Battle of Martín García (1814)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Martín García was fought from 10 to 15 March 1814 between the forces of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata under the command of then-Lieutenant Colonel Guillermo Brown, and the royalist forces commanded by frigate captain Jacinto de Romarate, defending the region.
After a small naval engagement where the running aground of the leading revolutionary vessel gave the royalists a small victory, but suffering numerous casualties, the United Provinces troops took the island by assault forcing Romarate's squadron to retreat.
Brown's victory divided the enemy's forces, and secured the United Provinces' control of access to the interior waterways, and made possible their advance on Montevideo
. After the decisive victory at the Buceo engagement, they could also blockade the city to the open sea completing the land blockade by the army, causing the city's surrender.
in Buenos Aires deposed viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
and established a local government known as the Primera Junta
. Montevideo, at the eastern side of the Río de La Plata
(the Banda Oriental
, modern-day Uruguay
), did not acknowledge their authority, and recognized instead the Cádiz Cortes
established in Cádiz
, Spain
. This was resisted in the countryside around Montevideo, and the "Cry of Asencio
" began the armed conflicts in the area. Montevideo was soon surrounded and siege
d, by the militias under José Gervasio Artigas
and Buenos Aires forces under José Rondeau
.
Even with the city under siege from land, the royalist naval squadron maintained the naval supremacy over the waterways, the Río de la Plata and the Uruguay
and Paraná
rivers. The Montevidean squadron under Jacinto de Romarate
destroyed the first flotilla from Buenos Aires, which went up the Paraná River carrying reinforcements to the Paraguay campaign
, at the Battle of San Nicolás
.
After that victory, Montevideo's naval forces could then establish a blockade of the port of Buenos Aires, effect a bombardment and avoid the fall of Montevideo.
After the failure of the armistice signed on 20 October 1811 between the First Triumvirate
and the Viceroy Francisco Javier de Elío
, on 20 October 1812, a second siege of Montevideo ensued. The tenacity of the defenders and their control of the surrounding rivers, and the lack of means for the attackers to beark this situation kept the front without major changes until 1814.
The dissent between the Buenos Aires troops and the local militias of Artigas, did not help the attacker's situation. Even through this some expeditions were organized by the defenders to break out and obtain supplies, yet they failed, among them by the opposition of José de San Martín
at the battle of San Lorenzo
, and whatever little they obtained was not enough to cover Montevideo's needs, who suffered hunger and diseases, especially scurvy
.
in Buenos Aires, along with Gervasio Antonio de Posadas
and Nicolás Rodríguez Peña
.
The war situation was dire. General Manuel Belgrano
was retreating to La Quiaca
in the north, after the defeats at Vilcapugio
and Ayohuma
, Patria Vieja in Chile was being invaded by the forces of the Lima
and due to internal conflicts was approaching the Disaster of Rancagua
. Montevideo had an army bigger in numbers than the army that encircled them and there was no prospects of surrender as they controlled the access through the rivers and the sea and Artigas
was joining a civil war by promoting the defection of the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos
and Corrientes
.
Larrea started to consider the formation of a new squadron to force the situation in the eastern front, but it was quickly learned that this was not possible. There were no naval forces in the provinces. They only had one sloop
and the port's landing craft. The arsenal
only had 30 cannon
s and carronades of different calibers and almost useless due to age and lack of maintenance, a few rifles and less than 200 quintals of gunpowder
. Their warehouses lacked wood, tar, canvas, rope and marine tools. There was no trained personnel nor protocols for the recruiting and instruction of officers, sailors nor Marines. Finally, the treasury only had a thousand pesos, customs
resources were minimal due to the blockade and credit was exhausted.
Larrea chose to promote an agreement with Guillermo Pío White, a wealthy American merchant native of Boston
who was sympathetic to the revolutionary cause, who would front the funds necessary to finance the acquisition of vessels and equipment, with a promise of later compensation, tied to the success of the enterprise. On 28 December 1813 anm agreement was signed between the Triumviarte and White.
At the beginning of 1814 the executive power was concentrated on the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
. Gervasio Antonio Posadas was named Supreme Director and Juan Larrea was named Economy Minister, which then maintained the agreement with White alive.
In only two months, a small squadron was formed and a crew readied, composed mostly by foreigners in officers and men, while the embarked troops were composed of locals.
The question of who would be in command generated a strong debate. The principal candidates were the American lieutenant colonel Benjamin Franklin Seaver, commander of the schooner Juliet, who was supported by his compatriot Pío White, the corsair
Estanislao Courrande, who since 1803 harassed British
commerce with corsair raids, and lastly the Irish
Guillermo Brown.
