Battle of Vargas Swamp

Battle of Vargas Swamp
Part of Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada and the Colombian War of Independence
Battle of Vargas Swamp by Luis Rengifo
Date July 25, 1819 Location Paipa, Viceroyalty of New Granada 5°44′15″N 73°4′30″W / 5.73750°N 73.07500°W / 5.73750; -73.07500 Result Patriot victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Spain	Venezuela New Granada British Legions
Commanders and leaders
José María Barreiro Francisco Jimenez Sebastian Diaz	Simón Bolívar José Antonio Anzoátegui Francisco de Paula Santander
Strength
1,800 1,300 infantry 500 cavalry	2,400 2,000 infantry 400 cavalry
Casualties and losses
140 - 500 dead	183 - 400 dead

The Battle of Vargas Swamp (Spanish: Batalla del Pantano de Vargas) fought on July 25, 1819, was fought during Bolívar's campaign to liberate New Granada. The battle involved a joint Venezuelan and New Granadan army commanded by General Simón Bolívar fighting against the III Division of the Spanish Royalist Army commanded by Colonel José María Barreiro. The Battle of Vargas Swamp constituted one of most important battles during the Colombian War of Independence as it cleared the path for the Patriot army to advance towards Santafé, as well as demoralizing the Royalist troops. Vargas Swamp was the bloodiest battle of the 1819 New Granadan liberation campaign, if we take into account the estimated number of deaths in both sides.

The battle came as a result of Bolívar trying to prevent Spanish forces from arriving at Santafe de Bogotá, which was lightly defended, before they did. However the Royalist commander Barreiro had detected Bolívar's move and placed his forces on favorable ground near a chokepoint between the towns of Tibasosa and Paipa. The battle lasted some 6 hours with Royalist army having the advantage of being on higher ground as well as better equipment and better training. This battle was difficult for Bolivar's forces who by 5pm look liked they would lose, with the Royalists almost encircling the Patriots. However a cavalry attack by a force of Llanero Lancers under the command of Colonel Juan José Rondón coupled with an infantry attack by the British Legion under Colonel James Rooke were able to break the Spanish lines and force them to withdraw. These actions turned defeat into victory for the Patriots.

Bolívar's army narrowly bested the royalist army in spite of the exhaustion of the troops after climbing the Páramo de Pisba, and crossing the swamp. This battle and the next victory over the Spanish by the Boyacá Bridge secured the independence of New Granada.^[1]

The battle was fought in an area between the towns of Paipa and Tibasosa known as Vargas swamp, which now no longer exits.

Prelude

After Bolivar's army had crossed the Andes Mountain Range at the Paramo de Pisba in early July 1819 he arrived to the town of Socha, his army of Venezuelan and New Granadan troops as well as a British Legion were in a sorry state, his troops were practically naked and had lost all their horses as well as cattle along with some 100 dead, 500 sick, and a loss of a large amount of munitons. Over the next few days his army rested with the help of the local people of the Tunja Province (now Boyacá Department). Their assistance would be vital as they would provide food, horses, as well as tend to the sick troops, the women of these villages also tore up their dresses and any clothes they could find in an effort to sew new uniforms for the naked army. Bolivar would also be able to recoup some of his forces as a large amount of locals joined his army or were conscripted.

Colonel Jose Maria Barreiro commander of the 4,000 strong III Divison of Expeditionary Army of Costa Firme, the main Spanish Royalist force in the kingdom, had been garrisoned in the capital of the province, Tunja. Barriero was suprised that Bolivar had crossed through the Paramo de Pisba especialy during the winter rain season. Having heard rumours of potential invasion by the rebels in late June of 1819 he had dispersed his troops to guard the various mountain passes (except Pisba) that he thought Bolivar would take, thus at the time he had found out of the presence of Patriot forces at Socha he only had 1,800 troops with him at Tunja with some 400 guarding Santa Fe and another amount of troops scattered throughout the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. Over the next few days Barreiro would be informed of the compisition of Bolívar's army and found out he was at a numerical disadavnatge, however he was confident in his forces as they were better equipped, better armed, and had formal military training compared to mixed group of soldiers and peasants that made up Bolivar's forces.^[2]

During the following days leading up to the battle small detachments of the Patriot Vanguard clashed with patrolling Royalist troops at Gameza. On July 10 Barreiro now forced to respond sent a detachment to the town of Topaga to block them where they would inflict a loss on the Patriots, however this was counteracted when Patriot cavalry forced them back to Corrales.^[3] The two armies would clash again at the Battle of Gámeza on July 11, with neither side winning the battle. As a result of the Battle, Bolívar realized he was still not strong enough to face Barreiro in open battle and discarded his initial strategy of a frontal assault on Sogamoso, instead opting for a flanking maneuver through the Cerinza Valley with Barreiro falling back towards the town of Paipa to block him.

