 Chapter 9 of the Emancipation of South America by Bartolome Mitre, translated by William Pilling. This Librivox recording is in the public domain, recording by Piotr Natter. Cuyo, 1814 to 1815. The district of Cuyo lies to the east of the Cordillera, between 31 and 35 degrees of south latitude, and extends eastward to the 66 degree of west longitude, where the Andean formation dies away in the vast plain of the Argentine Pampa. Here the snow waters flowing from the mountain ranges lose themselves in lakes, or cut for themselves channels through the sandy soil, forming a network of inland rivers which flow on undeterminately, till they disappear. Peopled by colonists from east and west, this region was the point of union between two separate peoples, in whose alliance lay the destinies of all Spanish colonies washed by the Pacific. Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis were grouped together to form the province of Cuyo, when San Martin was named governor in 1814. Here he found the materials he required for the great enterprise he had in view. In 1810 the inhabitants of this province were barely 40,000 in number, but they were a hardworking, thrifty race, easily amenable to discipline. Traders from Mendoza and San Juan crossed the Andes to Chile, and Pampa to Buenos Aires, with troops of cards drawn by bullocks, or with troops of pacmules laden with wine, dried fruits and flour. The men of San Luis were grazers of cattle and of sheep, famed for their skill as horsemen and as Indian fighters. Without knowledge of the character of these people, it is impossible to comprehend how San Martin could in this one province raise an invincible army which, sustained by it alone for three years, liberated two republics and spread the principles of the Argentine Revolution over an entire continent. Determined to keep free from all personal obligations to the instruments of his policy, San Martin refused to occupy the house allotted to him by the cabildo of Mendoza, gave up half his salary as governor, and in 1815 sent his wife back to Buenos Aires, in pursuance of the system of rigid economy which he imposed upon himself and carried out ruthlessly in every department of his administration. In January 1815 he was promoted by government to the rank of general of Brigade, which appointment he accepted only on the understanding that he should resign as soon as the state was secured from Spanish domination, and steadily refused any further promotion. Some historians have seen in this systematic self-abnegation an imitation of the cardinal who hobbled on crutches to seize the keys of St. Peter. Doubtless he had his ambitions, but no such design appears in the course of his life, which was consecrated to his own people to the complete sacrifice of all personal interest. According to him, Chile was the citadel of America and must be reconquered at any cost. In Mendoza he met many of the fugitives who crossed the Andes after the disaster of Rancaguá and speedily learned from them that the collapse of the revolution was due to the incapacity of Carrera and to see in Ohigin's demand of the future. He and Demandothinos received these fugitives with open arms and with generous hospitality, but Carrera, though an exile on foreign soil, arrogated to himself a position as chief of an independent nation and as such issued decrees from the barracks where he and his suite were quartered. San Martin asserted his authority with firmness and with great prudence, but these Chileans introduced an element of disorder into the province. Conflicts were frequent between the police and the disparate soldiery who refused obedience to any but their own officers and continued the inter-sign dispute which had resulted so fatally on the plains of Maipó. San Martin put a summary end to this disorder by surrounding the barracks where Carrera and his partisans were lodged with the troops of Las Eras and Ohigin's. Carrera was forced to retire to San Luis where he afterwards proceeded to Buenos Aires and his adherents dispersed. At the same time a commission of Chileans was appointed to collect the remnants of the treasure brought from Santiago which was lodged in the coffers of the province until such time as it might be employed for the liberation of Chile. Thus was Carrera crushed by the man of iron and his insensate ambition no more troubled the destinies of his native country. Nevertheless he was well received in Buenos Aires by Alvear who about that time became supreme director of the United Provinces. He and Carrera were kindred spirits. Together they had served in Spain and together they had dreamed dreams of power and dominion in their own land. Now jealousy of San Martin became a further tie between them. In January 1815 San Martin, alleging the state of his health as a reason sent in his resignation to the supreme director who at once accepted it and named Don Gregorio Perdriel as his successor. Perdriel proceeded at once to Mendota but the leading man of the city assembled in Open Cabildo and supported by the mass of the people refused to accept this new governor and insisted upon the