Command was finally given to Brown, including Pío White's vote, in part for his strength of character, (all candidates had the necessary experience), but also because of his charisma over the commanders and sailors, most of them Irish, British or Scots.
The Río de la Plata was difficult to navigate due to the extensive sand banks which reduced navigation to small draft vessels forcing the use of the few existing open channels, subject to frequent changes due to sediment accumulation and the changing winds. Martín García island, controls the west channel, which due to its relative depth was the obligatory path for any vessel with a draft of no more than 2 or 3 meters, who wanted to reach the interior rivers flowing into the Río de la Plata, such as the Paraná or the Uruguay rivers, closed to the west by an extensive sand bank.
Facing the risk of losing control of the strategic island, and with the objective of gaining a base from which to attack the town of Colonia del Sacramento
, occupied by the rebels, at the beginning of 1814 Romarate fortified the island and parked a flotilla of 9 vessels with 18 and 24 pounder artillery pieces.
Alarmed by the news of the formation of this new Buenos Aires fleet, it was proposed in Montevideo to attack Buenos Aires before it would become operational, but the speed of its formation thwarted the plan and had to be abandoned.
On the revolutionary side, after receiving his commission as commander, lieutenant colonel Brown started his campaign by sailing his small new fleet to Colonia del Sacramento (in today's Uruguay).
brigantine Nancy (120 tons), schooner Juliet (150 tons), schooner Fortuna (90 tons) landing boat San Luis (15 tons) and sloop Nuestra Señora del Carmen (48 tons).
The royalist squadron was composed of the brigantines Belén (220 tons), brigantine Nuestra Señora de Aránzazu, (181 tons), brigantine Gálvez (90 tons), sloops Americana (60 tons) and Murciana (115 tons), gunboats Perla, Lima and San Ramón (30 tons), plus four small support vessels.
Even though the number of vessels was in parity, the total of guns favored the rebel navy. With 91 cannons, 430 sailors and 234 troops in front of the 36 cannons (2 in a land battery) and 442 men of the royalists, the advantage was supposedly on the revolutionary side. Nonetheless, as the advantage a third of the force was concentrated on the lead ship Hércules, so the advantage was tied to its performance and luck.
That same day at 8:00 pm the royalist squadron raised anchor at Martín García, to the west of the island. Romarate formed his ships in an east–west line, covering the channel from the anchorage in a semicircle, supported from land by a battery fo two cannons and gunfire from the island's troops under midshipman José Benito de Azcuénaga.
On the 9th at 2:00 pm Brown joined with Zhepyr, Juliet and Nancy, then turned towards Martín García to meet the enemy. At 5:00pm the rebel squadron anchored on the channel about four league
s to the southwest of the royalists, with the Santa Ana bank to starboard. The 10th in the morning they raised sail on a light southeast wind converging to Romarate through both channels.
Brown's plan was attacking through the front and rear of the Spanish. he detached a division composed of Fortuna, Carmen and San Luis to go around the sandbank to the west to have it at its back and the royalists in his front while the principal force attacked the royalists front. Hércules was on the left, then Zephyr, Nancy and Juliet on the right.
The Argentine lead ship attempted to advance under fire, but having lost her pilot, she got stuck on a sand bank on the west of the island, under fire and bows-on to the enemy, suffering sustained fire and not being able to return it, directing their broadsides to the land batteries. Brown questioned the way in which the rest of the squadron "conducted themselves during the action, even though having sent all the signals and having gone personally on my boat before midnight the night before and requested their support, all of which was in vain".
Having secured the front, Romarate sent the sloops Americana and Murciana, to the gunboat Perla and the Salvador's launch to confront the revolutionary division deployed on the north channel, which after a light exchange of fire retreated and joined the rest of the squadron. Combat continued until sundown, with Hércules taking the worst part.
In this first and most bloodiest first day of the Combate of Martín García, Romarate successfully repelled the enemy's attack. They had 45 dead and 50 wounded and the attacking force's losses were high. Rebel Commanders Benjamin Seaver and Elias Smith, and also the chief of the emnarked troops, the French
captain Martín de Jaume, second lieutenant Robert Stacy, midshipman Edward Price, sailors Richard Brook and William Russell and cook Peter Brown were among the casualties.
Bernard Campbell, the chief surgeon, had very difficult moments having to treat the wounded with inadequate means. Among the wounded there were valet Tomas Richard and sailors James Stone, Henry Harris, Elsey Miller and Anthony O’Donnell.