Battle

Preparations

On July 20, after a brief rest, the Patriot army resumed their campaign with Bolívar now trying to seek out a confrontation with Barreiro, with the goal of reaching Tunja along the Toca road which would enable the Patriots to cut off the royalists' line of communication with Santa Fe. Bolívar then dispatched an advance force of 40 infantrymen, that was sent to stalk the royalist troops, however they were detected and defeated near the Cruz de Murcia, a hill in front of Vargas swamp, with only one soldier surviving, who was able to notify Bolívar about the Royalist camp near Vargas. For this reason, Bolívar decided to march on the road that took one from Tibasosa to Paipa in order to surprise the Royalists at Paipa, to do this the Patriot army would have to cross the Chicamocha River, which was swollen as a result of the winter rain season.

Thus the days of July 23 and 24 were dedicated to the construction of rafts to ford it, and on July 25, at five in the morning, they were ready, and so it was decided to ford the river at a site known as Puente de Balsa.

However during the crossing many of the rafts collapsed, and the Patriot army struggled to get across the swollen river and wouldn't do so until 10 am, a delay of 5 hours, which Bolívar worried would allow the Royalists to know their movements.^[4]

The previous defeat of the Patriot advance infantry at Cruz de Murcia was taken advantage of by Barreiro, who now knew Bolívar planned to move. With this information on the night of July 20, from his camp near Paipa, Barreiro wrote a letter to Viceroy Juan de Sámano in Santa Fe informing him of the defeat of the advance patriot infantry and felt that a battle was imminent stating in a excerpt from the letter. ^[5]

.....After dawn or before If the enemy moves, we will undertake the clash that must decide our luck.

- God keep Your Excellency many years. Boncita Field, one and a half hours away from Paipa. July 20, 1819 at eight at night. Your Excellency Colonel. — José Maria Barreyro.^[6]

When the patriots became delayed because of the collapse of their rafts spies informed Barreiro of this around 7 to 8am. Upon hearing this information he moved quickly and marched his troops in the direction of Tibasosa and arrived at Vargas Swamp located his troops in strategic positions on the Picacho and Cangrejo hills, in order to block the Patriots' passage through the chokepoint at the Varguitas ravine and the path that bordered the swamp.^[7]

Battle

Bolívar and the Patriot army were finally able to ford the river around 10 am, they reached the area of Vargas swamp around noon, when at this time his troops spotted the presence of Royalist troops on top of Picacho hill. Having nowhere to retreat, with the Royalist Army blocking his way forward and the swollen Chicamocha River to his back, the Patriot army were forced to do battle.

Bolívar's strategy was aimed at taking over Picacho hill through an advance of the vanguard commanded by Brigadier General Francisco de Paula Santander and colonels Joaquín París and Antonio Obando, this effort would be the left flank of his army.^[8] Meanwhile Brigadier General José Antonio Anzoátegui, in command of the rearguard, would attack Cangrejo hill; Colonel Arthur Sandes, commander of the Rifles Battalion, would advance on the right wing; the Barcelona Battalion, led by Colonel Ambrosio Plaza, would be located in the center; and in the reserve would be the 1st of the Line, Braves of Páez, the British Legion as well as the cavalry would be kept in the reserve under Bolívar's direct command.

On three occasions, the Republican Rifles, Barcelona and Cazadores battalions, which had ascended the steep slope that faced the Varguitas ravine, were overwhelmingly repelled by the King's 1st Battalion, under the command of Colonel Nicolás López, on the right wing; and the Tambo Battalion, commanded by Barreiro's second in command Colonel Francisco Jiménez, in the center and the left wing, later supported by a part of the Numancia Battalion, commanded by Colonel Juan Tolrá. The fighting on Picacho hill was especially brutal, Santander's troops fought an uphill battle against the Royalists who had more firepower than the patriots did, wounded men began rolling down the northern slope, as well hand to hand combat occurred as both sides fought centimeter by centimeter to maintain their position on the hill with Patriots being pushed back various times. Faced with these successive defeats, Bolívar ordered his reserve infantry with the Bravos of Páez, commanded by Colonel Justo Briceño and the British Legion, commanded by Colonel James Rooke to support Santander, Rooke led his troops in a bayonet charge against the Royalists defenses on the hills, pushing them back at a great cost, however Rooke would be gravely wounded.^[9] Seeing that his troops were giving ground, Barreiro ordered the sending of two companies from the Numancia Battalion and as well as squadrons of the Granadan Dragoons commanded by Colonel Salazar, to stop the renewed attack of the Patriots.

Meanwhile on the right flank of the battle where the narrow path lay that bordered the Vargas swamp, the fight was equally intense, as the troops of the rearguard division, commanded by General Anzoátegui, desperately tried to fend off the onslaught of the Hussars of Ferdinand VII.

