Battle of Cachirí

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The Battle of Cachirí happened on February 21–22, 1816, during the Spanish effort to reconquer New Granada. It took place in the Paramo de Cachirí, in what is now Santander Department, Colombia. The fight was between the Republican Army of the North, led by Custodio García Rovira and José María Santander, and a Spanish expeditionary force, the Fifth Division commanded by Colonel Sebastián de la Calzada, under General Pablo Morillo’s campaign.

Background kept things tense. After a string of Spanish victories, Calzada moved north from Barinas and captured Pamplona in late 1815, cutting the Republicans’ lines of support. The Republican leaders, Rovira and Santander, gathered about 2,000 infantry and a small number of cavalry in Piedecuesta to defend the route to Santa Fe de Bogotá. Rovira decided to strike, and by mid-February the Republican army dug in on the slopes of Cachirí, forming three defensive lines and preparing to block Calzada’s advance.

The battle began with a first clash on February 21 when Calzada’s vanguard attacked an advanced Republican force. A heavy fog then rolled in, slowing the fighting but not stopping the enemy. On February 22 Calzada launched a major assault, sending frontal attacks against the Republican center while flanking units and artillery hit the Republican right and left. A fierce fight followed, and the Spanish exploited a disorder in the Republican lines with a bayonet charge and a cavalry breakthrough. The Republican troops fell into confusion and fled toward Matanza, with Rovira and Santander narrowly escaping.

Cachirí proved to be a devastating defeat for the Republicans. The Spanish captured the Republican supply train and large quantities of muskets, lances, and ammunition, and their victory opened the way for Calzada to press on toward Santa Fe de Bogotá. The battle effectively destroyed the Army of the North. Rovira was dismissed from command and replaced by the French officer Manuel Roergas de Serviez. Santander retreated and later tried to regroup, but the Republican cause could not be saved.

News of the defeat reached Santa Fe in late February. The collapse of the Republican leadership followed soon after, with the presidency changing hands and key leaders fleeing. The fall of Cachichí, along with other battles in 1816, marked the end of the first independent republic in the region and led to renewed Spanish control of New Granada for a few years.