The War Between the
Peru-Bolivian Confederation and Chile
1837 - 1839

Part 2

By Col. Alberto Marquez Allison


Other Installments:

In 1837, the Chilean Army was rather small but from it an expedition force was mounted consisting of 4 Infantry Battalions (2 Line and 2 National Guard units namely; Portales, Valparaiso, Colchagua and Valdivia) with these Cavalry units; Cavalry Regiment Cazadores a Caballo, Escuadron de Caballeria Lanceros, Compania de Caballeria Husares de la Guardia del General and a Company of Artillery with 6 field pieces. Each Battalion of Infantry consisted of 6 companies, each company having 3 officers and 65 other ranks, each Cavalry Regiment was composed of 3 Squadrons, each Squadron having 2 Companies and each company had 4 officers and 80 other ranks, a Regiment of Artillery consisted of 7 companies each having 4 officers and 61 other ranks.

The overall command was given to Admiral Blanco Encalada, an independence war hero, the Chief of Staff was General Jose Santiago Aldunate, and as Plenipotentiary was Antonio Jose de Irisarri. A Peruvian Column of 612 men, all ex-patriots/exiles under the command of Antonio Gutierrez de la Fuente, consisted of 402 Cavalry and 210 infantry was also with this expedition, which sailed from Valparaiso on the 15th September 1837, in 16 transports under the command of Carlos Garcia del Postigo, with the Chilean warships "Libertad", "Aquiles", "Monteagudo", "Valparaiso", "Arequipeno", "Orbegoso" and "Santa Cruz", under the command of Frigate Captain Roberto Simpson.

FIRST CAMPAIGN, August - November 1837

This small expeditionary force, only 3,300 men in strength, landed in the southern part of Peru at Quilca, and from there marched the 90 miles inland towards Arequipa, the capital city of the southern Peruvian State (at this period the Confederation of Peru-Bolivia was divided into three States these were: North Peru, South Peru and Bolivia), with a population of 30,000. This city had been selected based on intelligence provided by the Peruvian ex-patriots/exiles that this region would be the best area from where to obtain Peruvian volunteers and resources with which to proceed with this expedition, but the information and advice was wrong, the Chilean Army began to have major problems with its logistics, although the city was under their control.

Meanwhile, as the Chilean forces of Blanco Encalada tried to consolidate at Arequipa with Admiral Blanco proclaiming Antonio Gutierrez de la Fuente provisional supreme chief of Peru, by the 5th November Santa Cruz with detailed tactical maneuvers managed to deploy his main army, with over 6,000 veteran soldiers into positions that forced Admiral Blanco to sue for peace, leaving the city and retreating back to the coast, having been granted free passage through the Peruvian lines. Santa Cruz was after a bigger prize, that of Chilean recognition of his Confederacy with Bolivia, a requisite duly fulfilled by Admiral Blanco with his signing of the so-called Paucarpata Treaty on the 17th December, which allowed all of the expedition's troops to be shipped back to Chile.

The treaty stated that:

    "There was to be perpetual peace and amity between the two countries, all differences of the past to be forgotten, each one reiterating the innocent statement that neither one had harbored evil intentions towards the other. Chile would return the (ships) "Santa Cruz", "Arequipeno" and the "Peruviana" and withdraw her troops from Huilca. Chile would settle all outstanding differences amicably, forswear use of the principle of intervention and solve all differences that might arise by arbitration and conciliation. Peru would not punish any of the Peruvians who had had a part in the war, and finally, the government of Great Britain was to be requested to aid in the execution of his treaty."

Obviously, Santa Cruz had little idea as to the Chilean government's animosity towards his Confederation of Peru and Bolivia otherwise he would have engaged Admiral Blanco Encalada's forces and obtained a more lasting treaty with their defeat> His generosity was to backfire and bring about his own defeat. The Chilean Government upon the arrival of the expedition back from Peru in December, rejected this Treaty, replacing Admiral Blanco Encalada with General of Brigade Manuel Bulnes, another independence war figure, and began to prepare a larger expedition.

