Battle of San Lorenzo
Encyclopedia
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
. This battle was the baptism of fire
for this military unit, and for San Martín in the Spanish American wars of independence.
Montevideo
, a royalist stronghold during the Argentine War of Independence
, was under siege by José Gervasio Artigas
. The city raided population centres along the nearby rivers for supplies. José de San Martín, who shortly before had arrived in Buenos Aires and formed the regiment, followed the royalist ships to San Lorenzo. The area around San Lorenzo formed a large empty plain, the regiment hid inside the San Carlos convent
during the night and San Martín studied the battlefield and the enemy ships from the tower. The battle started at the dawn whereupon the grenadiers made a surprise pincer movement
to trap the enemy forces. One column was led by San Martín, and the other by Justo Germán Bermúdez. The Royalists were led by Antonio Zabala. San Martín fell from his horse, and was nearly killed, but Juan Bautista Cabral
and Juan Bautista Baigorria
intervened and saved him. The royalists were defeated, but kept raiding villages for some more time afterwards.
This battle was the only one that San Martín fought on the modern territory of Argentina. The city of San Lorenzo keeps historic memorials of the battle and it is referenced in the San Lorenzo march
.
during the Paraguay campaign
and Juan José Castelli
in the first Upper Peru campaign had generated a political crisis, Belgrano's victory at Tucuman had given new fresh hope to the revolution, which would be strengthened shortly afterwards with the victory at the Battle of Salta
. Montevideo, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
since the May Revolution
, was under siege by both an army from Buenos Aires led by José Rondeau
and an Uruguayan one led by José Gervasio Artigas
. The city, however, maintained its naval supremacy over Buenos Aires and their ships raided the coasts of the Paraná
and Uruguay
rivers to gather supplies, despite the siege. Montevideo organized a navy to destroy the gun batteries at Rosario and Diamante, two population centers along the Parana, but were prevented from doing so as Buenos Aires dismantled them knowing that they could not defend them.
The Royalist expeditionary navy that would raid San Lorenzo comprised eleven ships of varying sizes, two hundred and fifty soldiers and fifty sailors. They moved into the Paraná through its tributary, the Paraná Guazú River, slowed down by headwinds. The Second Triumvirate
promoted José de San Martín
to colonel and instructed him to follow them with the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers and stop the raids. San Martín was influenced by Napoleonic warfare
and trained the regiment with the most recent military techniques used in the Napoleonic Wars
.
San Martín moved the regiment from Retiro to Rosario, nearing the river at San Pedro and San Nicolás
. He was following the Spanish ships and moved at night to avoid detection. San Martín had one hundred and twenty men for this action, reinforced at Rosario by a militia of seventy men under the command of Celedonio Escalada. Those reinforcements included twenty two rifleman, thirty cavalry, a small cannon and men armed with knives. Escalada had made other actions against the royalists before this battle. San Martín discovered that the royalists intended to pillage the San Carlos Convent
and pressed the march to arrive there first. A hundred royalists landed on San Lorenzo, but the only food available to them was some chickens and watermelons. Aware of the risk of pillage, the population had removed the cattle from the area before the royalists arrived. Escalada arrived in San Lorenzo before the bulk of the patriot army, but the dust trail from the path to Rosario revealed their presence. Escalada attacked them but their ship had a longer range than his cannon, keeping him at bay. He was forced to retire when he found a Paraguayan prisoner who had escaped from the ship. The Paraguayan disclosed the size of the royalist army and their plan of attacking the convent with a larger force, suspecting that the local money was kept in it. They did not attack the convent right away, requiring time to prepare the two field cannons. Escalada returned with San Martin and relayed the news. The march from Retiro to the convent took only five days, thanks to the cadet Ángel Pacheco. Pacheco moved ahead of the regiment and prepared horses in advance at the relay positions. The whole army arrived on scene during the night of 2 February and hid inside the convent. They entered through the rear door and were not allowed to light fires or speak during the night. San Martín studied the enemy and the battlefield from the convent's tower, using a monocular
.
which is next to the Paraná River
, at the point of its widest flow. The west bank of the river was tall and steep, forming a natural obstacle, and ships could only land troops and materials on that side of the river using man-made paths cut into the side. The battlefield was near one of these paths, shaped like a ladder, after which the terrain was a big plain with scattered bushes. The San Carlos Convent
, the main nearby building, was a short distance away from the river.
