BOYACA--COLUMBIA--CARABOBO.
1819--1822.
In order to join Santander in Casanare Bolívar had to cross an immense
plain, covered at this season with water, and had to swim seven deep
rivers, taking his war material with him. Then lay before him the most
difficult part of his enterprise, the passage of the snow-covered
Cordillera in the depth of winter. All this he accomplished.
He joined Santander at the foot of the Andes, at the sources of the
river Casanare, on the 11th June, 1819. His army now comprised four
battalions of infantry, one of which, the “Albion,” was composed
entirely of English, two squadrons of lancers, and one of carabineers,
with a regiment called the “Guides of Apure,” part of which was English
also. Two thousand five hundred men, well armed, but nearly naked.
Santander led the van with the Casanare division, and entered the
mountain defiles by a road which leads to the centre of the Province of
Tunja. This point was held by Colonel Barreiro with 2,000 infantry and
400 horse, with advanced posts on the Cordillera. A reserve of 1,000 men
was stationed at Bogotá; at Cartagena, and in the valley of Cauca were
other detachments, and there was still another Royalist army at Quito.
Bolívar, who had fewer men, trusted much to the effect of surprise, and
counted upon the support of the inhabitants.
As the invading army left the plains for the mountains the scene
changed. The snowy peaks of the eastern range of the Cordillera appeared
in the distance, while instead of the peaceful lake through which they
had waded they were met by great masses of water tumbling from the
heights. The roads ran along the edges of precipices, and were bordered
by gigantic trees, upon whose tops rested the clouds, which dissolved
themselves in incessant rain. After four days’ march the horses were
foundered; an entire squadron of Llaneros deserted on finding themselves
on foot. The torrents were crossed on narrow trembling bridges, formed
of trunks of trees, or by means of the aerial “taravitas.” Where they
were fordable the current was so strong that the infantry had to pass
two by two, with their arms thrown round each others shoulders, and woe
to him who lost his footing, he lost his life too. Bolívar frequently
passed and repassed these torrents on horseback, carrying behind him the
sick and weakly, or the women who accompanied his men.
The temperature was moist and warm; life was supportable by the aid of a
little firewood; but as they ascended the mountain the scene changed
again. Immense rocks piled one upon another, and hills of snow, bounded
the view on every side; below lay the clouds, veiling the depths of the
abyss; an ice-cold wind cut through the stoutest clothing. At these
heights no other noise is heard than that of the roaring torrents left
behind, and the scream of the condor circling round the snowy peaks
above. Vegetation disappears, only lichens are to be seen clinging to
the rocks, and a tall plant bearing plumes instead of leaves, and
crowned with yellow flowers, like to a funeral torch. To make the scene
more dreary yet, the path was marked out by crosses erected in memory of
travellers who had perished by the way.
On entering this glacial region the provisions gave out, the cattle they
had brought with them as their chief resource could go no further. They
reached the summit by the Paya pass, where a battalion could hold an
entire army in check. It was held by an outpost of 300 men, who were
dislodged by the vanguard under Santander without much difficulty.
Now the men began to murmur, and Bolívar called a council of war, to
which he showed that still greater difficulties yet lay before them, and
asked if they would persevere or not. All were of opinion that they
should go on, a decision which infused fresh spirit into the weary
troops.
In this passage more than a hundred men died of cold, fifty of whom were
English; no horse had survived. It was necessary to leave the spare
arms, and even some of those that were carried by the soldiers. It was a
mere skeleton of an army which reached the beautiful valley of Sagamoso,
in the heart of the Province of Tunja, on the 6th July, 1819. From this
point Bolívar sent back assistance to the stragglers left behind,
collected horses, detached parties to scour the country around, and
communicated with some few guerillas who still roamed about. The enemy,
knowing nothing of his numbers, took up strong positions, and remained
on the defensive.
But Bolívar could not remain long inactive. Barreiro occupied a position
which commanded the main road to Bogotá; it was necessary to attack him
before he could receive reinforcements from that city or from Morillo.
