same
manager on the western side: an act that would curdle the milk of
sympathy into a clotted mass of hatred. Don Manuel Rodrigues obtained
the rank of colonel in the service of his country; he crossed the
Cordillera after the defeat of the patriots at Rancagua, remained with
O'Higgins, and assisted to discipline the army commanded by San Martin;
the battle of Chacabuco added honour and glory to his name, and the
field of Maypu crowned him with laurels. His conduct as a soldier and
his manners as a gentleman had endeared him to all who knew him; but the
record of his virtues was the instrument of his destruction; the
jealousy of San Martin could not brook a rival in those glories which he
considered exclusively his own, and that the popularity of Rodrigues
might withdraw for one moment the attention of a single individual from
contemplating the greatness of the hero of Maypu. Rodrigues was
apprehended, and sent to Quillota, where after he had remained a few
days, San Martin sent a corporal and two soldiers, with an order for
Rodrigues to be delivered up to them; he was conducted along the road
leading to the capital, and not permitted to stop at night at a house
which they passed, and where he requested they would allow him to rest.
The morning dawned on the everlasting resting place of this gallant
Chilean--he was murdered at midnight by his ruffian guard, and buried
at a short distance from the high road. Inquiries were afterwards made
by the relatives of Rodrigues, but no satisfactory accounts could be
obtained at head-quarters; the soldiers who were the only persons
capable of giving information were not to be found; this was easily
accounted for; General San Martin had sent them to the Punta de San
Luis, to be taken care of by his confidant Dupuy, who was at this time
under training for another scene of bloodshed, more horrible, if
possible, than the past.
After the expulsion of the Spaniards, the supreme director, O'Higgins,
knowing the importance of a naval force, which might protect the shores
of Chile and its commercial interests against the Spanish vessels of
war, applied himself seriously to the acquisition not only of vessels
but of officers and crews. The two East-indiamen, the Cumberland and the
Windham, afterwards the San Martin and the Lautero, were purchased; the
Chacabuco and the Pueyerredon were equipped; the Galvarino was
purchased, and the Maria Isabel was taken. But after all this the
possession of vessels would have been attended only with expense, had
not the good fortune of South America been supported by the devoted
services of Lord Cochrane, to whom the western shores of the new world
owe their emancipation, and England the commerce of this quarter of the
globe.
O'Higgins being desirous of lightening the burden of the administration
which had been confided to him, nominated five individuals as consulting
senators; but he unwarily granted to them such powers as made them
independent of his own authority, and consequently rendered himself
subservient to their determinations. This caused innumerable delays in
the despatch of business, and prevented that secresy which is often
indispensably necessary in the affairs of state; indeed these two
defects of tardiness and publicity were often visible in Chile, for by
such delays the enemy was informed of the designs of the government, and
prepared to thwart their execution.
After the squadron had sailed from Valparaiso on the fifteenth of
January, 1819, under the command of Lord Cochrane, the whole attention
of the Chileans was engrossed with the expectation of decisive victories
which were to be obtained over the Spaniards in Peru; they felt
themselves secure under the protection of the fleet, and congratulated
each other on having now transferred the theatre of war from their own
country to that of their enemy; but a new scene of horror presented
itself, sufficient not only to astonish the inhabitants of this part of
the new world, but to call down on the head of its author universal
execration. The following extract is from the ministerial gazette of
Santiago of the fifth of March, 1819:--
"On the eighth of February last, between eight and nine o'clock in the
morning, my orderly informed me that some of the Spanish officers
confined here wished to see me. I ordered him to allow them to enter; I
was at this time conversing with the surgeon Don Jose Maria Gomes and my
secretary Don Jose Manuel Riveros. Colonel Morgado, Lieutenant-Colonel
Morla, and Captain Carretero entered; Carretero sat himself down on my
left hand, and after a few compliments, he drew from his breast a
poignard, and struck at me with it, but I fortunately parried the blow.
