The Emancipation of South America/Chapter 15
CHAPTER XV.
THE FIRST CAMPAIGN IN THE SOUTH OF CHILE.
1817.
After the victory of Chacabuco, San Martin made three mistakes, two of mere detail, but one of importance, which had an evil influence upon his later operations. The campaign which ought to have finished immediately was thus prolonged, and he was compelled to fight four more battles to accomplish the reconquest of Chile, retarding by three years the prosecution of his great enterprise.
On the 12th February he remained encamped on the field of battle instead of pursuing the enemy at least to the end of the plain of Chacabuco. The following day, instead of marching upon the capital he ought to have pursued the fugitives to Valparaiso. By this mistake 1,600 veteran troops escaped to Peru, to act against him later on. But his great mistake consisted in his neglect to secure the fruits of his victory by an immediate campaign in the South. The military strength of Chile lay in the South — the people were warlike, the royal cause had there many partisans, and the country was full of strong military positions, in especial the fortress of Valdivia, backed by the islands of Chiloe, a sea-port by which reinforcements from Peru could be poured into the country. Looking far ahead, the victor of Chacabuco overlooked that which was close at hand.
Ordoñez was an officer of great talent, who up to that time had had no opportunity of distinguishing himself. He and San Martin had fought side by side against Napoleon. At the close of the war he was a colonel, and with this rank he came to America in 1815 as Governor of Concepcion. He was there still and now came forward as the most doughty opponent of his old comrade. He had no regular troops with him; but ably seconded by Sanchez, he summoned the militia, collected the soldiery dispersed to the north of the Maule, garrisoned the frontier of Arauco, fortified the Peninsula of Talcahuano, aided by the royal squadron, made large provision of supplies, and scoured the country from the Bio-Bio to the Maule with his light troops. For two months he was unmolested, and had time to organize a division of 1,000 men, and to receive a reinforcement from Lima of 1,600 regulars.
Freyre, after his success at Talca, had contented himself with intercepting communications, and his force was weakened by Rodriguez, who marched his guerillas to the North, while his instructions from San Martin to collect horses and cattle for the main army were neglected. At the same time several smaller parties of the Patriots were cut up by the Royalists.
San Martin did not totally neglect the South. On the 18th February a column of 1,000 men under Las Heras, left Santiago, and on the 4th March crossed the Maule and joined Freyre at Diguillin, but he marched so slowly that the enemy had plenty of time to prepare for him. O'Higgins, who was left in supreme command by San Martin, was greatly irritated at this delay, and in April marched himself to his assistance, with 800 men. But his progress was just as slow as that of Las Heras, who in the meantime, after calling a council of his officers to attest the meagreness of his equipment for such an expedition, marched resolutely on Concepcion, encamping on the 4th April at a farmhouse near to that city.
Ordoñez, who had been watching his movements, fell upon him at night with 700 light troops, but was beaten off with the loss of two guns; and the next day Las Heras occupied Concepcion.
Concepcion lies on the northern bank of the Bio-Bio, at the head of the peninsula of Talcahuano, and about five miles distant from the fortified town of the same name. Las Heras was thus in a critical position; he dare not retreat, and his force was insufficient to attack Ordoñez in his entrenchments. He built a small fort on the Gavilán Hill, to the south-west of Concepcion, and waited for O'Higgins. On the 1st May four Spanish vessels anchored in the Bay of Talcahuano, bringing the 1,600 fugitives from Chacabuco, who had been sent back from Peru to reinforce the garrison, and Ordoñez thought himself strong enough to resume the offensive. On the night of the 4th he sallied out with 700 men and four guns to attack the left flank of the position held by Las Heras, while Colonel Morgado, with 400 men and two guns attacked on the right, and a small force in boats rowed up the Bio-Bio to menace the city from the river. The action commenced at daybreak and was hotly contested for three hours, until Freyre, who commanded on the right of the position, having routed Morgado and captured his two guns, came to the assistance of Las Heras, and Ordoñez was compelled to retreat, hotly pursued by the grenadiers under Medina, who captured one of his guns. The flotilla was beaten off by two companies of the 7th Regiment, which arrived during the action. The loss of the Royalists in this smart affair was 192 killed and 80 prisoners. The Patriots had 6 killed and 62 wounded.