The location was not an easy place to defend without artillery, as the plains made surprise attacks difficult. Except for the convent itself, the terrain did not offer any natural barrier
s that the patriots could exploit. Nevertheless, the flat terrain was ideal for cavalry manoeuvres, and the distance between the church and the west gully gave enough room for a cavalry charge. The royalists, on the other hand, could support their troops with their ships from the river. Without a supporting navy, or local batteries, San Martín had no means to attack the ships. Although the small path allowed them passage to the ships, it could force the royalist forces to bottleneck during a retreat while the long range guns of the ships protected them. San Martín studied the battlefield and readied the plan for the operation during the night, when the grenadiers were hidden inside the convent.
to trap the enemy forces. The cavalry would not use their guns, relying instead on saber
and spear attacks. The right-hand column was headed by Justo Bermúdez, and the left-hand one by San Martín. The royalists marched in two columns with the two cannons, a deployed flag and military drummers. The clarion
of the regiment of mounted grenadiers sounded for the first time, marking the beginning of the battle.
San Martín's column was the first one to reach the enemy. The two cannons and the cannon fire from the ships defended the royalists, but they were quickly outmanoeuvred by the saber attacks and, unable to form a square
, had to retreat. The advantage of surprise and the speed of the cavalry charge allowed the regiment to defeat the larger royalist army who had almost double the amount of soldiers. When Bermúdez and his column joined the battle the royalists were not able to stand their ground and were rout
ed, retreating in disarray under covering fire from the ships. Bermudez led the attack at this point as San Martín had fallen from his horse.
San Martín did not mention Escalada in his first battle report, leading initial historians to infer that they stayed within the convent during the battle. However it is currently considered that they took part in the battle, as suggested by the royalist battle report and a later report from San Martin which clarifies that only twelve grenadiers stayed in the convent.
The combat took around fifteen minutes and left forty royalists dead and many injured, including Zabala. Fourteen patriot grenadiers died in the combat and two more would die afterwards due to combat injuries. Manuel Díaz Vélez fell from his horse in the gully, was mortally injured and captured by the royalists. Bermúdez was shot in the patella and died a few days later. Hipólito Bouchard captured the Spanish flag after killing the standard bearer.
and Juan Bautista Baigorria
intervened and saved San Martín's life. Cabral was mortally wounded during the rescue and San Martín reported that after Cabral was hit he said "I die happy, we have defeated the enemy". The exact moment this was said is unclear as the word "after" could have meant immediately after; during the ongoing battle; or some hours later during Cabral's agonising decline. San Martín wrote the battle report under a nearby tree. Fray Herminio Gaitán considers that Cabral's last words would have been in the Guaraní language
, his first language
, and that as San Martín also spoke Guaraní he would have translated them for the battle report.
Juan Bautista Cabral is commonly known as "Sergeant Cabral", but he was a private
at the time of the battle. San Martín's report mentions him as "the grenadier Juan B. Cabral", and historians like Bartolomé Mitre
, Herminio Gaitán, Gerardo Bra or Norberto Galasso
support the idea. Mitre considers that Cabral was promoted posthumously, but there are no documents confirming that.
rather than a real battle
and it did not influence the development of the Argentine War of Independence
. This victory did nothing to prevent further raids from royalist ships as there were new raids at Tigre on August 18, 1813 and yet another one at San Fernando on August 22. William Brown
ended the royalist naval supremacy the following year.
San Martín did not take hostages or ask for ransoms, but rather he instructed his people to avoid further conflicts and to try to restore peaceful relations with the royalists. Zabala requested assistance for his wounded soldiers, which San Martín provided and he invited Zabala to share a large breakfast, which he accepted. San Martín was aware that the new enlightened ideas
at stake in the Napoleonic Wars
influenced many of the Spanish military, and expected to convince Zabala that absolutism was a bad cause to defend. He succeeded, as Zabala joined the patriot forces under San Martín's command during his administration in Mendoza.