No sooner had he his army once more in hand than by a skilful flank
movement Bolívar established himself on Barreiro’s rear, in a country
abounding in resources. The Royalists were forced to evacuate their
entrenchments, and a hard fought but indecisive action took place in the
swamps of Vargas on the 25th July, after which Bolívar recrossed the
Sagamoso river, and forced Barreiro to again change his position. Then,
deceiving him by a retreat in the daytime, he rapidly countermarched by
night, and on the 5th August captured the city of Tunja, where he found
good store of arms and war material, and placed himself between
Barreiro’s force and the army of Bogotá.
Barreiro, finding his communications cut, marched resolutely on the
capital; but it was too late. Bolívar had command of all the roads, and
seeing that the Royalists were advancing by the shortest route, which
crosses the small river Boyacá by a bridge, he posted his army on the
right bank and waited for them.
The battle of the 7th August commenced upon the bridge itself, where the
Spanish skirmishers were driven back. Barreiro then formed his infantry
in columns, with cavalry on the flanks, throwing out a battalion of
light infantry on the right, whose fire might enfilade the attacking
column of the Patriots. The Patriot centre and right wing drove in an
advanced party of Royalist infantry, and crossing a shallow stream threw
themselves upon the left flank of the Royalist army, while the left wing
and the cavalry attacked in front. The Royalist cavalry fled, the
infantry retreated to a fresh position, but on a second attack threw
down their arms. The vanguard, under Santander, accounted for all who
were not with the main body.
The victory was complete. Anzuátegui, who led the infantry of the right
and centre, and Rondon, who led the final charge of the Llanero horse,
were the heroes of the day. The English auxiliaries were seen for the
first time under fire, and showed that British solidity for which they
were always famous. The trophies of the victory were 1,600 prisoners,
including Barreiro himself, and 37 officers, 100 killed, and all the
artillery and small arms.
Boyacá is, after Maipó, the great battle of South America. It gave the
preponderance to the Patriot arms in the North of the Continent, as
Maipó had done in the South. It gave New Granada to the Patriots, and
isolated Morillo in Venezuela.
Bogotá was panic-stricken. Sámano fled with 200 men to Cartagena,
abandoning the archives and nearly a million dollars in the treasury.
The rest of the garrison retreated under Colonel Calzada to the North.
Bolívar, with a small escort, entered the capital in triumph on the 10th
August, amid the shouts and blessings of the populace. This victory was
not stained with blood. Bolívar was no longer the man of 1813 and 1814.
He shot one only of the prisoners he took, the man who had headed the
mutiny at Puerto Cabello in 1812. By incessant activity, he soon became
master of the whole country, which responded with enthusiasm to his
call. He raised new battalions and organized a fresh army to make head
against Morillo.
Where Bolívar triumphed there could be no lack of honours. Washington
and San Martin avoided ostentatious demonstrations of gratitude, but
Bolívar delighted in them. The municipality of Bogotá gave him a cross
of honour, a triumphal entry, and a crown of laurel. A picture of
Liberty supported by Bolívar was set up in the council chamber, and it
was decreed that the anniversary of the great battle should be
celebrated for ever. The crown of laurel sat well upon his head, upon
that of Washington it would have been a caricature.
But, great as was Bolívar’s vanity, there was room also in his head for
great ideas. Making use of the ample powers conferred upon him by the
Congress of Venezuela he founded the Republic of Columbia, which was the
dream of his life, and named Santander Vice-President of New Granada.
During a temporary absence of Bolívar, Santander shot the thirty-eight
Royalist officers who were taken prisoners at Boyacá, with Barreiro at
their head, and finished off the hecatomb with a countryman who had
protested against it on seeing the blood-stained benches. Santander
justified his cruelty by saying that it was done in retaliation of
similar barbarities committed by Barreiro; but some said it was done in
revenge for the death of his mother, occasioned by the privations she
had suffered while hiding herself from the persecutions of Sámano.