withdrawal of his resignation by San Martin. Perdriel was recalled to Buenos Aires and Alvear was himself deposed in April by a mutiny of the troops in the capital. General Rondeau who was at that time in command of the army of Peru was named by the Cabildo as his successor. Alvear in his fall dragged with him the assembly of the year 1813 and the Cabildo instructed the new government to call at once a national congress elected by Universal suffrage. The men of Mendota applauded the deposition of Alvear and declared that they would not in future recognize any national authority saved one based upon the will of the entire people. In logical pursuance of which declaration they decreed that the nomination of their governor by the central power was null and void and by acclamation named San Martin as the governor elected by themselves. The Cabildos of San Luis and San Juan confirmed this declaration and decree so that the province of Cuyo became for the first time an independent state ruled by a governor of its own selection. The problem now before San Martin was one of extreme difficulty. From this small society he proposed to raise an army and to replenish an empty treasury without exhausting the source of production and without waste by inoculating all with his own ideas and so leading them each men in his own station and according to his own capacity to work zealously together for one end. He turned the whole province of Cuyo into an association of workers and fighters whose cooperation should result in the reconquest of Chile. He commenced by the invocation of the war spirit among them, organizing their militia and forming even the children into regiments doing military exercise and carrying their own flags. He invited foreign residents to enlist among whom the most forward were the English who raised at their own cost a free company of light infantry having the right to name their own officers. But the nucleus of his army he formed of well-disciplined troops. This spirit he kept alive by exaggerated reports of the strength of the enemy in Chile and by alarms of an imminent invasion. The people seconded his efforts by voluntary contributions for the public service. They lent mules, horses, and harness whatever they were required sure of receiving them back when the need had passed over. Cartman and militiers carried ammunition and supplies and the landowners pastured his troop horses free of charge seeking no other payment than general approbation. Punishment for minor offenses was inflicted in fines which were paid into the public treasury. The ordinary taxes were rigidly enforced. Cuyo bled money at every pore for the redemption of South America. To give to his exactions the character of legal contributions authorized by the will of the people he used the cabildos as his agents, their authority as a sort of parliament giving a moral support to measures which were in reality arbitrary decrees and he was well supported by the Latin and governors of San Luis and San Juan men of inflexible will in everything related to the public service. In 1814 the general revenues of the province raised by customs duties and municipal taxes amounted to nearly $180,000. The reconquest of Chile by the Spaniards which put an end to the trans-undine trade cut off two thirds of this revenue so that in 1815 it was insufficient to meet current expenses. Voluntary subscriptions failed to supply the deficiency. A forced loan was levied upon the Spanish residents but these were mere expedients. Export duties were imposed. A monthly war contribution was established. The tithes and the fund for the redemption of Indian captives and the interstate estates of deceased Spaniards were sequestered. A general property tax was levied and forced loans from Spaniards and Portuguese were frequently exacted. Unpaid volunteers were never wanting when assistance was required in preparing the outfit for the army. News was received that an expedition of 10,000 men had left Spain for the river plate under the command of Murillo. San Martin called for a public subscription in aid of the federal government. The ladies of Mendoza, headed by his own wife, set a noble example by throwing their jewels into the public chest. The fall of Montevideo diverted the course of the expedition but the funds collected remained in the treasury. Amid all the din of military preparation the material interests of the province were never neglected. Education was studiously fomented. Vaccination was introduced. Much attention was bestowed upon the public promenades and upon the system of irrigation and the most rigid economy was enforced in every branch of the administration. The people saw in San Martin a father whom they loved and a ruler whom they respected. His manners contributed to this authority and to the popularity gained by his deeds. His austere figure aptly symbolized the paternal despotism he established and gave him a certain mysterious prestige. Alone among his friends but without one confidant nor even a consular he looked after everything himself with no more help than that of one secretary and two clerics. His