José Gervasio Artigas
, leader of the popular resistance at the Banda Oriental
, sent an agent to San Lorenzo to congratulate San Martín for his victory. San Martín also met with John Parish Robertson, who informed Britain about the battle.
: Puerto General San Martín
, Fray Luis Beltrán
, Capitán Bermúdez
and Granadero Baigorria
are named after José de San Martín
, Luis Beltrán, Justo Germán Bermúdez and Juan Bautista Baigorria
respectively, all of whom were involved in the battle. The Sargento Cabral Department
at the Chaco Province
is named after Juan Bautista Cabral
, even though he was not a sergeant as described. The most popular homage to the battle is the name of the football club San Lorenzo de Almagro, named after both the battle and Saint Lawrence
.
The city of San Lorenzo
preserves the site of the battle and a dedicated historic complex. The San Carlos Convent
is still a working convent, but has turned part of its buildings into a museum. It has retained San Martín's cell, the room used for medical treatment of the injured soldiers, urns of the dead soldiers and other related items to the "March of San Lorenzo" as well as the history of the convent. Raimundo, mayor of San Lorenzo, made an agreement with the Argentine Armed Forces in 2008 that the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers would have a permanent presence at the site.
The battlefield is known as the "Field of Glory", and it was turned into a park on May 20, 1913, by president Roque Sáenz Peña
. There is a monument with two symbolic wings of victory, an eternal flame
and nine memorials for the sixteen patriot soldiers who died in the battle. The memorials are for the nine origins of those soldiers: the Argentine provinces of Corrientes, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, Córdoba, San Luis and Buenos Aires, as well as Chile, France and Uruguay. Although Uruguay did not exist at the time of the battle, the Banda Oriental
province is considered a predecessor of modern Uruguay.
The pine tree (Pinus pinea) where San Martin wrote the battle report is known as the "Historic Pine", and has an estimated age of more than two hundred years. The convent, the battlefield and the Historic Pine were declared National Historic Monuments of Argentina on October 2, 1940 by law 12.648. The Historic Pine was declared a "Historic Tree" in 1946 by decree 3.038.
. The military march was composed in February 1901 by Cayetano Alberto Silva
following a proposal from Representative Celestino Pera. It was first officially played on October 30, 1902 at the inauguration of the monument to General San Martín in Rosario. The lyrics were written by professor Carlos Benielli in 1908. The march became famous in other countries and, according to the Argentine British Community Council, it has been considered in Europe to be one of the five best military marches ever written. The military bands of Uruguay, Brazil and Poland, amongst others, include it in their musical repertory.
The battle of San Lorenzo was also mentioned as an Argentine victory in the first Argentine National Anthem
, along with the battles of San José, Suipacha, Las Piedras, Salta and Tucumán. There is also a brief reference to the battle in the march Mi bandera ("My flag"), which is about the flag of Argentina
. However, this march includes a historic inaccuracy. It says "Here is the flag that one day triumphantly rose in the middle of the battle and, full of pride and gallantry, went immortally to San Lorenzo". This is incorrect as the current flag of Argentina was not widely used until 1814 or 1815. The Battle of Salta
was the only conflict of the Argentine War of Independence fought in current Argentine territory under the modern flag of Argentina. The San Martín National Institute
states, by oral tradition
, that the grenadiers of San Lorenzo did not use any flag for the operation.
San Lorenzo, Santa Fe
San Lorenzo is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located 23 km north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming one end of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area...
, 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
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...
. This battle was the baptism of fire
Baptism of Fire
Baptism of Fire is a 1943 documentary film starring Elisha Cook Jr. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature....
for this military unit, and for San Martín in the Spanish American wars of independence.
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...
, a royalist stronghold during the Argentine War of Independence
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
, was under siege by 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...
