Battle of Pilar

Battle of Pilar
Part of the Paraguayan War
A church in the Paraguayan town of Pilar after its capture by the Imperial Army.
Date September 20, 1867 Location Pilar, Paraguay Result Initial Paraguayan victory, later Paraguayan withdrawal and Brazilian occupation.
Belligerents
Empire of Brazil	Paraguay
Commanders and leaders
Viscount of Maracaju	Felipe Toledo
Strength
800 soldiers	400 soldiers and militia
Casualties and losses
300 casualties	174 casualties

The Battle of Villa del Pilar took place during the Paraguayan war. Brazilian forces, under the command of then Colonel Rufino Eneias Gustavo Galvão, advanced on the village on September 20, 1867. About 250 Paraguayan soldiers resisted the attack, and Francisco Solano López ordered Colonel Felipe Toledo to send aid. There were 300 Brazilian casualties against 174 of the Paraguayans.

The Battle

On September 20, 1867, Colonel Gustavo Galvão landed at the port of Villa del Pilar with 800 Brazilian soldiers. The landing was met by fierce resistance from the small garrison, made up of 250 men and women who lived in the city. Marshal López, aware of the Brazilian attack, sent his personal escort about 150 riders under the command of Colonel Felipe Toledo.

In a steam and three small boats in good condition landed reinforcements. The battle was quick, as the Brazilians did not wait for the Paraguayan riders, who found horses near the village. With hand-to-hand combat and the use of melee weapons, the Guarani inflicted defeat on the imperials, pushing them back to port.

Despite the Paraguayan victory, the Brazilians did great damage to the garrison, capturing close to 200 heads of cattle and supplies from the village, in addition to 60,000 cartridges and other valuable weapons and ammunition for the Paraguayan war effort.

The village was abandoned on 27 October 1867, giving a small clash of skirmishes. It was occupied the following day on October 28.