Bolívar returned to Angostura on the 11th December, and found that
affairs had greatly changed there during his absence. Zea had been
deposed by a revolution, and Arismendi was now Vice-President. Mariño
was General-in-Chief, and he himself was branded as a deserter for
having undertaken the reconquest of New Granada without authority from
Congress. The news of Boyacá had fallen as a thunderbolt among the
disaffected, and his return quelled them utterly. He acted with great
magnanimity, pardoned everything, resumed his authority, and announced
to Congress the union of Venezuela and New Granada, calling upon it to
give legal consistency to an accomplished fact.
Congress, enlarged by the addition of five New Granadian deputies from
the Province of Casanare, decreed the establishment of the REPUBLIC OF
COLUMBIA, in three great departments: Venezuela, Quito, and
Cundinamarca, each ruled by a Vice-President. A new city, which should
be called Bolívar, was to be the capital. The tri-coloured flag raised
by Miranda in 1806 was to be the flag of the new nation. A Constituent
Congress was convened, to assemble at Cúcuta on the frontier of
Venezuela. Bolívar was named provisional President of Columbia,
Santander Vice-President of Cundinamarca, and Roscio Vice-President of
Venezuela. The day of the installation of the Republic was fixed for the
25th December.
This great political business being settled, war again called for the
attention of the Liberator. The Spanish armies in the north and west of
Venezuela, and in Quito and Cartagena, amounted altogether to nearly
20,000 men, and reinforcements were expected from Spain. The new
Republic was still beset by dangers, while the strength of the country
was well-nigh exhausted.
Urdaneta and Montilla had been unfortunate in their expedition. Urdaneta
captured Barcelona on the 17th July, but being there attacked by very
superior forces was compelled to re-embark his men and retire to Paria,
where with some reinforcements he made an attack on Cumaná on the 5th
August, but was beaten off and withdrew to Maturín, with a greatly
diminished force. MacGregor took Portobello on the 10th April, but was
soon after driven out again with heavy loss. On the 5th October he took
Rio Hacha, but the conduct of his troops was so bad that the citizens
rose in arms against them, and forced him to re-embark. Happily at this
time the first division of the Irish Legion, 1,200 strong, reached the
island of Margarita. Bolívar placed them under the command of Montilla,
with orders to threaten Cartagena and co-operate with the Army of New
Granada on the Lower Magdalena, while the Army of the Apure advanced
from the plains of Caracas upon the capital.
Paez had invaded Barinas with cavalry, but was soon forced to retire,
after which Diaz captured ten armed flecheras on the Apure river, and on
the 30th September the Patriots retook San Fernando, which gave them
complete command of the Orinoco.
Morillo, thunderstruck by the invasion of New Granada, remained inactive
at Calabozo, and simply detached La Torre with 1,000 men to the valley
of Cúcuta, whence he was driven back by the division under Soublette,
which crossed the hills against him from Pamplona.
Soublette then joined Paez on the plains in his advance upon Caracas.
Bolívar reinforced them with two battalions of infantry, one of which
was English, and sent a strong column of Venezuelan troops, under
Colonel Valdez, to the south of New Granada, in order to act against
Quito. Morillo, uncertain what to do, confined his attention to securing
his base of operations in the western provinces of Venezuela.
Happily for America, and for Spain also, the reinforcements expected
from Europe never arrived. They could but have prolonged the struggle.
The revolution of 1820 prevented them from leaving the mother country.
The new policy of Spain was felt as much in the north as in the south of
the Continent. At the same time that San Martin broke up the armistice
of Miraflores, Bolívar signed one with Morillo at Trujillo. When
negotiations for peace recommenced as Punchauca, hostilities were
renewed in Venezuela.