. The city raided population centres along the nearby rivers for supplies. José de San Martín, who shortly before had arrived in Buenos Aires and formed the regiment, followed the royalist ships to San Lorenzo. The area around San Lorenzo formed a large empty plain, the regiment hid inside the San Carlos convent
San Carlos Convent
The San Carlos Convent is located in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, in Argentina. The battle of San Lorenzo was fought next to it, and both the convent itself and the battlefield are National Historic Monuments of Argentina.-History:...
during the night and San Martín studied the battlefield and the enemy ships from the tower. The battle started at the dawn whereupon the grenadiers made a surprise pincer movement
Pincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
to trap the enemy forces. One column was led by San Martín, and the other by Justo Germán Bermúdez. The Royalists were led by Antonio Zabala. San Martín fell from his horse, and was nearly killed, but Juan Bautista Cabral
Juan Bautista Cabral
Juan Bautista Cabral was an Argentine soldier of the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers who died in the Battle of San Lorenzo, while he was aiding then Colonel José de San Martín, whose horse had fallen to enemy fire...
and Juan Bautista Baigorria
Juan Bautista Baigorria
Juan Bautista Baigorria, also known as Granadero Baigorria, was born in San Luis Province and died at the Battle of San Lorenzo on 3 February 1813, was an Argentine soldier...
intervened and saved him. The royalists were defeated, but kept raiding villages for some more time afterwards.
This battle was the only one that San Martín fought on the modern territory of Argentina. The city of San Lorenzo keeps historic memorials of the battle and it is referenced in the San Lorenzo march
San Lorenzo march
The San Lorenzo march is an Argentine military march, whose lyrics celebrate the role played by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers commanded by José de San Martín at the Battle of San Lorenzo during the Argentine War of Independence. Special mention receives the heroic sargeant Juan Bautista Cabral...
.
Prelude
Although Buenos Aires had suffered a difficult period in its war for independence, its prospects were improving by 1812. Even though the defeats of Manuel BelgranoManuel 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...
during 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...
and Juan José Castelli
Juan José Castelli
Juan José Castelli was an Argentine lawyer. He was one of the leaders of the May Revolution, which started the Argentine War of Independence...
in the first Upper Peru campaign had generated a political crisis, Belgrano's victory at Tucuman had given new fresh hope to the revolution, which would be strengthened shortly afterwards with the victory at the Battle of Salta
Battle of Salta
The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, near the present-day Argentina city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general...
. Montevideo, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata
The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, , was the last and most short-lived Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire in America.The Viceroyalty was established in 1776 out of several former Viceroyalty of Perú dependencies that mainly extended over the Río de la Plata basin, roughly the present day...
since the May Revolution
May 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...
, was under siege by both an army from Buenos Aires led by José Rondeau
José Rondeau
José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century.-Biography:...
and an Uruguayan one led by 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...
. The city, however, maintained its naval supremacy over Buenos Aires and their ships raided the coasts of the 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...
and 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...
rivers to gather supplies, despite the siege. Montevideo organized a navy to destroy the gun batteries at Rosario and Diamante, two population centers along the Parana, but were prevented from doing so as Buenos Aires dismantled them knowing that they could not defend them.
The Royalist expeditionary navy that would raid San Lorenzo comprised eleven ships of varying sizes, two hundred and fifty soldiers and fifty sailors. They moved into the Paraná through its tributary, the Paraná Guazú River, slowed down by headwinds. The Second Triumvirate
Second 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....
promoted 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...
to colonel and instructed him to follow them with the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers and stop the raids. San Martín was influenced by Napoleonic warfare
Napoleonic weaponry and warfare
Napoleon I of France is recognised as one of the greatest commanders in military history. His main strategy was focusing on one part of the enemy, quickly defeating them, and continuing onward...
and trained the regiment with the most recent military techniques used in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
San Martín moved the regiment from Retiro to Rosario, nearing the river at San Pedro and San Nicolás
San Nicolás de los Arroyos
San Nicolás de los Arroyos is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, 61 km from Rosario. It has about 138,000 inhabitants . It is the head town of the partido of the same name...
. He was following the Spanish ships and moved at night to avoid detection. San Martín had one hundred and twenty men for this action, reinforced at Rosario by a militia of seventy men under the command of Celedonio Escalada. Those reinforcements included twenty two rifleman, thirty cavalry, a small cannon and men armed with knives. Escalada had made other actions against the royalists before this battle. San Martín discovered that the royalists intended to pillage the San Carlos Convent
San Carlos Convent
The San Carlos Convent is located in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, in Argentina. The battle of San Lorenzo was fought next to it, and both the convent itself and the battlefield are National Historic Monuments of Argentina.-History:...