SECOND CAMPAIGN, July 1838 - January 1839

Under General Bulnes the new expedition was gradually formed, and it consisted of:

Chief of Staff: General of Briyade Jose Maria de la Cruz
Sub-Chief of Staff: Colonel Pedro Godoy

    Infantry:
      Battalion Santiago (Commander Sesse)
      Battalion Portales (Commander Garcia)
      Battalion Valdivia (Commander Gomez)
      Battalion Carampangue (Commander Valenzuela)
      Battalion Valparaiso (Commander Vidaurre Leal)
      Battalion Colchagua (Commander Urriola)
      Battalion Aconcagua (Commander Silva)
    Cavalry:
      Commander: Colonel Fernando Baquedano
      Regiment of Cazadores (Colonel Baquedano)
      Regiment of mounted Granadiers (Colonel Jarpa)
      Squadron of Lancers Lt. (Colonel Jofre)
      Squadron of Carabineros de la Frontera (Lt. Colonel Garcia)
    Artillery:
      Squadron of Volunteer Artillery (Colonel Maturana)

In all, the force totalled 5,400 men. These were embarked at Valparaiso in July 1838 and sailed towards the northern state of Peru, where information had arrived informing General Bulnes that the local population was supporting the Peruvian General Orbegoso in his bid to oust the Protector Santa Cruz. The Chilean force arrived at Ancon bay and General Bulnes offered his co-operation to General Orbegoso, but the Peruvian would have none of it, informing General Bulnes that he intended to fight both Bulnes and Santa Cruz. With this information the Chilean troops were landed on the 6th August and marched inland against the Peruvian troops of General Orbegoso which then numbered some 4,000 men but lay between the Chileans and Lima the capital of Peru.

The first engagement took place at Portada de Guias in the outskirts of Lima on the 21st August, after a fierce combat that lasted from mid-day to 8.30 that evening Orbegoso forces were beaten and the Chileans entered Lima, with a population of 60,000. One of General Bulnes' first acts was to order his army to camp outside the city, and informed the Prefect of Lima that he had no other mission other than that to destroy the power of Santa Cruz, without interfering in any way with the political life of Peru, and the established authorities were to continue in the exercise of their functions until Peru itself decided its future destinies, assured that Chile would respect its resolutions.

The Prefect convoked the last Council that had ruled the city, but had been suppressed by the regime of the Confederation, and at the meeting which took place on the 25th August it proclaimed General Augustin Gamarra as Provisional President of the Peruvian Republic (General Gamarra was with the Chilean army in both expeditions to Peru, and he had been the Peruvian President from 1829-1833). General Bulnes also began to lay siege, in late August, to the forts that defended the Port of Callao which was garrisoned by the remaining troops of General Osbegoso, sending under the command of General Cruz the Battalions: Carampangue, Portales, Valparaiso and Aconcagua with the Squadron of Carabineros.

Santa Cruz had been busy gathering his troops and closing on Lima, so that the Chileans would not be caught napping by any sudden advance by Santa Cruz. General Bulnes sent a detachment of Chilean and Peruvian troops on the 17th September to garrison the small town of Matucana 18 leagues to the south-east of Lima on the main road from la Sierra and Lima, with the mountains towards the east. The following day was the Chilean National day and a church service was carried out in the local parish church with notables from the town as well as the Chilean troops. Towards the end of the service, a large column of Peruvian infantry were seen advancing on to the town. With cries of "Long live Chile and the 15th of September," the defending Chilean and Peruvian Legion gave combat to the infantry of Santa Cruz. Although out-numbered 2-1, the defenders managed to repulse the attack giving the forces of General Bulnes a much needed morale boost as it was the first time that the troops of Santa Cruz had been beaten, having lost 50 dead and 30 prisoners.

In October 1838 President Gamarra nominated General Bulnes to become General-in-Chief of the United Army of Restoration, on the 28th October Santa Cruz had arrived at Tacna and was coming with all of his army, by way of the town of Matucana towards Lima. The following day General Bulnes and President Gamarra decided that it was not advisable to wait for the enemy near Lima, being that a good proportion of his Chilean troops were at Callao and a further 1,200 Chilean troops were ill of paludic fevers in Lima, reinforcements had arrived from Chile, but not in sufficient number to fill such a void, while the Peruvian Corps was composed of raw and undisciplined troops, recruited at the last moment.

On the 3rd November it was agreed to re-embark the sick, to render useless the powder factory at Lima, to collect all of the herds of cattle from the valleys and to order Garcia del Postigo to move to Ancon with all the naval units at his disposal, while General Bulnes would move north to the so-called El Callejon de Huaylas (The Huaylas Canyon), a long and deep gorge over 180 miles in length varying in width from 6 to 24 miles, with better weather conditions. The evacuation of Lima began on the 8th November, with the sick being sent back to Chile while General Bulnes with President Gamarra and the Army of Restoration embarked at Ancon for Huacho from there they marched north to take up positions along the Callejon with its rearguard stationed at Chiquian, in the southern entry to the gorge.