When all was over O'Higgins arrived upon the scene, and in his satisfaction at the victory forgot all his displeasure. He took the command, and at once commenced operations against Talcahuano. Ordoñez having command of the sea and the Bio-Bio, had easy communication with the ports of Arauco, which both furnished supplies and harassed the left flank of the Patriots. Freyre, with a flying column of 300 men, was detached to capture these forts. On the 12th May, Captain Cienfuegos, with sixty men, crossed the Bio-Bio and took the fort of El Nacimiento, after which two other forts nearer to Concepcion surrendered. The key of this line was the fortress ot Arauco, situate at its western extremity on the sea-coast. Freyre incorporated the detachment under Cienfuegos, and on the 26th May encamped on the River Carampague in the vicinity of this fort. The garrison, to the number of 200 men, sallied out to dispute the passage of the river. Freyre, with 50 grenadiers and 50 infantry mounted en croupe, crossed the river lower down, and fell upon the Royalists with such impetuosity, while the rest of his force attacked them in front, that he completely routed them, and the following day captured the fort, with eleven guns and large stores of ammunition, having lost eleven men drowned in the passage of the river, and one man wounded.
A militia captain named Diaz rallied the dispersed soldiery, and adding to them some 400 Indians, returned to the attack. Cienfuegos, who had been left in command, met this new foe on the open, but was completely beaten, and Arauco was reoccupied by the Royalists on the 3rd June, to be retaken by Freyre on the 17th July. O'Higgins then made a treaty with the Indians of Arauco, and so secured their neutrality.
Meantime an advanced post had been established in the vicinity of Talcahuano, and frequent skirmishes took place with the garrison, in which the Patriots had always the advantage. On the 22nd July the army advanced within cannon shot of the line of forts which crossed the peninsula, but was compelled by heavy rain to retire on the 24th. Ordoñez kept his main force within the line of his entrenchments, but officers of his raised bodies of guerillas in the rear of the Patriots, cutting off supplies, while detachments in boats made frequent descents on the coast line of Arauco, losing many men, but greatly harassing the Patriots.Talcahuano was by nature a strong position, but was made stronger still by art. The garrison consisted of 1,700 men and seventy heavy guns were mounted on the forts, while a frigate, a brig of war, and five gunboats in the bay, and a boat with one heavy gun on the western side of the peninsula, enfiladed the approach from the South. It was called by O'Higgins the Chilian Gibraltar, and here it was that Ordoñez by far-seeing prudence, held the united forces of Chile and the United Provinces in check for three years.
During the winter O'Higgins had strengthened his army with several battalions of Chilian recruits; in October he had nearly 4,000 men under his immediate command, and was also joined by two French officers of distinction. The first, General Brayer, came with a great military reputation, gained in the wars of the French Republic and under Napoleon; but his arrogance soon lost him the sympathy and confidence of his new comrades. The other, Alberto D'Albe, Captain of Engineers, was also a man of great experience, and being of a more modest character, rendered great service to the American cause.
Heavy rains paralysed operations until spring was well advanced; but on the 25th November, O'Higgins again moved forward to some high ground within cannon shot of the line of entrenchments. The plan of attack was drawn up by General Brayer. On the extreme left of the Royalist position was an outwork called the Morro, against this the main attack was to be directed, while the attention of the enemy was diverted by false attacks on the rest of the line. O'Higgins and most of his officers were in favour of an attack upon the other flank; but San Martin being consulted, gave his opinion in favour of Brayer's plan, which was accordingly adopted. A desultory cannonade was maintained for several days, when a north wind springing up, which prevented the Spanish men-of-war from aiding in the defence of the line, the columns marched to the attack in the early morning of the 6th December. The attack on the Morro was led by Major Beauchef and Captain Videla, with a mixed force of Chilians and Argentines. Mounting on the shoulders of their men they scaled the outer wall, and tore down a portion of the stockade behind, when such a heavy fire was poured upon them that Videla being killed and Beauchef severely wounded, the column could advance no farther, till Las Heras brought up the supports, when the position was carried by the bayonet. At the same time a Spanish gunboat on the Bio-Bio was captured by some boats led by an Englishman named Manning, and an unauthorised attack by Conde on the centre was repulsed.
At daybreak Las Heras found to his dismay that the Morro was merely an advanced work, and that he was still outside of the line of entrenchments. Colonel Boedo fell in attempting to force his way beyond; the guns of two forts on the heights, those of the frigate Venganza, and those of some gunboats converged their fire upon the conquered outwork, causing heavy losses; in spite of which Las Heras maintained his position till O'Higgins sent him orders to retire, which he did in good order, after spiking the guns he had captured, and carrying with him his wounded and prisoners. The loss of the Patriots was 150 killed and 280 wounded.
This disaster put an end for the time to all offensive operations, and on the day of the assault another strong reinforcement of Royalist troops embarked at Callao for Talcahuano.