and pressed the march to arrive there first. A hundred royalists landed on San Lorenzo, but the only food available to them was some chickens and watermelons. Aware of the risk of pillage, the population had removed the cattle from the area before the royalists arrived. Escalada arrived in San Lorenzo before the bulk of the patriot army, but the dust trail from the path to Rosario revealed their presence. Escalada attacked them but their ship had a longer range than his cannon, keeping him at bay. He was forced to retire when he found a Paraguayan prisoner who had escaped from the ship. The Paraguayan disclosed the size of the royalist army and their plan of attacking the convent with a larger force, suspecting that the local money was kept in it. They did not attack the convent right away, requiring time to prepare the two field cannons. Escalada returned with San Martin and relayed the news. The march from Retiro to the convent took only five days, thanks to the cadet Ángel Pacheco. Pacheco moved ahead of the regiment and prepared horses in advance at the relay positions. The whole army arrived on scene during the night of 2 February and hid inside the convent. They entered through the rear door and were not allowed to light fires or speak during the night. San Martín studied the enemy and the battlefield from the convent's tower, using a monocular
Monocular
A monocular is a modified refracting telescope used to magnify the images of distant objects by passing light through a series of lenses and sometimes prisms; the use of prisms results in a lightweight telescope. Volume and weight are less than half those of binoculars of similar optical...
.
Battlefield
The battle was fought at the location of the modern city of San Lorenzo, Santa FeSan Lorenzo, Santa Fe
San Lorenzo is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located 23 km north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming one end of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area...
which is next to the Paraná River
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...
, at the point of its widest flow. The west bank of the river was tall and steep, forming a natural obstacle, and ships could only land troops and materials on that side of the river using man-made paths cut into the side. The battlefield was near one of these paths, shaped like a ladder, after which the terrain was a big plain with scattered bushes. The San Carlos Convent
San Carlos Convent
The San Carlos Convent is located in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, in Argentina. The battle of San Lorenzo was fought next to it, and both the convent itself and the battlefield are National Historic Monuments of Argentina.-History:...
, the main nearby building, was a short distance away from the river.
The location was not an easy place to defend without artillery, as the plains made surprise attacks difficult. Except for the convent itself, the terrain did not offer any natural barrier
Natural barrier
The most common use of the term "natural barrier" is in geography, where it refers to a naturally occurring obstacle to movement, especially of people and especially at modest technological levels....
s that the patriots could exploit. Nevertheless, the flat terrain was ideal for cavalry manoeuvres, and the distance between the church and the west gully gave enough room for a cavalry charge. The royalists, on the other hand, could support their troops with their ships from the river. Without a supporting navy, or local batteries, San Martín had no means to attack the ships. Although the small path allowed them passage to the ships, it could force the royalist forces to bottleneck during a retreat while the long range guns of the ships protected them. San Martín studied the battlefield and readied the plan for the operation during the night, when the grenadiers were hidden inside the convent.
Battle
The grenadiers left the convent at dawn, preparing their formations behind the convent. San Martín returned to the tower to watch the enemy who disembarked at sunrise, 5:30 in the morning. He mounted his horse, gave a short harangue to the troops, and headed to battle. His strategy was to divide his cavalry forces into two columns, of nearly sixty horsemen each, and make a surprise pincer movementPincer movement
The pincer movement or double envelopment is a military maneuver. The flanks of the opponent are attacked simultaneously in a pinching motion after the opponent has advanced towards the center of an army which is responding by moving its outside forces to the enemy's flanks, in order to surround it...
to trap the enemy forces. The cavalry would not use their guns, relying instead on saber
Sabre
The sabre or saber is a kind of backsword that usually has a curved, single-edged blade and a rather large hand guard, covering the knuckles of the hand as well as the thumb and forefinger...
and spear attacks. The right-hand column was headed by Justo Bermúdez, and the left-hand one by San Martín. The royalists marched in two columns with the two cannons, a deployed flag and military drummers. The clarion
Clarion (instrument)
Clarion is a common name for a trumpet in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It also is used as a name for a 4' organ reed stop. There is wide confusion over whether clarion invariably refers to a type of trumpet or simply the upper register of the standard trumpet....
of the regiment of mounted grenadiers sounded for the first time, marking the beginning of the battle.