At dawn on the 11th, fire recommenced at 8:45am, when finally Hércules with her sails and masts destroyed and with 82 impacts on the vessel finally loosened the grip of the sand bar with the tide and with only one sail left, could leave the channel and retreat by the Las Palmas sand bank.
At 5:00 pm on that day Romarate sent a note to the commander of the Montevideo garrison Miguel de la Sierra, informing he had few casualties, four dead and seven wounded, he had disembarked on the island and judged that given the losses suffered, as soon as the patriot fleet was in condition it would retreat to Buenos Aires, so he asked his commander for more powder and ammunition in all calibers, and urgent reinforcements to annihilate them before they could seek refuge in port.
Awaiting reinforcements Romarate disembarked two cannons under the command of ensign Francisco Paloma to reinforce the land forces. The commander of the land forces, José Benito de Azcuénaga, agreed with Romarate: .
Nonetheless Romarate had made a bad judgment. On the one side the Spanish squadron under frigate captain José Primo de Rivera y Ortiz de Pinedo was negligent and had not positioned his fores in case he would be required as defensive reinforcements, be it in the case of defeat, as support or victory, and the measures to be taken after Romarate's order was known were so lax that Romarate never received reinforcements nor supplies.
Also in contrast to what Romarate supposed, and showing in his adversary a completely different way of thinking, after the repairs done to Hércules and counting only with few reinforcements, 23 Dragoons and 23 marines from the 6th Regiment, with their officers, respectively Dragoon Ensign Gervasio Espinosa and sub-lieutenant Luis Antonio Frutos sent in the schooner Hope by the Commander of Colonia del Sacramento, Vicente Lima, under first lieutenant of the Buenos Aires Dragoon Regiment Pedro Oroná, and 17 militias from the town of Las Conchas, Brown resumed the attack.
With a lack of non-commissioned officers they decided to have the commanders meet to plan and coordinate the attack. Lieutenant Oroná was selected to command and decided to divide his forces in three divisions if 80 men. The first division was put under command of Regiment #2 Lieutenant Manuel José Balbastro, with his second in command Dragoon Ensign Gervasio Espinosa. The second was put under Regiment #2 lieutenant Manuel Castañer and 6th Regiment sub-lieutenant Luis Antonio Frutos, and the third under army lieutenant Jaime Kainey with Grenadiers sub-lieutenant Mariano Antonio Durán.
At 8:00 pm on the 14th they anchored silently a half-mile to the southeast near Puerto Viejo and at 02:30 am on the 15th they disembarked 240 men in 20 minutes, using 8 launches. Upon getting near the coast they received fire from a few enemy soldiers hiding in the bush who when fire was returned they scampered to the interior of the island.
With the landing secure, Brown took the squadron towards the royalists ships to simulate an attack as a diversion from the principal effort. The advance over land was detected and when climbing a hill overlooking the port they were fired upon by royalist troops. At the moment this attack was seen Brown's fleet started a cannonade from the west over the royalist squadron.
The attack, under enemy fire and in the run on a rough and ascending path, briefly stalled. In that critical moment they ordered the drum and bugle to play the Saint Patrick’s Day in the Morning march. The troops were composed of different nationalities with the majority being Irish, so this known piece, played a few days before Saint Patrick's Day
, raised the invaders morale.
Because of this event this song was made the official march of the island and was officially added to the Argentine Navy's repertoire in 1977. The troop's advance was renewed with great strength attacking the fort with bayonets. The Spaniards were overwhelmed and surrendered after about 20 minutes of combat, where lieutenant Jones of the Zhepyr captured the land battery, turned the cannons against the royalist ships and raised the United Provinces flag on the island. The victory was certified much later at the signing of the Treaty of the Río de la Plata and it Maritime Front.
The royalists had 10 dead, 7 wounded and 50 prisoners. The attackers casualties were three soldiers dead and five wounded. The commander of the force lieutenant Pedro Oroná and sub-lieutenant Pedro Aguilar were lightly wounded.
Romarate, lacking powder and ammunition had to remain on the side as witness to the enemy victory. The last skirmish was held on the dawn of the 15th when the sloop Carmen under Commander Spiro who had approached to spy in the night, run a few volleys of musket fire towards the enemy.
In a terse note, Brown communicated to Government Minister Larrea Only when in front of Montevideo, on 19 April the same year, he would extend on the details of the action and casualties suffered.