The armistice signed by Bolívar and Morillo on the 25th November, 1820,
was of great service to the Patriots, giving them much-needed breathing
time, in which the country recovered somewhat from the exhaustion
produced by the long continuance of the struggle, and the institutions
of the new Republic became to some degree consolidated. Now that the
establishment of constitutional government in Spain gave hopes of a
possible reconciliation, commissioners were sent to the mother country
to treat for peace, and Morillo, despairing of ultimate success,
resigned his command and returned to Europe, leaving La Torre as
General-in-Chief of the Royalist armies.
The armistice was badly observed by both parties, more especially so by
the Patriots. While it was still in force, and while the commissioners
from Columbia were at Madrid, on the 28th January, 1821, the Province of
Maracaibo declared itself independent, and made overtures for a union
with the Republic of Columbia. La Torre declared that he should look
upon the occupation of this province by the Patriots as an act of
hostility. Bolívar acknowledged that such would be the case, but stated
that the Revolution itself was an accomplished fact, and as such he had
a right to support it. The armistice was accordingly declared to be at
an end on the 28th April, 1821.
During this interval of repose the Patriot armies had been considerably
strengthened. While the armistice still lasted Montilla had taken Rio
Hacha and Santa Marta, and was now besieging Cartagena with 3,000 men.
Bolívar had 5,000 men at Barinas, and Paez was in his rear with 4,000
more. Bermudez with 2,000 men threatened Caracas from the East; the army
of New Granada held the valley of the Magdalena. La Torre had 9,000 men
besides the garrisons of the towns on the coast, but his communications
were interrupted by the revolution in Maracaibo.
Bermudez after retaking Caracas and meeting with varied fortune in
desultory skirmishes, was compelled to retire, but his operations were
of great effect in occupying the attention of a considerable portion of
the Royalist army. Bolívar established his head-quarters at San Carlos,
where he was joined by Urdaneta’s division and part of the cavalry of
the Army of the Apure, and then marched with 6,000 men in search of the
enemy. La Torre had 5,000 men under his immediate orders, including a
strong body of cavalry commanded by Morales, but, uncertain of Bolívar’s
intentions, he detached two battalions of infantry and one squadron of
cavalry to reinforce a Royalist division which was stationed at
Barquisimeto, thus materially weakening his force on the eve of a
decisive action. The rest of his army he drew up on the wide plain of
Carabobo, at the foot of the passes leading through the Cordillera.
Bolívar, after surprising the principal pass, on the 23rd June, occupied
the heights looking down upon the plain. He could only descend at the
risk of having his troops cut up in detail before they could deploy on
open ground. As Bolívar hesitated, a guide told him of another road
which would lead him to the flank of the enemy. The next morning he
detached Paez, with 1,500 horse, the Apure battalion, and the British
legion, to attack the right flank of the Royalists, while he with the
bulk of the army remained on the heights ready to descend by the main
pass when the coast was clear.
The exit from the smaller pass was through a belt of woods and across a
stream, commanded by a hillock which was occupied by a detachment of
Royalists. The Apure battalion was in front, led by Paez in person. La
Torre, with three battalions and under cover of a heavy fire of
artillery, attacked this battalion as it left the pass, and threw it
into disorder, but the British legion, led by Colonel Ferrier, came
quickly to its assistance, deployed in line, and with the front rank
kneeling poured in so heavy a fire that the advance of the Royalists was
checked. The Apure rallied, and the cavalry charged on the right flank.
Ferrier, having burned all his cartridges, led on his men with the
bayonet and drove the enemy before him, while the Llanero horse rode
them down, and their ranks were disordered by the flight of their own
cavalry. One battalion stubbornly kept its formation, and repulsed every
charge made upon it during a retreat of twenty miles until it rejoined
the rest of the routed army, which took refuge in Puerto Cabello.[20]
This battle, the complement of that of Boyacá, which has been called the
Columbian Waterloo, secured for ever the independence of Venezuela and
New Granada, as Maipó and the expedition to Peru had secured that of the
South; the three battles combining to prepare the definitive triumph of
the emancipation of South America.