San Martín's column was the first one to reach the enemy. The two cannons and the cannon fire from the ships defended the royalists, but they were quickly outmanoeuvred by the saber attacks and, unable to form a square
Infantry square
An infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit forms in close order when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:The formation was described by Plutarch and used by the Romans, and was developed from an earlier circular formation...
, had to retreat. The advantage of surprise and the speed of the cavalry charge allowed the regiment to defeat the larger royalist army who had almost double the amount of soldiers. When Bermúdez and his column joined the battle the royalists were not able to stand their ground and were rout
Rout
A rout is commonly defined as a chaotic and disorderly retreat or withdrawal of troops from a battlefield, resulting in the victory of the opposing party, or following defeat, a collapse of discipline, or poor morale. A routed army often degenerates into a sense of "every man for himself" as the...
ed, retreating in disarray under covering fire from the ships. Bermudez led the attack at this point as San Martín had fallen from his horse.
San Martín did not mention Escalada in his first battle report, leading initial historians to infer that they stayed within the convent during the battle. However it is currently considered that they took part in the battle, as suggested by the royalist battle report and a later report from San Martin which clarifies that only twelve grenadiers stayed in the convent.
The combat took around fifteen minutes and left forty royalists dead and many injured, including Zabala. Fourteen patriot grenadiers died in the combat and two more would die afterwards due to combat injuries. Manuel Díaz Vélez fell from his horse in the gully, was mortally injured and captured by the royalists. Bermúdez was shot in the patella and died a few days later. Hipólito Bouchard captured the Spanish flag after killing the standard bearer.
Cabral's intervention
Despite the victory, the remaining royalist forces could not be pursued as the column led by Justo Bermúdez had moved further than calculated for. This delayed the meeting with San Martín's column whose horse was killed by enemy fire, leaving with his leg trapped under the corpse of the animal. These factors led to the columns not meeting up and allowed many royalists to escape. A royalist, probably Zabala himself, attempted to kill San Martín while he was trapped under his dead horse where he suffered a saber injury to his face, and a bullet wound to his arm. Juan Bautista CabralJuan Bautista Cabral
Juan Bautista Cabral was an Argentine soldier of the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers who died in the Battle of San Lorenzo, while he was aiding then Colonel José de San Martín, whose horse had fallen to enemy fire...
and Juan Bautista Baigorria
Juan Bautista Baigorria
Juan Bautista Baigorria, also known as Granadero Baigorria, was born in San Luis Province and died at the Battle of San Lorenzo on 3 February 1813, was an Argentine soldier...
intervened and saved San Martín's life. Cabral was mortally wounded during the rescue and San Martín reported that after Cabral was hit he said "I die happy, we have defeated the enemy". The exact moment this was said is unclear as the word "after" could have meant immediately after; during the ongoing battle; or some hours later during Cabral's agonising decline. San Martín wrote the battle report under a nearby tree. Fray Herminio Gaitán considers that Cabral's last words would have been in the Guaraní language
Guaraní language
Guaraní, specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guaraní , is an indigenous language of South America that belongs to the Tupí–Guaraní subfamily of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of Paraguay , where it is spoken by the majority of the population, and half of...
, his first language
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
, and that as San Martín also spoke Guaraní he would have translated them for the battle report.
Juan Bautista Cabral is commonly known as "Sergeant Cabral", but he was a private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
at the time of the battle. San Martín's report mentions him as "the grenadier Juan B. Cabral", and historians like Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre
Bartolomé Mitre Martínez was an Argentine statesman, military figure, and author. He was the President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868.-Life and times:...
, Herminio Gaitán, Gerardo Bra or Norberto Galasso
Norberto Galasso
Norberto Galasso is a historian and essayist from Argentina, who wrote many books related with the history of Argentina. His career as historian spans nearly forty years.-Biography:He studied economy in the University of Buenos Aires, graduating in 1961....
support the idea. Mitre considers that Cabral was promoted posthumously, but there are no documents confirming that.
