Battle of San Cala
Encyclopedia
The Battle of San Cala (or of Sancala or San Calá), fought in the present-day Department of Minas
, in Córdoba Province
, Argentina
, on January 9, 1842, between Unitarian forces
and Federalists, who under the command of General Ángel Pacheco
, prevented the expansion of the Unitarian Coalition of the North into the provinces of the Cuyo
.
's campaign to invade the province of Buenos Aires
, this Unitarian general moved to the province of Santa Fe
and, from there, retreated toward the province of Córdoba
. But a misunderstanding with the forces under the command of General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid
caused Lavalle to suffer a terrible defeat at the battle of Quebracho Herrado.
Not considering themselves to be sufficiently strong in Córdoba, both generals agreed to retire toward the northern Argentine provinces, which were securely in the Unitarian camp. At the same time, they sent two secondary columns to seize other provinces. One of these, under the command of Mariano Acha, was defeated in its attempt to take the province of Santiago del Estero
.
The second column was placed under the command of Colonel José María Vilela. The best of Lavalle's troops composed this column, and their mission was to support the Unitarian revolutionaries who were, it was thought, ready to rise in the provinces of San Luis
and Mendoza
.
Overly confident, Vilela had secured all his men in a huge corral surrounded by high stone walls, and he let them spend the night there without the vigilance of effective sentries. Pacheco arrived in the vicinity of the corral at night; as his forces were inferior in numbers to those of his enemy, he decided to trust in surprise to gain a victory: Pacheco attacked at midnight, with his cavalry in column and through the only entrance into the corral. There was a slaughter with most of Vilela's soldiers perishing.
. He would fight in the battle of Famaillá
, the final defeat of General Lavalle's Unitarian forces, and together with Marco Avellaneda, the governor of the province of Tucumán
, would be executed by Federalist firing squad at Metán.
General Pacheco would go on to organize a powerful Federalist army, with which he undertook a new campaign in Cuyo. In September of 1842, at the battle of Rodeo del Medio, he would destroy the forces under General Lamadrid, last of the forces of the Coalition of the North, assuring the absolute dominion of the Federalist party in Argentina for another ten years.
The village of San Cala itself must be mentioned. Its inhabitants, strongly affected by the bloody battle and with their cemetery full of the bodies of the men killed in that battle, in the following years moved to a place a short distance away, the present village of San Carlos or San Carlos Minas. The village of San Cala was deserted from then on and remains so today.
Minas
Minas are ancient Near Eastern units of weight, and hence, also units of currency.Places* Minas Gerais, Brazil* Minas, Uruguay* Minas Department, Córdoba* Minas Department, Neuquén* Minas, Cuba, a municipality in Cuba...
, in Córdoba Province
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, on January 9, 1842, between Unitarian forces
Unitarian Party
Unitarianists or Unitarians were the proponents of the concept of a Unitary state in Buenos Aires during the civil wars which shortly followed the Declaration of Independence of Argentina in 1816. They were opposed to the Argentine Federalists, who wanted a federation of independent provinces...
and Federalists, who under the command of General Ángel Pacheco
Ángel Pacheco
Ángel Pacheco , was an Argentine military officer trained by José de San Martín who later became one of the top commanders in the Confederacy during the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas...
, prevented the expansion of the Unitarian Coalition of the North into the provinces of the Cuyo
Cuyo (Argentina)
Cuyo is the name given to the wine-producing, mountainous area of central-west Argentina. Historically it comprised the provinces of San Juan, San Luis and Mendoza. The term New Cuyo is a modern one, which indicates both Cuyo proper and the province of La Rioja...
.
Prelude
After the failure of Juan LavalleJuan Lavalle
Juan Galo de Lavalle was an Argentine military and political figure.-Biography:Lavalle was born in Buenos Aires to María Mercedes González Bordallo and Manuel José de La Vallée y Cortés, general accountant of rents and tobacco for the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata.In 1799, the family moved to...
's campaign to invade the province of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, this Unitarian general moved to the province of Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
and, from there, retreated toward the province of Córdoba
Córdoba Province (Argentina)
Córdoba is a province of Argentina, located in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are : Santiago del Estero, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, La Pampa, San Luis, La Rioja and Catamarca...
. But a misunderstanding with the forces under the command of General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid
Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid
Comandante General Gregorio Aráoz de Lamadrid was an Argentine military leader and, briefly, governor of several provinces like Córdoba, Mendoza and his native province of Tucumán.Lamadrid fought beside General Belgrano and General San Martín during the Argentine War of Independence, as a prominent...
caused Lavalle to suffer a terrible defeat at the battle of Quebracho Herrado.
Not considering themselves to be sufficiently strong in Córdoba, both generals agreed to retire toward the northern Argentine provinces, which were securely in the Unitarian camp. At the same time, they sent two secondary columns to seize other provinces. One of these, under the command of Mariano Acha, was defeated in its attempt to take the province of Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero
Santiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants, making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surface area of 2,116 km². It lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of...
.
The second column was placed under the command of Colonel José María Vilela. The best of Lavalle's troops composed this column, and their mission was to support the Unitarian revolutionaries who were, it was thought, ready to rise in the provinces of San Luis
San Luis Province
San Luis is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country . Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan.-History:...
and Mendoza
Mendoza Province
The Province of Mendoza is a province of Argentina, located in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders to the north with San Juan, the south with La Pampa and Neuquén, the east with San Luis, and to the west with the republic of Chile; the international limit is...
.
The Surprise of San Cala
As this second column headed to the Valley of Traslasierra, and near the Indian village of Sancala (near present-day San Carlos Minas, Córdoba), a division of Federalist cavalry sent under the command of General Ángel Pacheco in pursuit of the Unitarian column were rapidly closing in on it.Overly confident, Vilela had secured all his men in a huge corral surrounded by high stone walls, and he let them spend the night there without the vigilance of effective sentries. Pacheco arrived in the vicinity of the corral at night; as his forces were inferior in numbers to those of his enemy, he decided to trust in surprise to gain a victory: Pacheco attacked at midnight, with his cavalry in column and through the only entrance into the corral. There was a slaughter with most of Vilela's soldiers perishing.
Aftermath
As the battle ended, Colonel Vilela himself had to flee through the desert toward CatamarcaCatamarca
Catamarca may refer to:*San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Argentina*Catamarca Province, Argentina...
. He would fight in the battle of Famaillá
Famaillá
Famaillá is a city in the province of Tucumán, Argentina, located 30 km south from the provincial capital San Miguel de Tucumán. It has 30,951 inhabitants as per the , and is the head town of the Famaillá Department....
, the final defeat of General Lavalle's Unitarian forces, and together with Marco Avellaneda, the governor of the province of Tucumán
Tucumán Province
Tucumán is the most densely populated, and the smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the capital is San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighboring provinces are, clockwise from the north: Salta, Santiago del Estero and...
, would be executed by Federalist firing squad at Metán.
General Pacheco would go on to organize a powerful Federalist army, with which he undertook a new campaign in Cuyo. In September of 1842, at the battle of Rodeo del Medio, he would destroy the forces under General Lamadrid, last of the forces of the Coalition of the North, assuring the absolute dominion of the Federalist party in Argentina for another ten years.
The village of San Cala itself must be mentioned. Its inhabitants, strongly affected by the bloody battle and with their cemetery full of the bodies of the men killed in that battle, in the following years moved to a place a short distance away, the present village of San Carlos or San Carlos Minas. The village of San Cala was deserted from then on and remains so today.