want of education has caused some historians to decry his talents. It was the same with William of Orange and with Washington. They shone not by their intellect but by their deeds and by their personal character. As MacCully says of Cromwell he spoke folly and did great things. Or as Pascal says the heart has reason of which reason knows nothing. In San Martin the will was the dominant characteristic. He worked not by inspiration but by calculation searching carefully first for the thing necessary to be done and then doing it. It has been said of him that he was not a person but a system. He wore almost constantly the plain uniform of the mounted grenadiers with the Argentine cockade on his cocked hat. He was an early riser and usually spent all the morning at his desk. At midday he went to the kitchen, chose two plates of the food prepared and frequently ate it there standing, washing it down with two glasses of wine. In the winter he would afterwards take a short walk and smoke a cigarette of black tobacco. In summer he would sleep for two hours on a skin stretched on the veranda. All the year round he drank coffee which he prepared himself. Then, after another spell at his desk would spend the afternoon inspecting the public offices. In the evening his house was open to visitors who were forbidden to talk politics but if invited to a game of chess found in him a dotty adversary. At ten o'clock he wished them good night and after a light supper retired to his couch but if illness prevented him from sleeping he would rise and repair to his desk. The system of government followed by San Martin in Cuyo and resembled that of Sancho Panza in his island of Barrataria or that of the legendary king Zafadola who visited his taxpayers in their houses asking them how they could expect him to govern if they did not pay the taxes. An officer presented a petition for extra rations as his salary was not enough to live on. All officers are in the same case, was the answer. A man of San Juan who had been made prisoner by the Spaniards in Chile and released on parole claimed exemption from service in the army on that account. The government takes that responsibility upon himself. You are at liberty to attack the enemy but if your hands are tied by a ridiculous prejudice they shall be united by a platoon. The wife of a surgeon asked pardon for some neglect of duty by her husband. I have nothing to do with women but with soldiers subject to military discipline. A prisoner applied for his release in the name of the patron saint of the army. He did enough for you in saving your life. A farmer being accused of speaking against La Patria he annulled the sentence on condition that the accused should send 10,000 pumpkins for the supply of the troops. To try the temper of his officers he got up a bullfight and sent them into the rings as Torreados As he applauded their courage he turned to Ohigins who was beside him and said these lunatics are demand we want to smash up the Spaniards. One day he went to the powder factory in full uniform booted and spurred and was refused admission by the sentry. He came back in a linen suit and slippers on and was admitted after which he gave orders that the sentry should be relieved and with great formality presented him with an ounce of gold. One day an officer presented himself asking for the citizen Don José de San Martín and being admitted confessed to him that he had lost at play regimental money which had been entrusted to him. San Martín opened the cabinet took out gold coins to the amount named and gave them to him saying pay this money into the regimental chest and keep the secret for if General San Martín ever hears that you have told of it he will have you shot upon the spot. Two Franciscan friars who according to him had shown themselves unfriendly to quote political regeneration unquote were forbidden by him to confess or to preach and were put under arrest in their convent until further orders. He instructed the parish priests to preach of quote the justice with which America had adopted the system of liberty end quote and seeing that they failed to do so he further warned them that severe measures would be adopted if they neglected quote so sacred a duty end quote Among his contemporaries there were at the time but few who estimated him at his real value he himself indulged in no illusions on the matter but stoically trusted to time and patience to give him his true place among them as he wrote to Godoic Ruth concerning reports which were in circulation quote you will say that I was vexed yes my friend somewhat but after reflection I followed the example of Diogenes I dived into a butt of philosophy a public man must suffer anything in order that the vessel may reach her port end quote at that time he suffered from chronic disease and could only sleep for a few minutes at once seated on a chair and was compelled to take opium to gain a needful rest on the 29th of November 1815 the army under Rondeau was completely defeated by Pethuella at Sipe Sipe in Upper Peru Murillo's expedition was triumphant in Colombia and the royalists sank the