Aftermath
Even though the battle of San Lorenzo is acknowledged in Argentine historiography as an important battle for Argentine independence, it had little military influence in the conflict. Much of the recognition the battle generated is because San Martín fought in it, as the size of the forces involved and the length of the clash would normally mean it was considered a military engagementEngagement (military)
A military engagement is a combat between two forces, neither larger than a division and not smaller than a company, in which each has an assigned or perceived mission...
rather than a real battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
and it did not influence the development of the Argentine War of Independence
Argentine War of Independence
The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...
. This victory did nothing to prevent further raids from royalist ships as there were new raids at Tigre on August 18, 1813 and yet another one at San Fernando on August 22. William Brown
William Brown (admiral)
Admiral William Brown was an Irish-born Argentine Admiral. Brown's victories in the Independence War, the Argentina-Brazil War, and the Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata earned the respect and appreciation of the Argentine people, and today he is regarded as one of Argentina's national...
ended the royalist naval supremacy the following year.
San Martín did not take hostages or ask for ransoms, but rather he instructed his people to avoid further conflicts and to try to restore peaceful relations with the royalists. Zabala requested assistance for his wounded soldiers, which San Martín provided and he invited Zabala to share a large breakfast, which he accepted. San Martín was aware that the new enlightened ideas
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
at stake in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
influenced many of the Spanish military, and expected to convince Zabala that absolutism was a bad cause to defend. He succeeded, as Zabala joined the patriot forces under San Martín's command during his administration in Mendoza.
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...
, leader of the popular resistance at 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...
, sent an agent to San Lorenzo to congratulate San Martín for his victory. San Martín also met with John Parish Robertson, who informed Britain about the battle.
Legacy
There are many Argentine memorials and places named after the battle, including four cities in Greater RosarioGreater Rosario
Greater Rosario is the metropolitan area of the city of Rosario, in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. This metropolis has a population of about 1.5 million , thus being Argentina's second most populated urban settlement, after Buenos Aires....
: Puerto General San Martín
Puerto General San Martín
Puerto General San Martín is a small city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, about north from the center of the city of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River...
, Fray Luis Beltrán
Fray Luis Beltrán
Fray Luis Beltrán is a small city in the , located within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, north of the city of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River. It has a population of about 14,000 inhabitants as of the ....
, Capitán Bermúdez
Capitán Bermúdez
Capitán Bermúdez is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located within the metropolitan area of Greater Rosario, , on the western shore of the Paraná River. It has a population of about 27,000 inhabitants per the .The town was founded in 1889, and officially became a city in 1970...
and Granadero Baigorria
Granadero Baigorria
Granadero Baigorria is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located directly north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming part of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area...
are named after 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...
, Luis Beltrán, Justo Germán Bermúdez and Juan Bautista Baigorria
Juan Bautista Baigorria
Juan Bautista Baigorria, also known as Granadero Baigorria, was born in San Luis Province and died at the Battle of San Lorenzo on 3 February 1813, was an Argentine soldier...
respectively, all of whom were involved in the battle. The Sargento Cabral Department
Sargento Cabral Department
Sargento Cabral is a department of Chaco Province in Argentina.The provincial subdivision has a population of about 15,000 inhabitants in an area of 1,651km², and its capital city is Colonia Elisa, which is located around 1,100km from Capital Federal....
at the Chaco Province
Chaco Province
Chaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
is named after Juan Bautista Cabral
Juan Bautista Cabral
Juan Bautista Cabral was an Argentine soldier of the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers who died in the Battle of San Lorenzo, while he was aiding then Colonel José de San Martín, whose horse had fallen to enemy fire...
, even though he was not a sergeant as described. The most popular homage to the battle is the name of the football club San Lorenzo de Almagro, named after both the battle and Saint Lawrence
Saint Lawrence
Lawrence of Rome was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome who were martyred during the persecution of Valerian in 258.- Holy Chalice :...
.
The city of San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo, Santa Fe
San Lorenzo is a city in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, located 23 km north of Rosario, on the western shore of the Paraná River, and forming one end of the Greater Rosario metropolitan area...
preserves the site of the battle and a dedicated historic complex. The San Carlos Convent
San Carlos Convent
The San Carlos Convent is located in San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, in Argentina. The battle of San Lorenzo was fought next to it, and both the convent itself and the battlefield are National Historic Monuments of Argentina.-History:...
is still a working convent, but has turned part of its buildings into a museum. It has retained San Martín's cell, the room used for medical treatment of the injured soldiers, urns of the dead soldiers and other related items to the "March of San Lorenzo" as well as the history of the convent. Raimundo, mayor of San Lorenzo, made an agreement with the Argentine Armed Forces in 2008 that the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers would have a permanent presence at the site.
