Battle of Cachirí

Battle of Cachirí
Part of the Colombian War of Independence
Church built on the battlefield in commemoration.
Date 22 February 1816 Location Cachirí, Santander Department, Viceroyalty of New Granada 7°32′18″N 72°59′10″W Result Spanish victory
Belligerents
United Provinces of New Granada	Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Custodio García Rovira Francisco de Paula Santander	Sebastián de la Calzada
Strength
2,500	Unknown
Casualties and losses
2,000 killed or captured	150 killed or wounded

The Battle of Cachirí took place during the Colombian War of Independence as part of the Spanish Reconquest of New Granada, fought on 22 February 1816 in the Páramo de Cachirí, located in the Santander Department in present-day Colombia, between the Army of the North of the United Provinces of New Granada and the V Division of Spanish Expeditionary Army. The battle came about as an attempt by brigadier general Custodio Garcia Rovira to defend the Socorro Province as well as the interior of the country from the invasion force led by colonel Sebastian de la Calzada’s who was part of general Pablo Morillo’s campaign to reconquer New Granada. The battle was a complete victory for the Spanish and would lead to the virtual destruction of the Army of the North, as well as allowing the Spanish to take the capital by May of 1816. This battle along with the Battle of Cuchilla del Tambo would mark the end of the first republic and the return of Spanish control over New Granada until 1819.

Background

The United Provinces of New Granada had declared its independence from Spain in 1811, and by 1815 controlled large parts of present-day Colombia. But in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, the restored King Ferdinand VII of Spain had sent a large fleet under command of Pablo Morillo to restore order in the colonies and destroy the Republic.

After landing in Venezuela in April of 1815, Morillo began to meticulously plan the reconquest of New Granada, while the main invasion force involved attacking the strategic port city of Cartagena, another force would invade New Granada from the east in Venezuela. On May 15 1815, Morillo ordered Spanish colonel Sebastian de la Calzada to raise an army in Barinas to do this, this would be Fifth division of the Spanish Expeditionary Army.

In July 1815 Morillo landed in Santa Marta, and deployed an advance force to take the river port of Mompox whilst he and his veteran troops besieged and straved in to submission the major port city of Cartagena de Indias between 26 August and 6 December 1815. In the meantime, Calzada and his 5th Division invaded New Granada on October 18, 1815 with the goal of taking Ocaña and Pamplona which would clear the road to the capital Santafé de Bogotá by the time Morillo's forces would come marching down after taking Cartagena. Calzada's V Division had some 2,211 men divided into 2 infantry regiments, 4 companies of cazadores, 2 cavalry squadrons (one of carabiners and the other lancers) and a company of artillery men with 4 artillery pieces.

He clashed with Republican troops under command of General Rafael Urdaneta at Bálaga, on the Chitagá River on 25 November, and was victorious.

The Battle

Sebastián de la Calzada continued his march south after defeating Urdaneta in Bálaga. He stopped in Pamplona and stayed there for a few days. Whilst there he received intelligence of the republican army's presence in Piedecuesta, seeking to lure them out of their advantageous position, Calzada conducted a feint march north towards Ocaña, crossing the moorland (Páramo) of Cachirí. In Cachirí he left a column of 300 men at the entrance of the Páramo, in order to goad Garcia Rovira into responding.

Upon receiving intelligence on the presence of these troops in Cachirí, Rovira launched an attack on the Royalists, and achieved a partial success on 8 February 1816. That emboldened him and led him to continue the pursuit of the Spanish division, which retreated in good order. Calzada expected reinforcements from the headquarters, and indeed linked up with a force of 300 cavalry, chosen among the best of the best expeditionary battlions and under command of Captain Silvestre Llorente.

With this reinforcements, Calzada turned around and faced the Republicans. He found the Republican army in the Páramo de Cachirí and attacked them in the afternoon of 21 February. The next day, he executed a flanking maneuver and defeated them completely. Rovira and Santander managed to escape, followed by only a handfull of men.

Aftermath

Cachirí was a serious defeat for the Republicans and effectively destroyed the Army of the North. In his report to Morillo, Calzada estimated that the republicans had lost 2,000 men; 1,000 dead along with 500 prisoners; 200 of these being wounded, the other 300 would later be impressed into the Spanish Army. The Spanish also captured "4 battalion standards, 2 artillery pieces, 750 muskets, 300 lances and 45,000 paper cartridges." Calzada was able to continue his advance towards Santafé de Bogotá, which he occupied on 6 May 1816.

News of the defeat reached Santa Fe on February 29, the first political consequences of the defeat were seen on March 7 when Garcia Rovira was relieved of his command and replaced with French born general Emmanuel de Serviez as commander of what remained of the Army of the North. President Camilo Torres resigned on March 12 and was replaced by the young José Fernandez Madrid as president of the United Provinces. Republican leaders fled to Popayan, but were again defeated at the Battle of Cuchilla del Tambo on 29 June, which put a definitive end to the First Republic of New Granada.

Sources

• Córdova : gloria y asesinato del héroe. Tomo I / Armando Barona Mesa ; prólogo del académico Antonio Cacua Prada
• “García Estrada, Rodrigo, Córdoba-Restrepo, Juan Felipe. (2016) 1816: El terror y la sangre sublime. Bogotá: Editorial Universidad del Externado. ISBN 978-958-738-778-0.

Links

• Universidad Industrial de Santander
• Universidad externado de Colombia