Sketch of O'Higgins, San Martin, Lord Cochrane, Las Heras, and
Monteagudo....Sailing of the Expedition, and arrival at
Pisco....Debarkation....Occurrences at Pisco....Colonel Arenales,
with a division of the Army, marches to Arica....Troops embark and
proceed to Ancon....News of the Revolution of Guayaquil....Capture
of the Spanish Frigate Esmeralda....Army goes down to
Huacho....Head Quarters at Huaura.
Few things are more irksome, or perhaps none more difficult, than to
pourtray living characters, especially those of great men.
Misapprehension, flattery, or odium, generally constitute the _chiara
obscura_ of the painting; however, as this task has at this period of my
narrative become indispensable, I shall endeavour to fulfil it with
impartiality, hoping that at its conclusion my readers will confess that
the colours have not been carelessly selected, nor in any way
misapplied.
Don Bernardo O'Higgins, the supreme director of Chile, possesses a
considerable share of real courage; is resolute in executing a
determination, but tardy in forming it; diffident of his own abilities,
he is willing to take advice from any one, but always inclined to
consider the last as the best. Thus, without forming his plans on the
judicious analysis of the counsels offered, by eschewing the good, and
rejecting the evil, he has often been led into difficulties in his
political administration. These waverings were highly injurious to the
furtherance of Chilean prosperity, which was, no doubt, the idol of his
soul; and this same want of determination often produced evils of no
less moment in the military department. His love of his country was
doubtless sincere, and perhaps his earnest desire to be always right
sometimes led him into errors; but in this case it is more just to judge
of the motive, or the cause, than of the action, or the effect. The
establishment of the _senada consulta_ was in itself a virtuous measure;
but the expectation of finding five individuals who should see the good
of the country, and the advancement of its true interests, through the
same medium as himself, was one of the virtuous mistakes of O'Higgins,
which placed him under the control of his own creatures, and often
retarded the execution of plans of vital importance to the state, and
rendered their execution either abortive or nugatory.
The private character of O'Higgins was truly amiable. He was kind and
condescending; apparently more at home at his evening tertulias than
when under the canopy of the Supreme Directorship. In the whole of his
conduct it might be truly said, that
"E'en his vices lean'd to virtue's side."
Being the son of an Irishman, Don Ambrose Higgins, who died in the high
situation of Viceroy of Peru, he was passionately fond of the countrymen
of his father, and I believe an Irishman was never deceived in his
expectations of support and protection in O'Higgins. In short, the
character which a Chilean gave to me conveys a very accurate summary of
his general outline. "There is too much wax, and too little steel in his
composition; however, there are few better, and many worse men than Don
Bernardo."
The character of General San Martin will be best drawn from the conduct
which he has observed. He was first known while in a military capacity
in Spain, where he served as Edecan de Policia to General Jordan, with
the rank of Captain. At this time a majority became vacant, which he
solicited of General Castanos, but meeting with a refusal, he abandoned
Spain and her cause, came over to England, where he took shipping and
proceeded to Buenos Ayres in 1811. He there received the command of a
division of the patriot troops, and defeated a party of 500 of the enemy
at San Lorenzo. He was afterwards appointed commander in chief of the
army of Buenos Ayres, in Upper Peru, where nothing transpired to render
an account of his command of any importance. When superseded, he went to
Mendoza, and there met O'Higgins and the Chilean refugees; a plan for
the restoration of Chile was formed, San Martin took the command of the
army. The success of the patriots at Chacabuco and Maypu has already
been related, from which time nothing of importance occurred till 1820,
when he was appointed by the Chilean government general in chief of the
forces sent to Peru, called the "liberating expedition." I shall abstain
from making any comments on the character of General San Martin, leaving
my readers to form their own opinions concerning him, founded on the
facts which I shall present, authenticated by the circumstances as they
arose.