Delms both in Europe and in America in these days of despair San Martin invited his officers to a banquet never did he appear in better spirits when the dessert was placed on the board he rose to his feet and in a loud voice proposed a toast quote to the first shot fired beyond the Andes against the oppressors of Chile end quote his words found echo in every heart confidence revived from that moment the passage of the Andes and the reconquest of Chile ceased to be a vague idea it became a plan of campaign which was to change the aspect of the war end of chapter 9 chapter 10 of the Emancipation of South America by Bartolome Mitre translated by William Pilling this Librivox recording is in the public domain recording by Piotr Natar chapter 10 the spy system of the Patriots 1815 to 1816 the restoration of royalty in Chile was attended with such excesses as might have been expected had some foreign power triumphed over the country a system of blood and fire was established for its pacification which had the natural result of reanimating the spirit of resistance the great majority of the people were tired of war and failed to see that revolutionary anarchy was any improvement on colonial despotism they were anxious only for peace and welcomed their conqueror as a liberator a moderate policy might have consolidated Spanish power in Chile for a considerable time but these excesses fanned into a blaze the embers of the old patriotic spirit which was buried under the ashes of Rancagua Osorio was by nature inclined to clemency but the instructions of Viceroy Abascal prohibited him from adopting any such course and the Spaniards who surrounded him urged upon him the necessity of the most severe measures of repression yielding to these influences he became the instrument of a pitiless persecution the result of which was to arouse the spirit of insurrection in average Chilean heart forced loans and arbitrary contributions formed the source of his revenue and so crushed all industry that soon even these sources dried up and supplies could only be obtained by confiscation all the civilizing reforms of the revolutionary epoch were abolished and the old monopolies were re-established the most distinguished patriots were exiled to the island of Juan Fernández all the native inhabitants were classified as quote suspects and quote and many were murdered in the prisons by the soldiery a new spirit of patriotism was engendered by misery and despair Spaniards again became a privileged class they occupied all the public offices they alone were allowed to carry arms their testimony only was received in the courts every native Chilean had to be in his own house at nine o'clock at night and could not travel even the shortest distance without a permit fights between the soldiery and the rotos as the men of the labouring class are called were of daily occurrence many men of the talavera regiment which was particularly obnoxious were murdered by the populace even the Chilean troops which had done such good service under Sanchez and other leaders were most thanklessly treated commissions won by their officers on the field of battle were not recognized their pay was scanty and the pensions of their widows were not paid at all at the commencement of 1815 Osorio had five thousand men perfectly armed and equipped under his orders his instructions were as soon as he had pacified the country to cross the Andes with three thousand men and to act in Cuyo and Cordoba in combination with Pethuela Abascal had the converse of the same idea which was later on carried out by San Martín small bodies of armed men had frequently crossed the Andes but it is not the number of the troops employed nor the power of the peoples in conflict which constitutes the fame of such achievements that fame lies in their motives and results in this lay the importance of the passage of the Alps by Hannibal and by Napoleon and the passage of the Andes by San Martín and by Bolivar are famous as part of a great scheme for the emancipation of a continent Osorio was not the man for such an enterprise and his force was so weakened by detachments in aid of Pethuela that he never attempted it the disasters suffered by the patriots in this year were not fruitless time was gained in which San Martín perfected his preparations and this he lengthened by entering into a correspondence with Osorio proposing some arrangements for the prevention of further bloodshed he also took advantage of the correspondence so established to set on foot an extensive system of spies and secret agents all over Chile by whose means he propagated false intelligence of such great military preparations in Mendoza as filled Osorio with fears of an immediate invasion and had still more effect upon the feebler spirit of Marc-Odel Pont who relieved him of the command in December the secret agents who rendered the greatest service to San Martín he found among the Chilean refugees in Mendoza when the talents or social position of any of these men inspired him with confidence he put them under arrest on some charge of treachery from which he aided them to escape and fly