In that, his definitive combat report, Brown listed some of the casualties in the Hércules on the 10th and 11th. From officers and sailors: Captain Elias Smith, Third Lieutenant Robert Stacy, helmsman Antonio Castro, cabin boy Eduardo Price, first class sailors Ricardo Brook and Guillermo Russell, second class Francisco Guevara, Salomón Lyon, Felipe Rico, Lázaro Molina and Joaquín Uraqui, and cook Pedro Brown. Troops: Captain Jaime Martín de Jaume and soldiers Tomás Felisa, José Antonio Balija, José Herrera, Silvestre Murúa, Juan Olivera, Marcos Ávila, José Antonio Tolosa, José González.
, who before the imminence of the end of the siege of Montevideo, which they had abandoned at the beginning of the year and confronted Carlos María de Alvear
, Romarate took advantage of the winds which have veered from the southeast incrementing the rising tide, to escape by the sand banks, and was forced to hide by the end of the Uruguay River.
On the 25th following Larrea's orders, the prisoners were embarked, the houses on the island burned, and the remaining population evacuated. The squadron raised anchor and sailed, arriving on the 26th in Colonia, were the prisoners debarked. Brownignoring the orders from his superiors to chase Romarate, only detached a small division after him, supposing that Romarate was lacking powder and ammunition (which was true until the supplies came from Otorgués) and it was enough to assure his isolation while the bulk of the naval squadron went to what he considered the big prize, the annihilation of the squadron defending Montevideo and taking the city.
The Battle of Martín García was then the beginning of a campaign of 100 days which led by Brown ended Spain's naval power in the Río de la Plata and forced the surrender of their last bastion in Montevideo.
After a small naval engagement where the running aground of the leading revolutionary vessel gave the royalists a small victory, but suffering numerous casualties, the United Provinces troops took the island by assault forcing Romarate's squadron to retreat.
Brown's victory divided the enemy's forces, and secured the United Provinces' control of access to the interior waterways, and made possible their advance on Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. After the decisive victory at the Buceo engagement, they could also blockade the city to the open sea completing the land blockade by the army, causing the city's surrender.
The conflict
On 25 May 1810 the May RevolutionMay Revolution
The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...
in Buenos Aires deposed viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros
Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros de la Torre was a Spanish naval officer born in Cartagena. He took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar, and in the Spanish resistance against Napoleon's invasion in 1808. He was later appointed Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la...
and established a local government known as the Primera Junta
Primera Junta
The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...
. Montevideo, at the eastern side of the Río de La Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
(the Banda Oriental
Banda Oriental
The Banda Oriental del Uruguay was the South American territory east of the Uruguay River and north of the Río de la Plata, coinciding approximately with the modern nation of Uruguay, the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul and some parts of Santa Catarina...
, modern-day Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
), did not acknowledge their authority, and recognized instead the Cádiz Cortes
Cádiz Cortes
The Cádiz Cortes were sessions of the national legislative body which met in the safe haven of Cádiz during the French occupation of Spain during the Napoleonic Wars...
established in Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. This was resisted in the countryside around Montevideo, and the "Cry of Asencio
Cry of Asencio
The Cry of Asencio or Admirable alarm was a 1811 pronunciamiento that took place at the Banda Oriental against the Spanish rule in Montevideo...
" began the armed conflicts in the area. Montevideo was soon surrounded and siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
d, by the militias under José Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas is a national hero of Uruguay, sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan nationhood".-Early life:Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764...
and Buenos Aires forces under José Rondeau
José Rondeau
José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.-Biography:...
.
Even with the city under siege from land, the royalist naval squadron maintained the naval supremacy over the waterways, the Río de la Plata and the Uruguay
Uruguay River
The Uruguay River is a river in South America. It flows from north to south and makes boundary with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of the Mesopotamia from the other two countries...
and Paraná
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
rivers. The Montevidean squadron under Jacinto de Romarate
Jacinto de Romarate
Jacinto de Romarate Salamanca was a Spanish sailor, who fought in the British invasions of the Río de la Plata and as a Royalist during the Argentine War of Independence. Back in Spain, he fought in the First Carlist War....
destroyed the first flotilla from Buenos Aires, which went up the Paraná River carrying reinforcements to the Paraguay campaign
Paraguay campaign
The Paraguay campaign was the attempt by a Buenos Aires sponsored militia, commanded by Manuel Belgrano, to win the Intendency of Paraguay for the revolutionary cause. The first battle was fought in Campichuelo and the Argentines claimed victory. However, they were completely vanquished in the...
, at the Battle of San Nicolás
Battle of San Nicolás
The Battle of San Nicolás was a naval engagement on 2 March 1811 on the Paraná River between the Spanish royalists from Montevideo, and the first flotilla created by the revolutionary government of Buenos Aires. It was the first engagement between the two fleets in the River Plate region since the...