Lord Cochrane is too well known to require any encomium from my pen. His
services to his native country entitled him to the honour of knighthood
in the military Order of the Bath; being the only captain in the
British navy, who enjoyed this distinguished badge of national glory. In
the new world, when his services were not needed in the old, his career
of glory has been as brilliant as his most important services were
necessary; and I do not hesitate in asserting, that but for his
assiduity and unremitting attention, his military knowledge, and
determined valour, the western shores of America would have still been
in the possession of Spain; her fleet would have now commanded the
Pacific, and "British Commerce" would have been excluded from the
extensive market which it enjoys. Chile, Peru, and Columbia have
repeatedly expressed their gratitude, the high sense they entertain, and
the just appreciation which they hold of the merits of this hero; this
supporter of their rights; this defender of their liberty--and if the
name of Cochrane can ever be forgotten in the old world, or his services
not duly requited, it will be found enrolled in the imperishable
archives of the new, enshrined in the gratitude of the present and
future generations. "Lord Cochrane is such a miracle of nautical skill
and courage; his cause of banishment from his country is so
lamentable--his adventures have been so romantic--and his achievements
so splendid, that no Englishman can read them without pride, that such
things have been done by his countryman; and without solemn concern that
such talents and genius should be lost to the land that gave them
birth."[6]
Don Juan Gregorio de las Heras, Major-general, and second in command of
the army, had established his character as a soldier and a commander, by
his boldness and intrepidity at Talcahuano, in 1817. This general
merited the applause of every one, and his conduct in Peru endeared him
to every soldier, and every lover of the cause in which he
fought;--there can be no doubt that had he been the commander in chief,
those torrents of blood which have been shed in Peru since 1820, would
most certainly have been spared. In his actions Las Heras was mild,
affable, and unassuming, and in his manners he was a perfect gentleman.
In his general character he was sincere and candid; uniting always such
qualities as made him beloved by his friends, and feared by his enemies;
in fine he is an ornament to society, and an honour to his birth-place,
Buenos Ayres, where his patriotic virtues have been rewarded with the
Supreme Magistracy.
Don Bernardo Monteagudo was one of those individuals who too often
appear on the stage in revolutionary times, who "without feeling mock at
all who feel." He is a native of Upper Peru, of the lowest rank in
society, of spurious offspring, and African genealogy; he applied
himself to the study of the law, and his mind is composed of the very
worst materials which characterize the sullen zambo; his imagination is
active and aspiring, like that of the mulatto, a composition which is
formed to fulfil the Spanish adage, "_tirar la piedra, y esconder la
mano_, throw the stone, and hide the hand." He had been repeatedly
employed by his master San Martin to gild over, under the forms of law,
such proceedings as even he, with a blushless cheek was ashamed to avow.
The murder of the two Carreras at Mendosa, and that of the Spanish
officers confined at San Luis, are examples of what one monster can
execute, and another defend. His subsequent conduct in Peru will better
serve to define his true character than what I dare even venture to
attempt--for fear it should be supposed that prejudice has acted as a
stimulus.
The talents and literature of Monteagudo have been held up as possessing
considerable perfection; but it was justly said by Un Limeño[7] in his
_Alcance al Postillon_, printed at Santiago, September 5th, 1822, "that
his productions were impertinent comparisons, formed for benumbed and
monotonous newspaper paragraphs."
The expedition having left Valparaiso, the O'Higgins entered the bay of
Coquimbo, where the Araucano and a transport had been sent to embark
some troops; these joined the rest, and we proceeded to our rendezvous,
Pisco, and entered the bay on the seventh of September. On the eighth
the troops began to disembark, but such was the prudence of General San
Martin, that they were not allowed to proceed towards the town of Pisco,
until about three thousand were landed; these advanced on the ninth,
formed in three solid squares, under the command of Major-general las
Heras, while San Martin ran down the coast of the bay, in the schooner
Montezuma, to observe the operations of the enemy, which was composed of
forty regulars, and two hundred militia, commanded by the Count of
Monte-mar. This extraordinary prudence gave the inhabitants of Pisco
time to retire, which they did, and took with them even the furniture
from their houses, while they drove before them their slaves and their
cattle into the interior. San Martin, not willing to attribute the
absence of the inhabitants, and the loss of provisions, to his own
tardy movements, but to the inimical feelings of the Peruvians, was very
much chagrined, and stated it as his belief, that he had been deceived
with respect to the accounts he had received from different parts of
Peru; and, in fact, he began to doubt of the success of the expedition.