Santa Cruz entered Lima among the cheers of its inhabitants but during a peace agreement instigated by Bernardo O'Higgins that both General Bulnes and Santa Cruz had accepted, Santa Cruz was able to exile General Orbegoso on the 4th December 1838, who on that day boarded the French frigate of war "Androede" at Callao and sailed for Quayaquil. Also during this time news reached Santa Cruz that agitation against his power was being fomented in Bolivia by General Ballivian, rather than be caught between this two fractions, to the north the army of General Bulnes and to the south that of General Ballivian, Santa Cruz resolved not to delay with a campaign against General Bulnes' Army of Restoration and by the 13th December, leaving Riva Aguero in charge of his Government in Lima, he was marching towards Huaraz hoping for to win a quick and decisive battle.

With the news of the advance from Lima of Santa Cruz towards Huaraz, his vanguard being under the command of General Moran with a force of 2,500 men, which if undiscovered would be able to attack General Bulnes' rearguard forces under the command of General Vidal and the Peruvian General Torrico, but due to a daring reconaissance by Sublieutenant Juan Colipi of the Carampangue Battalion, the nearness of the Confederation Army was detected and General Bulnes' rearguard was able to retire to the main body of the army without being drawn into a battle that would have had fatal consequences. Meanwhile, General Bulnes had chosen a site at Caraz, where he would prepare the necessary entrenchments to create a good defensive position, to the left of the site was a rugged hill with the river Santa on the right and all of the foreground was sufficiently clear to permit tactical movements by the artillery and cavalry. President Gamarra was also able to help, thanks to his presence all of the Peruvian villages in the valley sympathized with the Army of Restoration and that the governors of Muaraz, Carhuaz and Yungay were to incite the townspeople to occupy the rear of the valley once Santa Cruz's army had passed through in order to prevent retreat, in the event of their defeat.

By the 31st December Santa Cruz had occupied the town of Chiquian, and the town of Recuay on the 4th January 1839 while General Bulnes instructed his rearguard to continue to retire, ceding the ground slowly while inflicting some losses to the enemy's vanguard. The following day saw Santa Cruz at Huaraz and on the 6th at noon within sight of Carhuaz and making good headway towards the main body of the Army of Restoration. To the north of Carhuaz the Huaylas Canyon becomes narrow and a further 3 miles on it is intercepted by a deep ravine made by the River Buin, an affluent of the River Santa.

Convinced that a little more pressure would be sufficient to create the Army of Restoration to panic and become an easier enemy to defeat, Santa Cruz pressed his advance harder. To hinder both sides, a storm occurred that swelled the waters of the River Buin until it became a raging torrent which had to be crossed by its one bridge, the passage towards this bridge was being defended by the Battalions Carampanque, Valdivia and Portales, these battalions had to hold out against the might of the Confederation Army to allow the remaining Chilean and Peruvian troops to cross the bridge and also to fall back to cross the bridge themselves if at all possible. During this battle, Sublieutenant Juan Colipi again acted bravely, commanding a bayonet charge with 40 troops against an advancing enemy column, but by nightfall Santa Cruz had ordered his troops to retire from the field, the Chileans had suffered 16 dead and 47 wounded but had won the day.

General Bulnes carried on his withdrawal and by midday on the 7th January the main body of his army were at the Caraz positions while his rearguard, or should we now say his vanguard, took up positions near Yungay, where Santa Cruz soon stationed his troops. By the 17th, Santa Cruz had not attacked the positions of General Bulnes and with illness depleting his battalions day by day, any further delay would favour Santa Cruz.

Battle of Yungay Map:

1: Gen. Quiroz with 5 Bolivian Coy (Position Captured 10 a.m.)
2: Main Chilean Battle Line (5 and 1/2 Bttns)
3: Chilean Reserve (2 and 1/2 Bttns, 5 Sqds)
4: Main Confederate Line (6 and 1/2 Bttns)
5: Confederate Reserve (3 Bttns, 4 Sqds)
6: Flanking Cavalry Attack (Chilean Reserve)
7: Confederate Retreat Towards Yungay (4 p.m.)

Orders were issued on the 19th, for daybreak of the 20th, that would begin a general advance onto Yungay where Santa Cruz was with 6,000 men. These positions had the River Santa on the left flank with the River Ancash along Santa Cruz's front, along this riverbank a small wall of stones and mud had been built to protect Santa Cruz's troops of 10 Battalions with his 600 Cavalry were placed towards the rear, a total of 6,100 troops. An advance position was placed on the hill "Pan de Azucar" of 5 companies under the command of General Quiroz, with a view to make these heights impregnable.

This hill was the first objective of General Bulnes, who sent his vanguard consisting of the cazadore companies from the Carampangue, Portales, Valparaiso, Colchagua Battalions and four companies from the Cazadores del Peru Battalions commanded by General Torrieo with Colonel Valenzuela commanding the four Chilean companies and Colonel Lopera the Peruvian companies, against it. After much hard fighting the position was captured by 10 a.m. with most of its defenders killed, including General Quiroz.