Carretero exclaimed at the same time, "these are your last moments, you
villain, America is lost, but you shall not escape!" I drew back to
defend myself against Colonel Morgado, who attempted a second blow, at
which time General Ordoñes, Colonel Primo, and Lieutenant Burguillo
entered; Gomes, the surgeon, immediately left the room, calling for
assistance, and my secretary Riveros endeavoured to do the same, but
was prevented by Burguillo. For a considerable time I had to defend
myself against the six assassins, who began to desist on hearing the
shouts of the people that surrounded the house, and were using every
effort to enter it; I requested they would allow me to go out and quiet
the populace, to which they consented; but the moment I opened the door
leading from the patio to the plasa, the people rushed in, and put the
whole of them to death, except Colonel Morgado, whom I killed, and thus
the attack on my person was revenged.
"I immediately discovered that a plot had been formed by the whole of
the officers confined here, to liberate themselves, and to pass over to
the Guerilla parties under the command of Carrera and Alvear; however,
the populace and the soldiery took the alarm, and several of the
prisoners have paid with their lives the temerity of the plan they had
laid. I immediately ordered Don Bernardo Monteagudo to form a summary
process, which on the fourth day after receiving the order he informed
me was finished, and I agreeing with his opinion, ordered the following
individuals to be shot: captains Gonsales, Sierra and Arriola; ensigns
Riesco, Vidaurazaga and Caballo; privates, Moya and Peres. The number of
enemies who have ceased to exist is, one general, three colonels, two
lieutenant-colonels, nine captains, five lieutenants, seven ensigns, one
intendent of the army, one commissary, one sergeant and two privates."
This was signed by Vicente Dupuy, lieutenant-governor of San Luis.
Many other statements of the transaction were circulated by the friends
of each party. I received the following from a person entirely
independent of both, and who had no motive for furnishing me with an
exaggerated account:
"On the night of the seventh of February, 1818, when the Spanish field
officers confined at San Luis were playing at cards with Don Vicente
Dupuy, this lieutenant-governor happened to lose some money, and
immediately seized what was lying before Colonel Ribero; Ribero
expostulated, and notwithstanding the entreaties of his friends, at
length struck Dupuy on the face, whose friends immediately seized some
arms, which had been placed in the room, and the Spaniards also availed
themselves of part of them. The uproar that was formed alarmed the
guard, and the Spanish prisoners, fearful of the result, laid down their
arms and begged Dupuy's pardon; it was granted, and he pledged his word
and honour, that if they would allow him to go out, he would pacify the
tumult made by the guard and populace; the Spaniards believed him; he
went out; but instead of quieting the disturbance he spread the alarm,
and called upon the people to revenge the insults he had received from
the Godos (Goths, the name by which the Spaniards were known); Dupuy
re-entered the house with some soldiers and other armed individuals, and
General Ordoñes, Colonel Morgado, with six other officers were
immediately butchered by them; Colonel Primo seeing that he could not
escape, took up a pistol and shot himself; every Spaniard found in the
streets was also massacred at the same time, and many were murdered in
their houses; in all fifty Spanish officers were massacred, and only two
escaped of the whole number, which at that time were at San Luis. For
this memorable action Dupuy was created a colonel-major, and a member of
the Legion of Merit of Chile.
"Dupuy was afterwards tried, by order of the government of Buenos Ayres,
for several acts of assassination and cruelty which he had committed,
and he defended himself by producing written orders from San Martin for
the assassination of Raposo and Conde, as also for the murder of the
unfortunate Rodrigues--these orders were very laconic--_pasará por San
Luis, tiene mi pasaporte, recibale bien, pero que no pase el monte al
atro lado de San Luis. Prontitud, y silencio, asi, conviene para el bien
de la Patria_: will pass through San Luis, he has my passport, receive
him politely, but allow him not to pass the wood on the other side of
San Luis.--Promptitude and silence, this is necessary for the good of
the country. However, Dupuy was exiled to La Rioja, whence he escaped,
and followed San Martin to Peru. He also proved, that the order for the
execution of the Carreras was a verbal one given by San Martin before he
left Mendosa."
With respect to General San Martin, it may be observed, that as his
character and actions have been so grossly mis-stated by other writers,
it becomes necessary that some traits which have hitherto been withheld
should be published, as well for the purpose of historical truth, as for
that of dissipating the cloud which envelopes the conduct of several
individuals who have lent their assistance to the cause of American
liberty. The presence of Monteagudo at Mendoza for the execution of the
Carreras, and of his being employed on a similar mission at San Luis,
are rather strange coincidences; with the additional circumstance, that
he was arrested in the house of an English merchant residing at
Santiago, and in the supposed character of a prisoner, was sent by the
order of San Martin to San Luis, where he was considered a prisoner
until called upon to form the process, and draw up the sentence of death
against the Spanish officers, which sentence appears to have decreed his
own liberation, for he immediately recrossed the Cordillera, and
remained with his patron.
