Draft:Battle of Calibío

Battle of Calibío
Part of Nariño's Southern Campaign
Battle of Calibío by José María Espinosa, circa 1845.
Date January, 15, 1814 Location Calibío Hacienda, north of Popayán, Colombia 2°29'55.0"N 76°34'15.1"W Result Patriot victory
Belligerents
State of Cundinamarca United Provinces of New Granada	Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Antonio Nariño José Ramón Leyva José María Cabal	Juan de Sámano Ignacio Asín
Strength
2,000 15 guns	2,000 10 guns
Casualties and losses
200 dead or wounded	500 dead or wounded 300 captured all artillery lost

The Battle of Calibío was a battle fought during the Colombian War of Independence as part of Nariño's Southern Campaign on January 15, 1814 at the Calibío hacienda near the city of Popayán. It saw the army of the union (patriots) composed of troops patriots from Cundinamarca and the United Provinces of New Granada under the command Lt. General Antonio Nariño defeat the Spanish royalist army led by Brigadier Juan de Sámano.

Context

After the Battle of Alto Palacé, fought on December 30, 1813, the defeat of the Spanish forces, who had attempted to prevent the patriot army from crossing the Palacé River, forced the commander of the royalist army, Brigadier Juan de Sámano, to retreat west to the town El Tambo. He then regrouped his army at the Calibío estate. From there, he attempted to establish contact with his second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Ignacio Asín, whom Sámano had sent north to Quilichao to halt the patriot advance from the north prior to the battle. He ordered Asín to join him in Calibío as soon as possible. Upon receiving this news, Asín marched toward Calibío, pursued by patriot troops under the command of Colonel José Ignacio Rodríguez, who had advanced from the Valle del Cauca toward Popayán. Asín and his troops camped in Piendamó, where they became cut off from Sámano's forces.

Lieutenant General Antonio Nariño, after his victory at Alto Palacé, entered the city of Popayán on December 31, 1813, finding it abandonded by the royalists. As a result, he decided to leave the city immediately. Nariño marched north and positioned his army at the Bajo Palacé field, where three years earlier, Brigadier Antonio Baraya had defeated Colonel Miguel Tacón y Rosique in the Battle of Bajo Palacé. He stationed himself there in an attempt to prevent Asín and his column from joining and reinforcing Sámano in Calibío. However, this effort was unsuccessful due to flaws in terrain analysis and intelligence services. Nariño was also awaiting the arrival of Colonel José Ignacio Rodríguez’s troops and the forces from Antioquia under Colonel José María Gutiérrez. While Rodríguez’s troops eventually arrived to participate in the battle, Gutiérrez’s forces refused to come, arguing that the sovereignty and dignity of the State of Antioquia would be compromised if they were placed under the command of the President of Cundinamarca. Meanwhile, Colonel José María Cabal, commander of the patriot army’s vanguard, conducted extensive reconnaissance of the enemy’s position in Calibío, carefully observing its details.

Nariño attempted to communicate with Asín, as he had been cut off from Sámano’s troops in Calibío. He sent Captain Francisco Urdaneta of the Cundinamarca Grenadiers Battalion to demand his surrender. Asín received Urdaneta with disdain and anger and reportedly told him:

"Go and tell Nariño that I have won fourteen battles, and with this one, it will be fifteen. And if I let you return, it is only so I can have the pleasure of capturing you later."

During the night of the 8 to 9 January, Asín and his column were able to evade the patriot blockade by taking a series of hidden paths, which allowed them to cross the Palacé river where they arrived to Calibío to gather with Sámano forces. Cabal notified Nariño of these events and requested permission to launch a surprise attack, which was denied and Cabal was ordered to withdraw to the main patriot camp. Nariño was still awaiting the arrival of Colonel Rodríguez{s forces, who eventually arrived on 13 January to the field of Palacé. At 6 am 15 January, Nariño gave the order to attack to Sámano, the army patriot marched in direction of the Calibío hacienda, which lay at a distance of 8 kilometres which was completed in 4 hours.

Order of battle

With all of his forces at his disposal Brigadier Sámano was able to gather around 2,000 troops, with the core of his force being the veteran Lima Division, consisting of 318 men. This included three infantry companies from the Royal Lima Regiment, totaling 140 men, among them Lieutenant Colonel Ignacio Asín from the same unit, along with soldiers from the II Grenadiers of Guayaquil. The rest of his troops were composed of militias battalions from Patía, Popayán, and Pasto. Additionally, Sámano had a small cavalry squad and around 10 artillery pieces.