Bolívar entered Caracas for the second time in triumph; no one could now
deny him the glory of being the Liberator of his country. His retention
of the supreme power, both civil and military, was more than ever a
necessity. This was exactly the moment he chose for another resignation;
but there was a reason for it.
The Constituent Congress was convened at Cúcuta on the 6th May. It was
composed entirely of civilians, of whom the greater number were lawyers,
and was radically republican, opposed both to the abuses of military
rule and to the anti-democratic theories of the Liberator. His
resignation was thus at once a protest against accusations made against
him, and an indirect way of influencing public opinion.
Congress took no notice of his resignation, but quietly debated and
enacted the Constitution of Columbia. It decided that the President
should hold office for four years and should not be eligible for
re-election; that the General-in-Chief of the army should, while on
active service, have no political power, which was equivalent to the
abolition of the military dictatorship; and that the Constitution should
not be reformed for ten years. It only adopted the ideas of Bolívar in
one respect, which was in the establishment of a centralized system of
government. His plans of a life presidency and of an hereditary Senate,
as also the life Senate decreed by the Congress of Angostura, were
rejected. Bogotá was declared the capital of the Republic; Bolívar, “as
he feared,” was named President, and Santander Vice-President.
Bolívar repeated his resignation, but added that he would yield if
Congress persisted. Congress did persist, upon which he made an eloquent
speech, in which he said:--
“A man, such as I am, is a dangerous citizen under a popular government.
I wish to be a simple citizen in order to be free, and that all may be
so likewise.”
The Dictator of Columbia, reduced in theory to the position of a
Constitutional President, showed on this occasion, as on all others,
that though ambitious he was not a despot, and had no wish to be. He
swore the Constitution and proclaimed it, and devoting himself to his
military duties left the administration in the hands of the
Vice-President, but on the 9th October, 1821, he procured the passage of
a law by Congress which gave him absolute power over the army, and
empowered him to organize, as he pleased, the Provinces he might
liberate until he saw fit to place them under the Constitution of the
Republic.
On the 1st October, 1821, Cartagena capitulated to Montilla after a
siege of fourteen months. The Provinces of Panama and Veraguas, situate
on the Isthmus, immediately declared themselves independent, and
announced their intention of joining the Republic of Columbia. On the
28th November the fortresses of Chagres and Portobello fell into the
hands of the Patriots. In Venezuela the Spaniards, with 5,000 men, now
held only Cumaná and Puerto Cabello on the Windward Coast. In order to
round off the territory of Columbia it was now only necessary to
subjugate Quito. Thither converged the victorious armies of Bolívar from
the North, and those of San Martin from the South. San Martin was
already in possession of one half of Peru, and had one foot on
Guayaquil.
On the 1st August, 1822, Bolívar left Cúcuta for the South. Before going
he divided Venezuela into three military departments under Mariño, Paez,
and Bermudez, placing them under the superior orders of Soublette. On
the 16th October Cumaná surrendered to Bermudez. Puerto Cabello was
still held by a Royalist garrison of 4,000 men under Morales, who, at
this time, succeeded La Torre in command. Morales displayed such
activity and energy as for a time changed the aspect of the war. With
1,200 men he went by sea to Maracaibo, took that city on the 7th
September, and on the 12th November routed a division of 1,000 men under
Montilla. Then he overran the Province of Santa Marta, and on the 3rd
December occupied the Province of Coro. But in January, 1823, Santa
Marta was retaken by Montilla, and Coro by Soublette. Colonel Padilla
with a Patriot flotilla, which had greatly aided in the capture of
Cartagena, entered Lake Maracaibo under the fire of the forts, and on
the 24th July totally defeated the Spanish squadron which was there
stationed. On the 3rd August Morales capitulated.
Puerto Cabello was taken by assault by Paez on the 7th and 8th November,
1823, and the war in this part of the Continent was at an end.