With the capture of the important hill General Bulnes could now begin his assault on the main defences, besides his Vanguard Division there was the First Division composed of three companies of the Carampangue Battalion, and the remainder of the Portales and Cazadores del Peru Battalions with 2 field pieces under the command of the Peruvian General Elespuru. The Second Division was commanded by General Vidal with the remaining companies of the Colchagua, Valparaiso Battalions and the Peruvian Huaylas Battalion plus six field pieces. The Third Division contained the Valdiva, Santiago and Aconcagua Battalions. The Fourth Division consisted of the Cavalry units under the command of General Ramon Castilla, which gave General Bulnes 5,267 men in total.

Santa Cruz's army consisted of the Bolivian Battalions No. 1. to No.6. plus the Peruvian Battalions Ayacucho, Arequipa, Centro and Pichincha. while his cavalry consisted of a Regiment of Lancers and Santa Cruz's personal Escort. Santa Cruz in a bid to reinforce the Pan de Azucar dispatched the Division commanded by General Belzu, but this was taken by surprise and badly mauled by the troops from the Colchagua Battalion (2nd Division) under the command of Colonel Urriola, this unit was later reinforced by some companies from the Portales Battalion (1st Division), who finally managed to drive General Belzu back across the river Enacts.

With this General Bulnes decided to make a general attack on his right flank, sending the 3 companies of the Carampangue Battalion (1st Division), the Santiago Battalion (3rd Division), and the remaining 4 companies from the Peruvian Huaylas Battalion (2nd Division), these units were attacking positions that at first gave ground with the initial thrust but Santa Cruz sent forward his infantry reserve lead by the 3rd Bolivian Battalion who counter-attacked with a bayonet charge, General Bulnes seeing his troops waver ordered the Valparaiso Battalion (2 Division) that was in reserve to advance, with himself at its head, to reinforce this right flank, that although it was across the river Ancachs now found itself being slowly forced back towards it. To assist with this flank attack, the Chilean Chief of Staff Jose Maria de la Cruz ordered Colonel Fernando Baquedano with his Mounted Cazadores and a squadron of Mounted Grenadiers to cross the river Ancachs and attack the enemy infantry.

This they did but their first charge was withstood by the Bolivians, their second charge was a success dislodging the enemy infantry from their positions and making then retreat in disorder. Taking advantage of the moment of confusion, General Bulnes ordered his infantry to follow the cavalry who were now being engaged by the Bolivian cavalry towards the rear of Santa Cruz's forces, after a brief melee the Bolivian-cavalry retreated and with this the Chilean cavalry now attacked the rear of the Bolivian infantry who were also being attacked on their front and their left f1ank (Chilean right), this cavalry charge ended the battle for the Confederate Army which broke and fled in disorder towards the town of Yungay. It was 4 p.m.

Being harried by the Chilean cavalry, Santa Cruz managed to escape capture with some of his officers and about 100 cavalrymen, although he had lost l,400 men killed including 2 Generals, and 867 prisoners had been taken on the battlefield which included 3 Generals, 9 Colonels, 155 Officers, 6 Flags, all of his artillery, 2,500 muskets and most of his equipment.

On the 20th February Santa Cruz resigned as President of Bolivia and as Protector of the Confederation, on the 22nd he arrived at Islay to the English Consul Crompton. The 23rd saw demands for the surrender of Santa Cruz which Crompton refused and called in fifty men from H.M.S. Sammarang to assist Santa Cruz to board this vessel, he was to die at Versailles, France on the 23rd September 1865 having been in perpetual exile, never being permitted to return to Bolivia.

General Bulnes was honoured with the title of Great Fieldmarshal of Ancash from a grateful President Gamarra, and by the end of 1839, all of the Chilean troops having fulfilled their mission had returned to Chile. With the Confederation destroyed, President Gamarra invaded Bolivia a few months later and died at Ingavi when his Army was destroyed in 1841, but that is another story. In the same year General Bulnes was elected President of the Republic of Chile that saw an important cultural era begin, as one author said, Portales, like the Cid, won his last battle after his death.

I have taken the liberty of including some additional data to this text, so if its wrong it's bound to be my fault, i.e. the information on the organization of the Chilean Divisions were from "Chilean Military History 1520-1883", by Gen. I. Tellez, Pub. 1925, and "Historia del Batallon No.3 de Infanteria de Chile", by Tomas de la Barra Fontecilla, Pub. Santiago 1901, hope you don't mind Alberto, if I've put anything down wrong please let me know. TDH

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Copyright 1996 by The South and Central Military Historians Society

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