What a contrast was this to the landing of the gallant
Lieutenant-colonel Charles, about a year before; who, with less than
one-tenth of San Martin's troops, disembarked, and in three hours
possessed himself of the battery and town of Pisco. But this was
considered an imprudent act, and a want of generalship: and so it was,
if the greatest skill consists in avoiding danger, and in sparing both
friends and enemies for a more convenient occasion, to which may be
added, that Charles lost his life.
On the day on which the expedition arrived at Pisco, the constitutional
government had been restored in Lima, and the Viceroy was at the theatre
when he received the first news: he immediately retired, after having
heard the old Spanish adage frequently repeated, "_a cada cochino gordo,
le llega su San Martin_--for every fat hog, San Martin, will arrive;"
alluding to the fairs held in Spain on the day of Saint Martin for the
sale of hogs. The idea, that "all was not right in Denmark," induced
Pesuela to send immediately for the manager of the theatre, and to
examine the prompter's book; when convinced that there was no collusion
between the South American hero and the clown of the Lima stage, his
excellency dismissed the manager, stating, that being a native of Spain,
he could not doubt his loyalty. Had he been an American, he would
perhaps have been sent to prison for the prophetic crimes of Calderon,
the author of the comedy.
On the fourteenth, part of the convoy which had been separated from us
at sea arrived; and in the evening a Spanish vessel of war, bearing a
flag of truce, having on board a Spanish officer, was sent by the
Viceroy to San Martin to solicit a cessation of hostilities, and to
appoint commissioners to conciliate the interests of Spain and America.
On the twenty-sixth, the deputies met at Miraflores, two leagues to the
southward of Lima, and signed an armistice of eight days; but at their
conferences nothing was agreed to, the Spanish deputies requesting an
acknowledgment of the constitutional government of Spain, and the
evacuation of the Peruvian territory by the Chilean forces; and the
patriots that of the absolute independence of the country. Such being
the respective basis on which the conciliating deputies were ordered to
insist, the conference ended on the fourth of October, and on the fifth
hostilities again commenced.
On the arrival of the expedition at Pisco, several proclamations were
issued: that of the supreme director of Chile contained the following
paragraph:
"Peruvians,--behold the pact and conditions on which Chile, in the face
of the Supreme Being, and calling on all the nations of the earth as
witnesses and revengers of a violation, faces fatigues and death to save
you. You shall be free and independent; you shall constitute your own
laws by the unbiassed and spontaneous will of your representatives; no
military nor civil influence, either direct or indirect, shall be
exercised by your brethren in your social dispositions; you shall
discharge the armed force sent to protect you at the moment you choose,
without any attention to your danger or security, should you think fit;
no military force shall ever occupy a free town, unless it be called in
by a legitimate magistracy; neither by us nor through our assistance
shall any peninsular or party feelings, that may have preceded your
liberty, be punished: ready to destroy the armed force which resists
your rights, we pray you to forget, on the day of your glory, all past
grievances, and to reserve the most severe justice for future obstinate
insults."
On the thirteenth of October, San Martin issued the following paragraph
from the army press:
"People of Peru,--I have paid the tribute which, as a public man, I owe
to the opinion of others: I have shewn what is my object and my mission
towards you: I come to fulfil the expectations of all those who wish to
belong to the country that gave them birth, and who desire to be
governed by their own laws. On that day when Peru shall freely pronounce
as to the form of her institutions, be they whatever they may, my
functions shall cease, and I shall have the glory of announcing to the
government of Chile, of which I am a subject, that their heroic efforts
have at last received the consolation of having given liberty to Peru,
and security to the neighbouring states."
The sequel will shew how these solemn promises were forgotten; and how
the dreadful results which followed such a system of duplicity and
deceit are characteristics which blacken the name of a private
individual, and blast the honour of a "public man."