.
After that victory, Montevideo's naval forces could then establish a blockade of the port of Buenos Aires, effect a bombardment and avoid the fall of Montevideo.
After the failure of the armistice signed on 20 October 1811 between the First Triumvirate
First Triumvirate (Argentina)
The First Triumvirate was the executive body of government that replaced the Junta Grande in the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata...
and the Viceroy Francisco Javier de Elío
Francisco Javier de Elío
Francisco Javier de Elío , was a Spanish military, governor of Montevideo and the last Viceroy of the Río de la Plata. He was also instrumental in the Absolutist repression after the restoration of Ferdinand VII as King of Spain...
, on 20 October 1812, a second siege of Montevideo ensued. The tenacity of the defenders and their control of the surrounding rivers, and the lack of means for the attackers to beark this situation kept the front without major changes until 1814.
The dissent between the Buenos Aires troops and the local militias of Artigas, did not help the attacker's situation. Even through this some expeditions were organized by the defenders to break out and obtain supplies, yet they failed, among them by the opposition of José de San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
at the battle of San Lorenzo
Battle of San Lorenzo
The Battle of San Lorenzo was fought on February 3, 1813 in San Lorenzo, Argentina, then part of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. A Spanish Royalist army under the command of Antonio Zabala was defeated by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers, under the command of José de San Martín...
, and whatever little they obtained was not enough to cover Montevideo's needs, who suffered hunger and diseases, especially scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
.
The second squadron
On 5 November 1813, after the resignation of José Julián Pérez, Juan Larrea joined the Second TriumvirateSecond Triumvirate (Argentina)
The Second Triumvirate was the governing body of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata that followed the First Triumvirate in 1812, shortly after the May Revolution, and lasted 2 years....
in Buenos Aires, along with Gervasio Antonio de Posadas
Gervasio Antonio de Posadas
Gervasio Antonio de Posadas y Dávila was a member of Argentina's Second Triumvirate from 19 August 1813 to 31 January 1814, after which he served as Supreme Director until 9 January 1815....
and Nicolás Rodríguez Peña
Nicolás Rodríguez Peña
Nicolás Rodriguez Peña was an Argentine politician. Born in Buenos Aires in April 1775, he worked in commerce which allowed him to amass a considerable fortune. Among his several successful businesses, he had a soap factory partnership with Hipólito Vieytes, which was a center of conspirators...
.
The war situation was dire. General Manuel Belgrano
Manuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...
was retreating to La Quiaca
La Quiaca
La Quiaca is a small city in the north of the , on the southern bank of the La Quiaca River, opposite the town of Villazón, Bolivia. It lies at the end of National Route 9, from San Salvador de Jujuy , and at an altitude of above mean sea level.La Quiaca has 14,751 inhabitants as per the...
in the north, after the defeats at Vilcapugio
Battle of Vilcapugio
The Battle of Vilcapugio was an action fought on October 1, 1813 during the second Campaign of Upper Peru in the Argentine War of Independence, where the republican forces led by General Manuel Belgrano were defeated by a pro-Spanish royalist army, led by Joaquin de la Pezuela.The campaign was...
and Ayohuma
Battle of Ayohuma
The Battle of Ayohuma was an action fought on 14 November 1813, during the second Upper Peru Campaign of the Argentine War of Independence...
, Patria Vieja in Chile was being invaded by the forces of the Lima
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
and due to internal conflicts was approaching the Disaster of Rancagua
Disaster of Rancagua
The Battle of Rancagua, also known as the Disaster of Rancagua occurred in October 1814 when the Spanish under Mariano Osorio defeated rebel Chilean forces....
. Montevideo had an army bigger in numbers than the army that encircled them and there was no prospects of surrender as they controlled the access through the rivers and the sea and Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas is a national hero of Uruguay, sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan nationhood".-Early life:Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764...
was joining a civil war by promoting the defection of the Argentine provinces of Entre Ríos
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos is a northeastern province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires , Corrientes and Santa Fe , and Uruguay in the east....
and Corrientes
Corrientes Province
Corrientes is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by : Paraguay, the province of Misiones, Brazil, Uruguay, and the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Chaco.-History:...
.
Larrea started to consider the formation of a new squadron to force the situation in the eastern front, but it was quickly learned that this was not possible. There were no naval forces in the provinces. They only had one sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
and the port's landing craft. The arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
only had 30 cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s and carronades of different calibers and almost useless due to age and lack of maintenance, a few rifles and less than 200 quintals of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
. Their warehouses lacked wood, tar, canvas, rope and marine tools. There was no trained personnel nor protocols for the recruiting and instruction of officers, sailors nor Marines. Finally, the treasury only had a thousand pesos, customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
resources were minimal due to the blockade and credit was exhausted.