In 1819 the Spaniards under the command of General Sanches evacuated
Conception and Talcahuano, crossed the Biobio, and proceeded through the
Araucanian territory to Valdivia. Sanches plundered the city of
Conception of every valuable which he could take with him; the church
plate and ornaments, and even many of the iron windows belonging to the
houses; he also persuaded the nuns to leave their cloisters and to
follow the fortunes of the army: they did, and were abandoned at
Tucapel, and left among the indians.
A native of Chile named Benavides was left by Sanches at the town of
Arauco, for the purpose of harassing the patriots at Conception, and
several Spaniards of the most licentious characters chose to remain with
him. Benavides was a native of the province of Conception, and served
some time in the army of his country, but deserted to the royalists: at
the battle of Maypu he was taken prisoner, and, among other
delinquents, was ordered to be shot, in the dusk of the evening.
However, Benavides was not killed, although his face was stained with
the gunpowder, and having fallen, he made some motion, which the officer
observing, cut him across the neck with his sword, and left him for
dead; but even after this he recovered sufficient strength to crawl to a
small house, where he was received and cured of his wounds. It is said
that after his recovery he held a private conference with San Martin; I
have been perfectly satisfied on this head, and I am certain that no
such interview ever took place; indeed San Martin is not the man for
such actions, nor would it have been prudent for any chief to have
risked his existence with a desperado like Benavides. This monster fled
from Santiago, joined General Sanches at Conception, and was left by him
in the command of the small town of Arauco, where the most atrocious
hostilities commenced that have ever disgraced even the war in America.
The attention of the government was employed in fitting out a second
naval expedition to the coast of Peru, for the latest advices from
Europe confirmed the former, which stated, that a naval force preparing
in Cadiz, and composed of the two line of battle ships Alexander and
San Telmo, the frigate Prueba, and some smaller vessels, was destined to
the Pacific. The Chilean squadron was by no means competent to cope with
such a force; besides which, two frigates, the Esmeralda and Vengansa,
three brigs of war, and some small craft, as well as armed merchantmen
at Callao, being added to what was expected from Spain, the force would
have been overwhelming. It was therefore determined, that the squadron
should attempt the destruction of the vessels in Callao, by burning
them. Mr. Goldsack, who had come to Chile, was employed in making
Congreve's rockets, of which an experiment was made at Valparaiso, and
which answered the expectations of Lord Cochrane.
Every necessary arrangement being completed, the squadron, consisting of
the O'Higgins, San Martin, Lautaro, Independencia, (which arrived on the
23rd May, 1819, having been built in the United States for the
government of Chile) the Galvarino, Araucano, the Victoria, and
Xeresana, two merchant vessels which were to be converted into
fire-ships if necessary, left the port of Valparaiso on the twelfth of
September, and having first touched at Coquimbo, arrived in the bay of
Callao on the twenty-eighth. Lord Cochrane announced to the Viceroy
Pesuela his intention of destroying the shipping in the bay, if
possible; but he proposed to him terms on which he would desist; namely,
that he would diminish the number of his vessels by sending part of them
to leeward, and fight the Spanish force man to man, and gun to gun, if
they would leave their anchorage, and this, said he, might be the means
of preserving the property of individuals then in the bay. His
excellency, however, declined the challenge, observing, that it was of a
nature which had never been before heard of. The preparations for
throwing rockets among the shipping immediately commenced, and on the
night of the first of October several were thrown, but without effect:
the firing from the batteries and shipping began at the moment the first
rocket was thrown, which appeared as a signal to the enemy. From our
anchorage we could distinguish the heated shot that flew through the air
like meteors in miniature; however, little injury was sustained on
either side: our loss consisted in Lieutenant Bayley of the Galvarino
and one seaman. One of the rafts under the direction of
Lieutenant-colonel Charles was protected by the Independencia; the
second by two mortars under that of Major Miller, now (1824) General
Miller, was protected by the Galvarino; and the third under Captain
Hinde was defended by the Pueyrredon. By accident Captain Hinde lost his
lighted match rope, and sent on board the brig for another, which the
soldier dropped on stepping from the boat to the raft; it fell among the
rockets, and an explosion took place, but no serious injury was
experienced.