On the fifth of October, hostilities having recommenced, Colonel
Arenales, with a division of twelve hundred men and two pieces of
artillery, left Pisco for Ica, where he arrived on the sixth, and was
received by the corporation and inhabitants of the city with the
strongest marks of the most sincere enthusiasm in the cause of liberty.
Colonel Quimper and the Count de Monte-mar, with a force of eight
hundred men, fled from Ica, but two companies of infantry, with their
officers, returned and joined Arenales. Part of the division under
Arenales was sent to La Nasca on the twelfth, where they entered, and
completely routed the enemy. Quimper and Monte-mar made their escape,
owing to the fleetness of their horses; but all the baggage, consisting
of arms, ammunition, and equipage, was taken, together with six officers
and eighty privates.
On the fifteenth, about a hundred mules laden with stores belonging to
the enemy were also captured; and Arenales having established an
independent government at Ica, proceeded on his route towards Guamanga.
The troops of the expedition were distributed on the different estates
in the neighbourhood of Pisco, Chincha, and Cañete, which either
belonged to Spaniards, or Americans who had proved themselves inimical
to the object of the liberating forces, particularly on those belonging
to the Count of Monte-mar. All slaves capable of bearing arms, and
willing to serve in the army of San Martin, were declared free; however,
the number that presented themselves did not accord with the sanguine
expectations of the chief, and his uneasiness at what he considered
lukewarmness in general in the sacred cause began to produce impatience
bordering on despair. He informed Lord Cochrane that he should remove
his head quarters to Truxillo; but his Lordship fortunately advised him
to desist from a plan which would undoubtedly at once have ruined all
his hopes. Truxillo being at the distance of a hundred leagues to the
northward of Lima, it would have been almost impossible for his troops
to have marched across a country such as I have already described
without experiencing the greatest privations; and for want of the
necessary stores they could not possibly have returned by sea; besides,
the division under the command of Arenales would have been abandoned to
its fate, and almost delivered up to the enemy. The only temptation that
such a position could hold out to San Martin was, that Truxillo is a
walled city, easily tenable, and at a short distance from the sea-port
of Huanchaco; however it was determined to remove the head quarters to
the north of Lima, and on the twenty-second the troops began to embark.
On the twenty-sixth, the whole of the liberating expedition left the bay
of Pisco, and on the twenty-ninth it arrived off Callao, where the
vessels anchored under the island of San Lorenzo, presenting at once to
Lima a view of the forces sent to free the metropolis of South America
from the chains of colonial thraldom. On the thirtieth, the transports,
under convoy of the San Martin, dropped down to the bay of Ancon; the
O'Higgins, Lautaro, Independencia, and brig Araucano, still remaining in
the bay of Callao.
On the third of November, his Lordship astonished the inhabitants of
Callao, by sailing through the narrow passage that lies between the
island of San Lorenzo and the main, called the Boqueron. Never had the
Spaniards known a vessel of more than fifty tons attempt what they now
saw done with a fifty gun frigate. Expecting every moment to see us
founder, the enemy had manned their gunboats, and formed themselves in a
line ready to attack us the instant they should observe us strike; to
witness which, the batteries were crowned with spectators; but to their
utter astonishment we passed the straight, leaving them to ruminate on
the nautical tactics of the Admiral of the Chilean squadron.
Having passed the Boqueron, a ship and a schooner hove in sight; the
ship proved to be English, the schooner to be the Alcance, from
Guayaquil, bringing the news of the revolution and declaration of
independence of that city and province, and having on board the
ex-governor and other Spanish authorities. Guayaquil followed the
example of the other South American cities in the manner in which she
threw off the colonial yoke; the Spanish mandataries were deposed, and a
new government established on the ninth of October, without any
bloodshed, or even insults offered to the individuals deposed.