Larrea chose to promote an agreement with Guillermo Pío White, a wealthy American merchant native of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
who was sympathetic to the revolutionary cause, who would front the funds necessary to finance the acquisition of vessels and equipment, with a promise of later compensation, tied to the success of the enterprise. On 28 December 1813 anm agreement was signed between the Triumviarte and White.
At the beginning of 1814 the executive power was concentrated on the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata
The Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata , was a title given to the executive officers of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, according to the form of government established in 1814 by the Asamblea del Año XIII...
. Gervasio Antonio Posadas was named Supreme Director and Juan Larrea was named Economy Minister, which then maintained the agreement with White alive.
In only two months, a small squadron was formed and a crew readied, composed mostly by foreigners in officers and men, while the embarked troops were composed of locals.
The question of who would be in command generated a strong debate. The principal candidates were the American lieutenant colonel Benjamin Franklin Seaver, commander of the schooner Juliet, who was supported by his compatriot Pío White, the corsair
Corsair
Corsairs were privateers, authorized to conduct raids on shipping of a nation at war with France, on behalf of the French Crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portion of the proceeds...
Estanislao Courrande, who since 1803 harassed British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
commerce with corsair raids, and lastly the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Guillermo Brown.
Command was finally given to Brown, including Pío White's vote, in part for his strength of character, (all candidates had the necessary experience), but also because of his charisma over the commanders and sailors, most of them Irish, British or Scots.
Previous encounters
On 7 July 1813 a group of thirteen revolutionary soldiers under the command of lieutenant José Caparrós made a surprise and successful incursion in Martín García Island, at the time in royalists hands, and defended by 70 men.The Río de la Plata was difficult to navigate due to the extensive sand banks which reduced navigation to small draft vessels forcing the use of the few existing open channels, subject to frequent changes due to sediment accumulation and the changing winds. Martín García island, controls the west channel, which due to its relative depth was the obligatory path for any vessel with a draft of no more than 2 or 3 meters, who wanted to reach the interior rivers flowing into the Río de la Plata, such as the Paraná or the Uruguay rivers, closed to the west by an extensive sand bank.
Facing the risk of losing control of the strategic island, and with the objective of gaining a base from which to attack the town of Colonia del Sacramento
Colonia del Sacramento
Colonia del Sacramento is a city in southwestern Uruguay, by the Río de la Plata, facing Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the oldest town in Uruguay and capital of the departamento of Colonia. It has a population of around 22,000.It is renowned for its historic quarter, a World Heritage Site...
, occupied by the rebels, at the beginning of 1814 Romarate fortified the island and parked a flotilla of 9 vessels with 18 and 24 pounder artillery pieces.
Alarmed by the news of the formation of this new Buenos Aires fleet, it was proposed in Montevideo to attack Buenos Aires before it would become operational, but the speed of its formation thwarted the plan and had to be abandoned.
On the revolutionary side, after receiving his commission as commander, lieutenant colonel Brown started his campaign by sailing his small new fleet to Colonia del Sacramento (in today's Uruguay).
The opposing forces
The patriot forces had a merchant frigate named 'Hércules (350 tons), the corvette Zephyr, (220 tons),brigantine Nancy (120 tons), schooner Juliet (150 tons), schooner Fortuna (90 tons) landing boat San Luis (15 tons) and sloop Nuestra Señora del Carmen (48 tons).
The royalist squadron was composed of the brigantines Belén (220 tons), brigantine Nuestra Señora de Aránzazu, (181 tons), brigantine Gálvez (90 tons), sloops Americana (60 tons) and Murciana (115 tons), gunboats Perla, Lima and San Ramón (30 tons), plus four small support vessels.
Even though the number of vessels was in parity, the total of guns favored the rebel navy. With 91 cannons, 430 sailors and 234 troops in front of the 36 cannons (2 in a land battery) and 442 men of the royalists, the advantage was supposedly on the revolutionary side. Nonetheless, as the advantage a third of the force was concentrated on the lead ship Hércules, so the advantage was tied to its performance and luck.
Battle disposition
On the 8th Brown, in front of the town of Colonia with Hércules, Fortuna, San Luis and Carmen, saw three royalist brigantines to the northwest. He followed them until dusk, when having verified they were entering the Martín García channel and going to the island, he turned to Buenos Aires to look for reinforcements.That same day at 8:00 pm the royalist squadron raised anchor at Martín García, to the west of the island. Romarate formed his ships in an east–west line, covering the channel from the anchorage in a semicircle, supported from land by a battery fo two cannons and gunfire from the island's troops under midshipman José Benito de Azcuénaga.