In the nights of the second, third, and fourth several more rockets were
thrown, without particular success: some damage was done to the enemy's
vessels, but on the fourth they were completely unrigged, which was
undoubtedly a wise precaution. Several of the rockets exploded almost
immediately after they were lighted, others at about half their range,
others took a contrary direction to that in which they were projected,
and it became evident that some mismanagement had occurred in their
construction. On examining them, some were found to contain rags, sand,
sawdust, manure, and similar materials, mixed with the composition.
Colonel Charles, who had been commissioned to superintend the making of
the rockets, was at first incapable of accounting for this insertion,
but at length he recollected, that the government of Chile, with a view
of saving the wages of hired persons, had employed the Spanish prisoners
to fill the rockets, to which mistaken policy the whole squadron might
have fallen a sacrifice; for had the vessels which were expected from
Spain arrived, the Chilean forces would never have been able to cope
with the Spanish, especially when joined by what was in the bay of
Callao.
On the fifth a large vessel was observed to windward. It proved to be
the Spanish frigate la Prueba, part of the expected squadron: advices
which we received from shore informed us, that the Alejandro had
returned to Spain, and the general belief was, that the San Telmo had
been lost off Cape Horn, which was afterwards proved to be the case.
The fire-ship being ready was sent into the bay under the direction of
Lieutenant Morgel; an unceasing cannonade was kept up both from the
batteries and the shipping; the wind died away, and such was the state
of the fire-ship, that Lieutenant Morgel was obliged to abandon her, and
she exploded before she came to a position where she could injure the
enemy. Owing to the news which we received the following day, the
admiral determined not to send in the second fire-ship, but to proceed
to the northward, to procure fresh provisions and water, as well as to
obtain news respecting the Spanish frigate. The crew of the San Martin
being unhealthy, his lordship ordered her, the Independencia and
Araucano to Santa, and the Lautaro and Galvarino to Pisco, to procure
spirits and wine, the royal stores being full at this place. A military
force being stationed at Pisco, part of the marines were sent from the
O'Higgins and Independencia, and the whole were placed under the orders
of Colonel Charles. On the 14th of October we anchored in the harbour of
Santa, and immediately began to drive the cattle from the farms
belonging to the Spaniards down to the beach; but whatsoever was
received at any time from the natives was always punctually paid for;
this so enraged a Spaniard, Don Benito del Real, that he headed some of
his own slaves and dependents, and came from Nepeña to Santa, where he
surprised one of our sailors, and took him prisoner; he immediately
returned, and reported by an express to the Viceroy Pesuela, that he had
secured Lord Cochrane's brother in disguise. This news made its
appearance in the Lima Gazette, and nothing could exceed the
disappointment of the royalists in Lima, when they discovered that their
noble prisoner was only a common sailor.
On the 15th the Lautaro and Galvarino arrived from Pisco, and as
nothing can give a better account of what occurred at this place than
the official dispatch of the admiral to the Chilean government, the
following translation is subjoined:
"The absolute want of many indispensable articles in the squadron, as I
have already informed you, left me no other alternative than to abandon
the object of the expedition, or to take the necessary provisions from
the enemy. I adopted the latter, and sent the Lautaro and the Galvarino
to Pisco for the purpose of procuring spirits, wine, rice and some other
articles.
"The result of this expedition has been glorious to the arms of Chile in
the valour shewn by her officers and soldiers when fighting hand to hand
with the enemy, and in the assault on the city of Pisco, and the fort to
which the forces of the Viceroy retired. It is my painful duty
notwithstanding to inform you, that the unfortunate Lieutenant-Colonel
Charles closed in this action his career in the cause of liberty, to
which his soul was devoted, at a moment when it promised to be the most
brilliant which the human mind could desire. The courage and judgment of
Charles were not more visible than the talent and general knowledge
which he possessed; such as could only receive an additional lustre
from his peculiarly agreeable suavity of refined manners, and from that
diffidence in his behaviour, as if he considered that he had not arrived
at the portal of wisdom, when all who surrounded him saw that he was one
of the inmates of the temple.