The adventurous spirit of Lord Cochrane immediately formed the project
of performing the most gallant achievement that has honoured the
exertions of the patriot arms in the new world. The two Spanish frigates
Prueba and Vengansa had left the coast of Peru, and the only vessel of
respectable force left at Callao was the frigate Esmeralda. She was at
anchor in this port, guarded by fifteen gunboats, two schooners, two
brigs of war, and three large armed merchantmen, besides the protection
of the forts and batteries on shore, and a floating boom surrounding
all the vessels, open only on the north side, lying close to the shore
of Bocanegra. His lordship determined on cutting out the frigate, the
brigs and schooners, and as many of the boats and merchantmen as might
be possible. This daring enterprize was to be executed by volunteers
alone; but when the act was proposed on the third of November to the
crews of the different vessels, the whole of them wished to share in the
glory of the undertaking. On this account it became necessary to issue
the following proclamation, which was received with that enthusiasm
which the voice of a hero causes, when he speaks to those who know his
character:
"Soldiers and sailors,--To-night we will give a mortal blow to the
enemy; to-morrow you will present yourselves before Callao, and all your
companions will look on you with envy. One hour of courage and
resolution is all that is necessary to triumph; remember that you are
the victors of Valdivia, and fear not those who have always fled before
you.
"The value of all the vessels taken out of Callao shall be yours; and,
moreover, the same sum of money offered by the government of Lima to the
captors of any vessel of the Chilean squadron, shall be distributed
among you. The moment of glory is at hand. I hope, Chileans, you will
behave as you have hitherto done; and that the Englishmen will act as
they are accustomed to do both at home and abroad. Nov. 4th, 1820.
Cochrane."
On the fourth of November, fourteen boats belonging to the Chilean
vessels of war were manned, and left the ships, filled with volunteers,
at half past ten o'clock at night; but this was only intended by his
lordship to exercise the men. On the fifth, being the day determined on
by the admiral for the gallant enterprize, the signalman of the
flag-ship was sent to the signal staff erected on the island of San
Lorenzo, where he hoisted two or three flags, and was answered by the
O'Higgins; the Lautaro, Independencia, and Araucano immediately weighed
anchor, and stood out of the bay, leaving on board the O'Higgins the
boats and volunteers. This _ruse de guerre_ completely succeeded, and
the Spaniards were persuaded that they had nothing to fear that night,
for they supposed that some strange sail had appeared in the offing, and
that our vessels had gone out in pursuit of it. All being thus ready, at
ten o'clock at night we again embarked in the boats, and proceeded
towards the inner anchorage, on the outside the boom the United States
frigate Macedonia, and the English frigate Hyperion, were at anchor;
and, as we passed the former, after being hailed by the sentry at the
gangway, who was immediately hushed by the officer on deck, many of her
officers hung over the bulwarks, cheered us in whispers, wishing us
success, and wishing also that they themselves could join us. Not so the
Hyperion; although not so near to her, the sentries continued to hail
the boats till we had passed.
The boats containing two hundred and forty volunteers proceeded in two
divisions; the first under the command of Captain Crosbie, of the flag
ship, the second, of Captain Guise of the Lautaro, both under the
immediate direction of his lordship. At midnight we passed the boom;
Lord Cochrane being in the first boat, was hailed from a gun boat, but,
without answering, he rowed alongside her, and standing up, said to the
officer, "silence! or death; another word and I'll put you every one to
the sword!" Without waiting a reply, a few strokes of the oars brought
the boats alongside the Esmeralda, when his Lordship sprang up the
gangway and shot the sentry; the one at the opposite gangway levelled
his musket and fired; his lordship returned the fire, and killed him,
when turning round to the boats he exclaimed, "up my lads, she's ours!"
The soldiers and sailors now boarded her in every direction, and
possession of the quarter deck was immediately taken. The Spaniards flew
to the forecastle, where they defended themselves, and kept up a
continued fire of musquetry for seventeen minutes, when they were driven
below, and obliged to surrender. We had scarcely obtained possession of
the quarter deck, when a gunboat close astern of the frigate fired a
shot into her; the shot tore up the deck under the feet of Captain Coig,
the commander of the Esmeralda, and wounded him severely; it also killed
two English sailors, and one native; but the officer and crew of the
boat immediately abandoned her.