On the 9th at 2:00 pm Brown joined with Zhepyr, Juliet and Nancy, then turned towards Martín García to meet the enemy. At 5:00pm the rebel squadron anchored on the channel about four league
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
s to the southwest of the royalists, with the Santa Ana bank to starboard. The 10th in the morning they raised sail on a light southeast wind converging to Romarate through both channels.
Brown's plan was attacking through the front and rear of the Spanish. he detached a division composed of Fortuna, Carmen and San Luis to go around the sandbank to the west to have it at its back and the royalists in his front while the principal force attacked the royalists front. Hércules was on the left, then Zephyr, Nancy and Juliet on the right.
The encounter
The attack was not simultaneous. At 1:30 pm, when the encirclement was not yet complete, Brown's squadron, with Juliet in front opened fire over the royalists which was immediately returned.The Argentine lead ship attempted to advance under fire, but having lost her pilot, she got stuck on a sand bank on the west of the island, under fire and bows-on to the enemy, suffering sustained fire and not being able to return it, directing their broadsides to the land batteries. Brown questioned the way in which the rest of the squadron "conducted themselves during the action, even though having sent all the signals and having gone personally on my boat before midnight the night before and requested their support, all of which was in vain".
Having secured the front, Romarate sent the sloops Americana and Murciana, to the gunboat Perla and the Salvador's launch to confront the revolutionary division deployed on the north channel, which after a light exchange of fire retreated and joined the rest of the squadron. Combat continued until sundown, with Hércules taking the worst part.
In this first and most bloodiest first day of the Combate of Martín García, Romarate successfully repelled the enemy's attack. They had 45 dead and 50 wounded and the attacking force's losses were high. Rebel Commanders Benjamin Seaver and Elias Smith, and also the chief of the emnarked troops, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
captain Martín de Jaume, second lieutenant Robert Stacy, midshipman Edward Price, sailors Richard Brook and William Russell and cook Peter Brown were among the casualties.
Bernard Campbell, the chief surgeon, had very difficult moments having to treat the wounded with inadequate means. Among the wounded there were valet Tomas Richard and sailors James Stone, Henry Harris, Elsey Miller and Anthony O’Donnell.
At dawn on the 11th, fire recommenced at 8:45am, when finally Hércules with her sails and masts destroyed and with 82 impacts on the vessel finally loosened the grip of the sand bar with the tide and with only one sail left, could leave the channel and retreat by the Las Palmas sand bank.
At 5:00 pm on that day Romarate sent a note to the commander of the Montevideo garrison Miguel de la Sierra, informing he had few casualties, four dead and seven wounded, he had disembarked on the island and judged that given the losses suffered, as soon as the patriot fleet was in condition it would retreat to Buenos Aires, so he asked his commander for more powder and ammunition in all calibers, and urgent reinforcements to annihilate them before they could seek refuge in port.
Awaiting reinforcements Romarate disembarked two cannons under the command of ensign Francisco Paloma to reinforce the land forces. The commander of the land forces, José Benito de Azcuénaga, agreed with Romarate: .
Nonetheless Romarate had made a bad judgment. On the one side the Spanish squadron under frigate captain José Primo de Rivera y Ortiz de Pinedo was negligent and had not positioned his fores in case he would be required as defensive reinforcements, be it in the case of defeat, as support or victory, and the measures to be taken after Romarate's order was known were so lax that Romarate never received reinforcements nor supplies.
Also in contrast to what Romarate supposed, and showing in his adversary a completely different way of thinking, after the repairs done to Hércules and counting only with few reinforcements, 23 Dragoons and 23 marines from the 6th Regiment, with their officers, respectively Dragoon Ensign Gervasio Espinosa and sub-lieutenant Luis Antonio Frutos sent in the schooner Hope by the Commander of Colonia del Sacramento, Vicente Lima, under first lieutenant of the Buenos Aires Dragoon Regiment Pedro Oroná, and 17 militias from the town of Las Conchas, Brown resumed the attack.