across the Andes from his tyranny their alleged sufferings disarmed the suspicions of the Spanish rulers of Chile to the extent that some of them were actually employed by them to procure information from the eastern side of the Andes by their help San Martín discovered that several Spaniards in Mendoza held secret communications with Osorio he arrested them and by threats of immediate execution compelled them to show him all the letters they received and to return answers dictated by him his principal care was to persuade the Spaniards that the projected expedition would attack the south of Chile in order to induce them to relax their vigilance in the quarter which was really menaced and to concentrate their troops in positions where they could be of no service his agents were incessantly occupied in furnishing him with details concerning the number, armament and positions of the royalist forces and in staring up the Chilean people to cooperate with the invading army thus the whole country was soon on the watch for the moment when their liberators would pass the Andes the name of San Martín became so popular that his agents had no difficulty in obtaining all the help they needed horses were always to be had when they wanted them and they were warned in time of any danger which threatened them Chilean Patriots among whom the most active was Manuel Rodríguez also secretly organized bands of volunteers who waited but the signal to raise in arms some of them gave their lives for the cause on the gallows Marcodel Pont adopted the most severe measures of repression which only served to fund the flame of discontent in September 1816 Rodríguez imprudently raised the flag of insurrection in the south of Chile his raw troops were speedily dispersed but San Martín made good use of his mistake by writing him an angry dispatch telling him that he had ruined his plans by drawing the royalist forces to the south and causing them to occupy the passes by which he had hoped to cross the Cordillera this dispatch he caused to fall into the hands of Marcodel Pont whose attention he thus again diverted from the real point of danger at this time Brown the gallant Irishman who had driven the Spanish naval forces from the river plate and who had been rewarded by the gift of his flagship the Hercules again offered his ship and his services to the Argentine government he was well supplied with guns small arms and ammunition and was granted letters of marquet as a privateer on the 15th of October 1815 he sailed from Buenos Aires for the Pacific with Captain Bouchardot a Frenchman as his second in command his squadron consisted of four vessels the Hercules of 20 guns commanded by Michael Brown the Trinidad of 16 guns commanded by Walter Chitty the Alcon commanded by Bouchardot which three vessels were Briggs and the armed catch Uribe named after its commander a Chilean who had been a colleague of Carrera in the late revolution the crews of the two first were almost entirely English the Alcon had a mixed crew of Chileans and Argentines and her marines were commanded by Ramon Freire the crew of the catch were all Chileans and she carried a black flag as a sign of no quarter it was stipulated that any prizes they might make should be sold in Buenos Aires one ninth the prize money to go to the government to the Commodore and the rest to be divided among the officers and crews San Martín took care to inform Marco of this expedition by means of his secret agents and at the same time spread through Chile a rumor that an army from 4000 to 7000 men was assembled in Mendota for the passage of the Andes Marco terrified at the idea of being attacked both by land and sea issued the most interditious orders scattered his forces and applied to the viceroy for naval support the Hercules and the Trinidad in the attempts to double cape horn were driven into the Straits of Magellan by a tempest where they both received serious injuries from sunken rocks but being repaired reached the barren island of Mocha in the southern sea where they were joined by the Alcon the catch was wrecked Brown with his two ships and Buschardo with one then sailed by different courses to Callao where they reunited to blockade the port and captured two large prizes one of which the Consequencia was armed and added to the squadron on the 21st of January 1816 they sailed boldly into the harbor and forced the Spanish ships to take refuge under the guns of the batteries on the night of the 22nd the Gallant Commodore attacked the royalist flotilla with five armed boats but was beaten off with a loss of 30 kills and wounded after maintaining the blockade for three weeks they sailed for Guayaquil the fort at the entrance to the port was taken by assault by Freyr with the crew of the Alcon who affected a landing under the fire of the guns of the squadron the Commodore then entered the port with the Trinidad captured a schooner carrying marines and took the first battery with four brass guns which were transferred to the schooner he then attacked another battery but a sudden squall drove the Trinidad ashore and he was forced to hold down his