The frigate was in an excellent state of defence, and her crew under
good discipline; the men were all sleeping at their guns, and the guard
of marines on the quarter deck; and so prompt were the latter, when his
lordship jumped up the gangway, that they appeared as if they had been
ordered out to receive him; indeed had not the boats under the command
of Captain Guise boarded at almost the same moment, behind the marines,
the admiral and many others who boarded her on the starboard side must
have fallen by their fire. His lordship at this time received a shot
through the thigh, but, until the ship was ours, he paid no attention to
the wound, except binding a handkerchief round it; after which he stood
on one of the guns of the quarter deck, and laid his leg on the hammock
netting, where he remained till three o'clock in the morning, and then
went on board the O'Higgins to have it dressed by the surgeon.
The following order was issued by the admiral to the captains on the
first of November, 1820:
"The boats will proceed, towing the launches in two lines parallel to
each other, which lines are to be at the distance of three boats' length
asunder.
"The second line will be under the charge of Captain Guise, the first
under that of Captain Crosbie. Each boat will be under the charge of a
commissioned officer so far as circumstances permit, and the whole under
the immediate command of the admiral.
"The officers and men are all to be dressed in white jackets, frocks, or
shirts, and are to be armed with pistols, sabres, knives, tomahawks, or
pikes.
"Two boat-keepers are to be appointed to each boat, who, on no pretence
whatever, shall quit their respective boats; but are to remain therein,
and take care the boats do not get adrift.
"Each boat is to be provided with one or more axes or sharp hatchets,
which are to be kept slung to the girdle of the boat-keepers. The
frigate Esmeralda being the chief object of the expedition, the whole
force is first to attack that ship, which, when carried, is not to be
cut adrift, but is to remain in possession of the patriot seamen, to
ensure the capture of the rest.
"On securing the frigate, the Chilean seamen and marines are not to
cheer as if Chilenos; but, in order to deceive the enemy, and give time
for completing the work, they are to cheer, Viva el Rey!
"The two brigs of war are to be fired on by the musketry from the
Esmeralda, and are to be taken possession of by Lieutenants Esmond and
Morgell, in the boats they command; which being done, they are to be cut
adrift, run out, and anchored in the offing as quickly as possible. The
boats of the Independencia are to busy themselves in turning adrift all
the outward Spanish merchant ships; and the boats of the O'Higgins and
Lautaro, under Lieutenants Bell and Robertson, are to set fire to one or
more of the headmost hulks; but these are not to be cut adrift so as to
fall down upon the rest.
"The watchword, or _parole_, and counter-sign, should the white dress
not be sufficient in the dark, are '_Gloria_,' to be answered by
'_Victoria_!' (Signed) Cochrane."
It was the intention of Lord Cochrane to clear the bay, according to the
instructions given; but being wounded, and the resistance made by the
Spaniards on board proving much greater than was expected, Captain Guise
ordered the cable to be cut; which being done, the frigate began to
drift from her anchorage. The batteries were pretty active during the
engagement, and when the Hyperion and Macedonia sheeted home their
topsails and began to move out of the way of the shot, the firing
increased. These ships shewed two lights, one at the mizen peak, the
other at the jib boom, as distinguishing signals, which being observed
by Lord Cochrane, he immediately ordered the same to be shewn on board
the Esmeralda: thus she was brought out of the anchorage with less
damage than either of the other two sustained. Indeed, excepting the
shot from the gun boat, the Esmeralda sustained none whatever.
From the lists that were found on board the prize it appeared, that she
had three hundred and twenty persons on board, besides some visitors,
who, from what had been observed, imagined that nothing uncommon would
take place that day. On the following, when the prisoners were mustered,
their numbers only amounted to one hundred and seventy-three; thus their
loss was one hundred and fifty-seven, besides several wounded, who at
nine o'clock on the sixth were sent ashore with a flag of truce. Our
loss amounted to eleven killed, and twenty-eight wounded. His lordship
immediately proposed to the Viceroy an exchange of prisoners; which
being acceded to, ours were immediately sent ashore, and those from the
dungeons of Casas-matas were ordered to join the army under San Martin.