The battlefield is known as the "Field of Glory", and it was turned into a park on May 20, 1913, by president Roque Sáenz Peña
Roque Sáenz Peña
Roque Sáenz Peña Lahitte was President of Argentina from 12 October 1910 to 9 August 1914, when he died in office...
. There is a monument with two symbolic wings of victory, an eternal flame
Eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....
and nine memorials for the sixteen patriot soldiers who died in the battle. The memorials are for the nine origins of those soldiers: the Argentine provinces of Corrientes, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, Córdoba, San Luis and Buenos Aires, as well as Chile, France and Uruguay. Although Uruguay did not exist at the time of the battle, 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...
province is considered a predecessor of modern Uruguay.
The pine tree (Pinus pinea) where San Martin wrote the battle report is known as the "Historic Pine", and has an estimated age of more than two hundred years. The convent, the battlefield and the Historic Pine were declared National Historic Monuments of Argentina on October 2, 1940 by law 12.648. The Historic Pine was declared a "Historic Tree" in 1946 by decree 3.038.
Songs
The battle of San Lorenzo is the theme of the San Lorenzo marchSan Lorenzo march
The San Lorenzo march is an Argentine military march, whose lyrics celebrate the role played by the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers commanded by José de San Martín at the Battle of San Lorenzo during the Argentine War of Independence. Special mention receives the heroic sargeant Juan Bautista Cabral...
. The military march was composed in February 1901 by Cayetano Alberto Silva
Cayetano Alberto Silva
Cayetano Alberto Silva was an Uruguayan musician, nationalized Argentine, and author; his work includes the San Lorenzo march, the official march of the Argentine army.-Early life:...
following a proposal from Representative Celestino Pera. It was first officially played on October 30, 1902 at the inauguration of the monument to General San Martín in Rosario. The lyrics were written by professor Carlos Benielli in 1908. The march became famous in other countries and, according to the Argentine British Community Council, it has been considered in Europe to be one of the five best military marches ever written. The military bands of Uruguay, Brazil and Poland, amongst others, include it in their musical repertory.
The battle of San Lorenzo was also mentioned as an Argentine victory in the first Argentine National Anthem
Argentine National Anthem
The Argentine National Anthem is the national anthem of Argentina. The name of the song originally was Marcha Patriótica , and was later renamed Canción Patriótica Nacional and finally Canción Patriótica . A copy published in 1847 called it Himno Nacional Argentino and the name has remained ever...
, along with the battles of San José, Suipacha, Las Piedras, Salta and Tucumán. There is also a brief reference to the battle in the march Mi bandera ("My flag"), which is about the flag of Argentina
Flag of Argentina
The national flag of Argentina is a triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue, white and light blue. There are multiple interpretations on the reasons for those colors...
. However, this march includes a historic inaccuracy. It says "Here is the flag that one day triumphantly rose in the middle of the battle and, full of pride and gallantry, went immortally to San Lorenzo". This is incorrect as the current flag of Argentina was not widely used until 1814 or 1815. The Battle of Salta
Battle of Salta
The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, near the present-day Argentina city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, defeated for the second time the royalist troops of general...
was the only conflict of the Argentine War of Independence fought in current Argentine territory under the modern flag of Argentina. The San Martín National Institute
San Martín National Institute
The San Martín National Institute is a cultural foundation in Buenos Aires dedicated to the legacy of General José de San Martín, the Liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Perú.-Overview:...
states, by oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
, that the grenadiers of San Lorenzo did not use any flag for the operation.
External links
- La batalla de San Lorenzo – Includes a transcription of San Martín's letter to the Argentine government, informing them of the battle.
- El combate de San Lorenzo – Report by the San Martín National InstituteSan Martín National InstituteThe San Martín National Institute is a cultural foundation in Buenos Aires dedicated to the legacy of General José de San Martín, the Liberator of Argentina, Chile, and Perú.-Overview:...