The assault
Incapable of confronting the enemy head-on again, the Argentine commander changed his strategy. With the few reinforcements received he had an infantry force superior to the one defending the island. If he could attack by surprise and with sufficient speed before Romarate could disembark his troops and change the balance of forces, it was feasible to conquer the garrison.With a lack of non-commissioned officers they decided to have the commanders meet to plan and coordinate the attack. Lieutenant Oroná was selected to command and decided to divide his forces in three divisions if 80 men. The first division was put under command of Regiment #2 Lieutenant Manuel José Balbastro, with his second in command Dragoon Ensign Gervasio Espinosa. The second was put under Regiment #2 lieutenant Manuel Castañer and 6th Regiment sub-lieutenant Luis Antonio Frutos, and the third under army lieutenant Jaime Kainey with Grenadiers sub-lieutenant Mariano Antonio Durán.
At 8:00 pm on the 14th they anchored silently a half-mile to the southeast near Puerto Viejo and at 02:30 am on the 15th they disembarked 240 men in 20 minutes, using 8 launches. Upon getting near the coast they received fire from a few enemy soldiers hiding in the bush who when fire was returned they scampered to the interior of the island.
With the landing secure, Brown took the squadron towards the royalists ships to simulate an attack as a diversion from the principal effort. The advance over land was detected and when climbing a hill overlooking the port they were fired upon by royalist troops. At the moment this attack was seen Brown's fleet started a cannonade from the west over the royalist squadron.
The attack, under enemy fire and in the run on a rough and ascending path, briefly stalled. In that critical moment they ordered the drum and bugle to play the Saint Patrick’s Day in the Morning march. The troops were composed of different nationalities with the majority being Irish, so this known piece, played a few days before Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
, raised the invaders morale.
Because of this event this song was made the official march of the island and was officially added to the Argentine Navy's repertoire in 1977. The troop's advance was renewed with great strength attacking the fort with bayonets. The Spaniards were overwhelmed and surrendered after about 20 minutes of combat, where lieutenant Jones of the Zhepyr captured the land battery, turned the cannons against the royalist ships and raised the United Provinces flag on the island. The victory was certified much later at the signing of the Treaty of the Río de la Plata and it Maritime Front.
The royalists had 10 dead, 7 wounded and 50 prisoners. The attackers casualties were three soldiers dead and five wounded. The commander of the force lieutenant Pedro Oroná and sub-lieutenant Pedro Aguilar were lightly wounded.
Romarate, lacking powder and ammunition had to remain on the side as witness to the enemy victory. The last skirmish was held on the dawn of the 15th when the sloop Carmen under Commander Spiro who had approached to spy in the night, run a few volleys of musket fire towards the enemy.
In a terse note, Brown communicated to Government Minister Larrea Only when in front of Montevideo, on 19 April the same year, he would extend on the details of the action and casualties suffered.
In that, his definitive combat report, Brown listed some of the casualties in the Hércules on the 10th and 11th. From officers and sailors: Captain Elias Smith, Third Lieutenant Robert Stacy, helmsman Antonio Castro, cabin boy Eduardo Price, first class sailors Ricardo Brook and Guillermo Russell, second class Francisco Guevara, Salomón Lyon, Felipe Rico, Lázaro Molina and Joaquín Uraqui, and cook Pedro Brown. Troops: Captain Jaime Martín de Jaume and soldiers Tomás Felisa, José Antonio Balija, José Herrera, Silvestre Murúa, Juan Olivera, Marcos Ávila, José Antonio Tolosa, José González.
Consequences
Not having received the supplies and reinforcements he requested, and knowing of the help promised by Fernando Otorgués, second of José Gervasio ArtigasJosé Gervasio Artigas
José Gervasio Artigas is a national hero of Uruguay, sometimes called "the father of Uruguayan nationhood".-Early life:Artigas was born in Montevideo on June 19, 1764...
, who before the imminence of the end of the siege of Montevideo, which they had abandoned at the beginning of the year and confronted Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear
Carlos María de Alvear was an Argentine soldier and statesman, Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in 1815....
, Romarate took advantage of the winds which have veered from the southeast incrementing the rising tide, to escape by the sand banks, and was forced to hide by the end of the Uruguay River.
On the 25th following Larrea's orders, the prisoners were embarked, the houses on the island burned, and the remaining population evacuated. The squadron raised anchor and sailed, arriving on the 26th in Colonia, were the prisoners debarked. Brownignoring the orders from his superiors to chase Romarate, only detached a small division after him, supposing that Romarate was lacking powder and ammunition (which was true until the supplies came from Otorgués) and it was enough to assure his isolation while the bulk of the naval squadron went to what he considered the big prize, the annihilation of the squadron defending Montevideo and taking the city.
The Battle of Martín García was then the beginning of a campaign of 100 days which led by Brown ended Spain's naval power in the Río de la Plata and forced the surrender of their last bastion in Montevideo.