The loss of the Esmeralda was a death blow to the Spanish naval force in
the Pacific, and created a most extraordinary effect in Lima; the
natives looked congratulations to each other, but dared not to speak,
while the Spaniards indulged themselves with every kind of useless
vociferation. To such a degree of frenzy were they wrought up in Callao,
that on the sixth, when the market boat belonging to the United States'
ship Macedonia went ashore, the crew was murdered by the infuriated
Spaniards, who fancied that they had assisted the patriots on the
preceding night.
Of this achievement of Lord Cochrane, Captain Hall says, "the skill and
gallantry displayed by Lord Cochrane, both in planning and conducting
this astonishing enterprize, are so peculiarly his own, and so much in
character with the great deeds of his early life, &c."
Captain Downes, of the Macedonia, in a letter to General San Martin,
says, "I do most sincerely congratulate Lord Cochrane upon the capture
of the Esmeralda; the exploit was executed in a gallant stile never
surpassed."
The bulletin of the army presented, in the report of the capture of the
Spanish frigate, a specimen of the jealous feelings of the general in
chief. The first statement is, "before the general in chief left the
vice-admiral of the squadron, they agreed on the execution of a
memorable project, sufficient to astound intrepidity itself, and of
itself to make the history of the liberating expedition of Peru
eternal."--Again: "those valiant soldiers who for a length of time have
suffered with the most heroic constancy the hardest oppression, and the
most inhuman treatment in the dungeons of Casas-matas, have just arrived
at our head quarters. Flattering promises of liberty and the threats of
death were not sufficient to destroy their loyalty to their country;
they have waited with firmness the day on which their companions in
arms should rescue them from their misery, and revenge the insults which
humanity has received in their persons. This glory was reserved to the
liberating _army_, whose efforts have snatched from the hands of tyranny
these respectable victims. Let this be published for the satisfaction of
these individuals and that of the army, to whose _arms_ they owe their
liberty. (Signed) San Martin."
Were the character of Lord Cochrane not known in the world, it might be
believed that the plan and execution of this action were the offspring
of the wisdom of San Martin; but how the liberty of the prisoners of war
confined in Callao could be owing to the efforts of the army is quite
paradoxical. Indeed the first assertion is as void of truth as the
second, and it would be as easy proved to be so, were it necessary.
The only way to praise the hero of this enterprize is to leave here a
blank: all those who contemplate this achievement must pay the tribute
due to the friend of rational liberty, the advocate of South American
emancipation, the supporter of the civil rights of the new world, the
true friend of the oppressed.
On the ninth of November the army left the bay of Ancon, and dropped
down to Huacho, where the troops immediately began to disembark, and
head quarters were established at Huaura on the twelfth.
At Ancon General San Martin distributed several proclamations. In one
addressed to the Spaniards residing in Peru, he says "Spaniards, your
destiny is in your own hands; I come not to declare war against the
fortunes and persons of individuals; the enemy of the liberty and
independence of America alone is the object of the vengeance of the arms
of the PATRIA.--I promise you in the most positive manner, that your
property and persons shall be inviolable; and that you shall be treated
as respectable citizens, if you co-operate in the great cause." To the
Spanish soldier who wishes to abandon his arms, he promises a "safe and
commodious passage to Europe should he request it," or wishing to remain
as a soldier, or as a private citizen, "the same enjoyments and
securities as the defenders of the country."
Similar promises were repeated at Huacho by a decree. "I. The goods and
property of all Spaniards, excepting those who have publicly endeavoured
to prolong the evils of the war by their seditious writings, shall be
under the protection of the liberating army of Peru, in the same manner
as the property of Americans. II. Those Spaniards who after we have
taken possession of Lima (if the fortune of war favour us) shall solicit
letters of citizenship, shall receive them, and shall be declared
citizens of the state of Peru."
Had not General San Martin compromised himself in this solemn manner,
his subsequent conduct in Lima could only have been called arbitrary;
but when acting in direct violation of such public assurances, it is not
harsh to call it dishonourable and unjust.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] Sir James Mackintosh, in the House of Commons.
[7] Dr. Don Jose Cabero y Salasar, Peruvian Charge d' Affairs in Chile.