THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IN THE HIGHLANDS.
1820--1821.
Peru may be looked upon as a conglomeration of mountains, enclosed
within a sort of triangle, whose base on the third degree of south
latitude measures about eight hundred miles, from which it extends
southward for about fifteen hundred miles to the southern frontier of
Upper Peru on the eighteenth degree of south latitude, where the width
of the triangle is reduced to about sixty miles. This territory
comprises three zones; the coast zone, the highland zone, and the
mountain zone. Along the shores of the Pacific ocean lies a belt of
sand, never more than sixty miles in width, cut by twenty-three rivers,
which flow from the Highlands to the sea through fertile valleys,
separated by deserts of sand-hills, moved to and fro by the winds; on
which sand-hills there is no sign of vegetation, neither are there birds
in the air, nor reptiles on the earth; a far-stretching series of
deserts on which rain never falls. This is the region now in part
occupied by San Martin and his army.
On the east of this “Tierra Caliente” rises abruptly the western range
of the Andes; further still to the east stretches the huge line of the
true Cordillera. Between these ranges there lies in Upper Peru a vast
tableland, but in Lower Peru the intervening space is intersected by
numerous valleys and by the Andine lakes, which are sometimes as much as
16,000 feet above the level of the sea.
Under the Viceroys, Lower Peru was divided into eight “Intendencias”:
the most northern of these was that of Trujillo, which was also the
largest in extent, and by geographical position formed a distinct
country. Those of Lima and Arequipa extended along the coast, those of
Cuzco and Puno lay further inland to the South, bordering upon Upper
Peru; while in the centre lay the Intendencias of Huancavelica,
Huamanga, and Tarma. These three form the Highlands of Peru, and are
intersected in every direction by foaming torrents, passable only by
suspension bridges hanging from cables of raw hide.[16] The only roads
from the coast into this region pass by deep gorges through the coast
range of the Cordillera, and wind round the higher mountains along the
edge of precipices, ever ascending till they reach the tableland lying
between the range and the main Cordillera.
General Arenales had already distinguished himself in mountain warfare,
as is set forth in Chapter V., and was thus selected by San Martin at
Pisco to command the flying column, which was to make its way through
the Highlands and rejoin the main army in the North, which went by sea.
The chief object of this expedition was to spread the revolutionary
propaganda through the interior of the country, but it would also
distract the attention of the enemy, and possibly prevent the
concentration of his forces at Lima.
The column consisted of two battalions of infantry under Major Dehesa
and Colonel Aldunate; one squadron of cavalry under Major Lavalle, and
two guns. Colonel Rojas was chief of the staff. On the night of the 5th
October Arenales marched in a south-easterly direction upon Ica, where
Colonel Quimper was stationed with 800 men. At his approach two
companies of infantry passed over to him, and Quimper hastily retreated
along the coast. He was pursued by Rojas with 250 men, and overtaken at
the village of Nasca. The Patriot cavalry, led by Lavalle, charged at
once, and taking the Royalists by surprise, utterly routed them, with a
loss of 41 killed and 86 prisoners. On the following day, the 16th
October, Lieutenant Suarez, with thirty light horse, captured the
baggage, so that the first force detached from the army of Lima against
the expedition was totally destroyed.
The movements of Arenales were so well masked by the manœuvres of the
main army, that the Viceroy knew nothing of them until the 30th October,
and then allowed several days to pass before he sent off reinforcements
into the menaced district. Thus Arenales ascended the mountain passes
unopposed, and on the 31st October occupied the city of Huamanga, after
a march of 255 miles in ten days. Here he gave his troops some rest, but
sent out detachments under Lavalle and Rojas, who routed several parties
of the enemy very superior in number, and captured the city of Tarma, so
that by the 21st November he was in complete possession of the valley of
Jauja, which is watered by the Rio Grande.
After arming the militia and giving some political organization to the
liberated districts, he marched on Pasco, which O’Reilly had occupied
with a division of 1,000 men, sent from Lima. On the morning of the 6th
December, during a heavy fall of snow, he occupied a hill in front of
the town but separated from it by a small lake and by marshes. O’Reilly
on perceiving him, drew up his men in front of the town, but the Patriot
infantry-led by Aldunate and Dehesa, advanced resolutely under fire of
the artillery, and drove them back into the town at the point of the
bayonet, where they dispersed, while Lavalle, wading through the
marshes, charged the enemy’s cavalry and put them to flight.
The trophies of this smart action were 343 prisoners, including General
O’Reilly and Colonel Santa Cruz, a regimental flag, and two guns; but
the most important effect of the victory was to open the road for
communication with San Martin at Huara.
Arenales had left a strong rear-guard at Ica under two officers named
Bermudez and Aldao, who being attacked by very superior forces, were
compelled to follow the main body up the mountain passes to Huancayo,
and were much harassed on their way by hordes of Indian slingers.
Meantime the Spanish General, Ricafort, who was on the march from
Arequipa to Lima with a detachment of the reserve, heard of the doings
of Arenales and ascended from the coast into the Highlands, where he was
joined by a reinforcement from Cuzco, and having collected 1,300 men
marched upon Huamanga. Here he was met by a horde of Indians, who had
broken out in insurrection, and having got possession of some guns and a
few muskets, opened fire upon him from the high ground in front of their
city. He had no great difficulty in defeating them and gave no quarter.
The fugitives being joined by other parties of insurgents, then occupied
the village of Cangallo with about 4,000 men. Ricafort marched against
them with 400 infantry and 200 horse, and again routed them on the 2nd
December, killing a thousand of them without losing one man. The village
was sacked and burnt.
Ricafort then returned to Huamanga, and then learning that Bermudez and
Aldao had put themselves at the head of the insurgents of Huancayo,
marched against them with his whole force, dispersed the raw Indian
levies, captured the town and sacked it. Aldao, who with a small body of
horse, had greatly distinguished himself in this affair, retired to
Jauja, where, quarrelling with Bermudez, he put himself at the head of
the insurrection in conjunction with Otero, an Argentine, who had been
appointed Governor by the Patriots. Then learning that Arenales had
marched to the coast, he retreated to Reyes, but afterwards hearing that
Ricafort had withdrawn his force from the Highlands and gone to Lima, he
returned, re-occupied Huancayo, and raised an army of 5,000 Indians, to
which he gave some rough sort of military organization.
Arenales rejoined the main army on the 8th January, 1821, after a
triumphant march of 840 miles through the centre of the enemy’s
territory, with a hostile army on each side of him.