Meanwhile Nariño and the Army of the Union had around 2,000 men from their veteran troops, including the battalions of Cundinamarca Grenadiers, Nacionales, Socorro, and Cazadores. They also had the Cundinamarca Cavalry Squadron, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Nariño Ortega, the son of General Nariño. The army possessed 15 artillery pieces along with a contingent of artillerymen to operate them.

Battle

On January 15, 1814, the patriot army arrived at the estate ready for battle. The Cazadores company advanced as a vanguard unit, conducting reconnaissance of both the terrain and the enemy.

The deployment of the patriot troops was executed immediately, forming three columns to face the royalists in the following manner: one column on the right under the command of Colonel José María Cabal, the central column, which comprised the bulk of the army, under the command of Lieutenant General Antonio Nariño and his second-in-command, Brigadier José Ramón de Leyva, along with the patriot artillery, and a column on the left composed of the Socorro Battalion under the command of Sergeant Major Pedro Monsalve, along with the troops of Lieutenant Colonel José Ignacio Rodríguez.

Brigadier Juan de Sámano positioned his troops in a dense "quadrilateral" formation on the esplanade in front of the Calibío estate house, facing east. The royalist troops were arranged as follows: in the center, the Lima Division; on the right wing, the troops from Almaguer and Popayán, along with militias from Patía; and on the left wing, the battalions from Pasto.

The patriot attack began from the center and left, engaging in artillery duels, which were immediately responded to by the royalists. Meanwhile, the right column under Colonel Cabal remained hidden in a small depression, out of the enemy’s sight, waiting for the opportune moment to launch the attack. Half an hour later, Nariño ordered Cabal to advance on the enemy's left flank. Cabal’s column moved forward and, upon reaching within musket range of the royalist left flank, he ordered his troops to charge with bayonets.

Sámano, who had not expected an attack from his left by Cabal, quickly deployed fifty men and an artillery piece to a high ground on the left of the royalist position. Meanwhile, the Lima Division repositioned its artillery to try to halt the main patriot assault.

At the same time, Nariño ordered the Cundinamarca Grenadiers Battalion to attack the royalist right flank. This attack, combined with Cabal’s charge, shattered the militia formations, causing them to flee the battlefield. This allowed the patriots to seize the royalist artillery and break through the enemy lines, creating a breach in the royalist defenses. Through this opening, the patriot cavalry charged, successfully surrounding the Lima Division. At this moment, on the left wing of the Spanish position, Lieutenant Colonel Asín was killed while bravely resisting Cabal’s advance.

Sámano, having no reserve units to reinforce his position, attempted a rear attack using the troops from Pasto. However, the encirclement had been executed so effectively that he was forced to retreat with his regular troops in complete defeat toward El Tambo, near the Cauca River. The battle had lasted three long hours.

Aftermath

The defeat at Calibío was total disaster for the royalists. The royalists suffered extremely high casualties, with some sources reporting between 400 and 500 men killed or wounded, and more than 300 taken as prisoners. In his report to the Council of Regency in Spain, Governor Toribio Montes mentioned the death of Asín and three militia subordinates, the loss of more than 80 soldiers, and that 280 soldiers had been taken prisoner. The patriots also captured a large amount of weaponry, including 28 artillery pieces. Nine royalist officers lost their lives, the most significant being the army's second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel Ignacio Asín, who was killed while bravely resisting Cabal’s division. His courage was recognized even by his adversaries, but upon finding his corpse, Colonel Rodríguez decapitated him and presented the head to General Nariño as a trophy. Nariño harshly reprimanded Rodríguez for his misconduct, condemning the act as an unjustifiable violation of Christian laws.

On the patriot side, around 200 men were killed or wounded in battle, though none were of high rank. In recognition of their victory, the patriot troops were awarded a badge of honor, and the ladies of Bogotá presented the army with ribbons inscribed with an honorary dedication.

The day after the Spanish defeat, with Sámano fleeing to San Juan de Pasto with the remnants of his troops, Nariño once again entered Popayán in triumph. Although the royalists were in such a dire state that a pursuit would have been enough to annihilate them, Nariño did not order one. Instead, he allowed his enemy to escape while he focused on reorganizing his army in Popayán. The campaign was halted for more than two months due to a lack of funds and supplies needed to continue the advance.

When news of the defeat reached Quito’s, Governor Toribio Montes, could not keep Sámano as commander of the army after such a devastating loss and his disastrous retreat to Pasto. As a result, upon arriving to Pasto Sámano was relieved of his command and ordered to Quito at once to face a court martial, Montes then named Field Marshal Melchor Aymerich as the new commander of the royal army.

References

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• Colombian War of Independence
• Battles involving Spain
• 1814 in Colombia
• Cauca Department