"Would to God that that sword, the companion of his travels over the
greater part of the globe, in search of information, in the day of
danger, and in the hour of death, be employed by his brother, to whom in
his last moments he bequeathed it, with equal zeal in the just and
glorious cause, in which my ever to be lamented friend Charles has
prematurely fallen.
"Lamenting the loss which the cause of liberty and independence has
suffered in the death of Charles, as well as all those who knew this
able and meritorious officer, I subscribe myself with an anguished
heart, your most obedient servant, (signed) Cochrane."
"To the minister of marine of Chile, November seventeenth, 1819."
The Spanish force at Pisco was composed of six hundred infantry and two
hundred cavalry, part veteran and part militia; six pieces of eighteen
pound calibre in the fort, and two field pieces, mounted and served in
the city. The force under the unfortunate Charles consisted of two
hundred and eighty marines. After taking the fort they advanced on the
city, and took it. Colonel Charles fell about a hundred yards from the
town, and was immediately conveyed on board the Lautaro, where he died
on the following day. His last expressions were, "I hoped to have lived
longer, and to have served Chile; however, fate decrees the contrary;
but, Captain Guise, we made the Spaniards run!" Major Miller took the
command of the troops, and having arrived at the plasa, he was severely
wounded by a musket shot passing through his body, but he recovered, and
has continued to serve the cause of liberty in the new world. A
considerable quantity of spirits and wine was embarked, but the seamen,
owing to the facility of obtaining their favourite beverage on shore,
became so unruly, that Captain Guise was obliged to burn the stores,
consisting at that time of about fourteen thousand eighteen gallon jars
of spirits and wine.
Health being in some degree established among the crew of the San
Martin, she, with the Independencia, was ordered to Valparaiso, and his
lordship with the O'Higgins, Lautaro, and Galvarino, proceeded to the
river of Guayaquil, in the hopes of falling in with the Prueba. On the
twenty-seventh we entered the mouth of the river, at eleven P. M., and
at five the following morning, to the astonishment of the natives, we
were at the anchorage of the Puná, where we found two large Spanish
merchant ships. La Aguila and La Begoña, almost laden with timber; after
some resistance the crews cut their cables, and allowed them to drop
down the river, as the ebb tide had begun to run; however the boats from
the O'Higgins, the only vessel that had arrived, manned them before they
received any damage. The Spaniards took to their boats, and fled up the
river.
A slight dissention happened here between Lord Cochrane and Captain
Guise, who asserted, that the prizes had been plundered by the officers
of the flag ship; but on being questioned by his lordship respecting the
assertion, he denied having ever made it. A report was afterwards
circulated by Captain Spry, that it was the intention of the Admiral not
to allow the Lautaro and Galvarino to share in the prizes, they not
having been in sight when the vessels were captured, nor until the boats
from the flag ship had taken possession of them; however, Captain Spry
declared to the admiral, "on his honour," that the report was absolutely
false. Spry being now convinced that no objection would be made to the
vessels that were not present at the capture, sharing in the prizes,
next circulated a rumour, that Lord Cochrane had no right to share in
the double capacity of admiral and captain; but he also declared, "on
his honour," that he had neither made nor even heard such a report.
These trifling circumstances would be unworthy of detail, were they not
connected with future transactions in the squadron of serious
importance, which it will be my painful duty to relate.
The Spanish frigate la Prueba had arrived at the Puná on the fifteenth
of October; and having placed her artillery on rafts, she went up to the
city, where, for want of pilots, it was impossible for us to follow.
Having watered, and purchased a large stock of plantains and other
vegetables, we left Guayaquil river on the twenty-first of December. The
vessels of war and the prizes received orders to proceed to Valparaiso;
the O'Higgins appeared to have the same destination; but having made the
island of Juan Fernandes, the admiral gave orders to stand towards
Valdivia instead of Valparaiso, saying, that he wished to examine that
port, because the Viceroy of Peru had assured the Peruvians, that one of
the line of battle ships had entered Valdivia, and was there refitting,
for the purpose of making an attack on Valparaiso.