Final Hour

With the battle now approaching 5 hours, around 5:00 p.m the Patriots were being pushed back again and began to fall back in disarray, Barreiro observing the battle from his command post at the Casa de la seis ventanas, upon seeing his Hussars plant their standard at the top of Picacho hill reportedly shouted "Long live Spain, not even God can take this victory away from me" and ordered a frontal attack along with a flanking maneuver by his reserve cavalry to finish off the Patriots. Seeing this distressing situation and now with the possibility that the royalist cavalry would engulf the disorientated Patriots, Bolívar from his command post ,on what is now known as Bolivar Hill, reportedly said to his staff "The [Royalist] cavalry has been deployed, the battle is lost" the only unit not deployed by this point was Colonel Juan Jose Rondon's 1st of the Line Llanero Cavalry. In a desperate move Bolivar told Rondon "Colonel Rondón! Save the republic!" (Spanish:¡Coronel Rondón, salve usted la patria!) ^[10]and ordered Rondón to attack with his cavalry, Rondon and his initial 14 lancers who joined him, charged uphill and managed to penetrate the Royalist line, wreaking havoc and destroying their squads in his path, other units upon seeing this charge joined the attack. The charge was so overwhelming that the royalists were evicted from the road and Cangrejo hill, with a good part of the Hussars of Ferdinand VII, who had dismounted from their horses to support the infantry, perishing as a result of the attack. At the same time Santander's vanguard force along with the British Legion under Rooke led a renewed bayonet charge up Picacho hill from a different flank which surprised the Royalists troops and finally dislodged them from the hill. A heavy tropical downpour then set in around 6pm, Barreiro was able to organize his fleeing troops and under the cover of the storm slipped away back to their camp near Paipa. In total the battle had been a grueling 6 hours of fighting, with heavy losses incurred on both sides. A local Presbyter, Andres Maria Gallo, who observed the battle noted "I saw the battle lost at 5, and won at 6."

Aftermath

With heavy rain set in Barreiro and his forces withdrew to their original camp near Paipa, while Bolivar remained near Vargas Swamp. Rondón and Rooke's efforts had been the saviors of the day, turning what seemed to be a defeat into a narrow victory. This narrow victory however was not decisive, as the Patriot Army was unable to crush the Royalists allowing them to escape, in fact the losses suffered by the Patriots at Vargas left the army nonoperational leading Bolivar to impose martial law on the July 28 in the surrounding areas ordering the conscription of all males between the ages of 15 to 40 years old under the penalty of death.^[11]  

Barreiro would also reorganize his force as he was still awaiting reinforcements from the troops that he deployed throughout the area. The main priority of the Royalist Army now would no longer be to block Bolívar's march to the capital through an open battle, but to reach Santa Fe before he could and gather the troops that were guarding the capital in order to face him at full strength. The following days the armies observed each other, and would move again on August 3 clashing again at the Battle of Boyacá.

The battle had been particularly bloody for both sides, it was the bloodiest battle of Bolivar's campaign to liberate New Granada. Both sides would claim different numbers with the Patriots claiming having suffered 100 troops dead while inflicting on the Royalists some 500 dead or wounded. The Patriots also claimed the capture of various muskets, lances, bugles, as well as 2 regimental standards that belonged to the Dragoons of Granada Regiment.^[12] The most senior Patriot officer to lose his life would Colonel James Rooke commander of the British Legion, who had been shot in the left elbow causing a rupture of its joint, the army surgeon was only able to amputate his arm until the next day. Once Rooke lost his left arm, he raised it with his right arm and shouted in poorly accented Spanish: "Viva la Patria!" (Long live the homeland.) The surgeon asked him in English: "Which Country? Ireland or England?" Rooke shook his head and replied: "The country which will bury me..." he died 2 days later and was buried near the battlefield.

The Royalists claimed that they had lost 140 troops while inflciting higher losses on the Patriots, Barreiro also claimed he had won a victory against Bolívar, but that the tropical rainstorm had prevented his troops from finishing the job. To increase morale, Barreiro's troops were rewarded with a cash bonus. However he could not hide the fact that he had lost a large amount of horses stated in a report to Viceroy Sámano.

Father Gallo who had tended to the wounded and also administered last rites to many of the soldiers during the battle claimed that the Patriots had suffered around 128 dead while the Royalists some 400 dead. Other claims mention 400 Patriot dead and 1,000 Royalist dead with a large number of wounded as well.

Investigation

The confusing number of claims regarding casualty numbers led a team of archaeologists from the National University of Colombia 2010 to conduct an archaeological study on the battlefield to determine the number of casualties that occurred. In their study, which took into account all of the claims made over the years, they estimated that there are possibly between 400 to 1,200 bodies buried in the area of the Battlefield. During this study investigators found what they believe to be a mass grave that fits the description of the one Father Gallo had described in his account that was dug and filled with around 600 bodies.

Other archaeological studies conducted over the years found various muskets balls on the site of the battle.

Legacy

To celebrate the 150th Anniversary in of the Battle of Vargas Swamp in 1969 the National Government of Colombia commissioned the creation of a monument to commemorate the battle. In 1970, sculptor Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt and engineer Guillermo González Zuleta created the Vargas Swamp Lancers memorial.^[13] The monument is made out bronze, steel, and concrete and shows the initial 14 Lancers who charged the Royalist line

References

5°44′15″N 73°04′30″W / 5.73750°N 73.07500°W / 5.73750; -73.07500

This page was last edited on 4 April 2024, at 14:29