flag to prevent the massacre of his men by the Spanish infantry he himself stripped off his clothes and sprang overboard intending to swim to the schooner but seeing that the Spaniards were commencing to kill their prisoners he climbed on board again seized a lighted match ran down to the magazine and threatened to blow up the ship with all on board unless the laws of war were respected this daring action brought the Spaniards to their senses the slaughter was stopped and Brown, with no other clothing than the Argentine flag which he wrapped around him was led a prisoner on shore Bouchardot with the rest of the squadron attacked another battery of rescuing his comrades but was beaten off one of the prisoners taken on the consequentia of Cayao was Mendeburo the governor of this province and the commandant of Guayaquil was so eager to get rid of his enemies that he proposed an exchange of prisoners which was at once accepted the three remaining vessels with the schooner then left the port on the open sea the jealousy latent in the hearts of the two commanders broke into an open flame each of these two adventurers considered that the other deserved hanging at the ardarm but in times of danger they had most nobly supported each other now they agreed to separate dividing the plunder between them and Bouchardot returned with the consequentia to Buenos Aires Brown sailed on to Santa Fe in New Granada but finding that city occupied by royalist troops he followed his late comrade to the Atlantic the Argentine government had hoped great things from this expedition and had written to San Martín to hold himself ready to take advantage of any movement it might occasion in Chile but the astute general replied that a naval force to be of any effective aid to an invading general must consist of ships of war not of privateers and must be under his orders to have a slight service to the cause and was a waste of material which might have been much more usefully employed End of chapter 10 Chapter 11 of the Emancipation of South America by Bartolome Mitre translated by William Pilling this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Piotr Natter Chapter 11 the idea of the passage of the Andes 1815 to 1816 the plans of San Martín were not in accordance with the ideas which prevailed in the military circles of the united provinces the many disasters which had befallen Argentine armies in Upper Peru had failed to show either the leaders of those armies or government that the true road to Lima did not lie through those mountain passes he did not obtrude his opinions upon anyone but at times leaked out in dispatches and after the fate of Alvear met with a somewhat better reception at headquarters Carrera had made a proposal to government for a full-hardy attempt upon Cogimbo which was rejected after a consultation with San Martín but his application for permission to assume the offensive had also been refused he then caused the report to be circulated in Chile that he was about to march his army to reinforce the routed forces of Rondeau in the hope that Marcon might be induced to cross the Andes and attack Mendoza and by representing this danger to government he succeeded in persuading them to send him some light field guns and other war material of which he was in need and also to grant him power to assume the offensive in spring he also prevailed upon them to unite the scattered squadrons of the mounted soldiers and to place them under his orders as the nucleus of a cavalry brigade in March 1816 a detachment of the Grenadiers under Aldao made a successful reconnaissance by the Uspayatapas of the royalist position on the western slopes of the Andes and brought back much useful information but true to his principle of concealing his plans San Martín reported to government that the central passes were so well defended that the only practical course was by those to the south of Mendoza and also that advanced field works were necessary about Uspayatapas in order to secure the province of Cuyo as the base of operations this procured him a further much needed supply of guns in April General Balcarthe, the hero of Swipacha succeeded Alvarez as provisional director and San Martín was then forward much better supported by the central power military supplies were sent to him on a much more liberal scale than under the previous administration the power of the Lautaro Lodge had fallen with Alvarez but the society still existed and San Martín now established a branch in Mendoza in which the principal leaders of the Chilean refugees and many of the foremost men of Cuyo were affiliated at this time he received assistance from his friend Don Tomas Guido who had first met him in London and who had afterwards in Tucumán learned from him something of his ideas in regard to the conduct of the war Guido drew up a memorial and presented it to the supreme director in which he warmly supported the idea of attacking Peru by way of Chile and his aid became still more efficacious when the meeting of the Congress of Tucumán a few weeks later on placed the administration of affairs in new hands and of Chapter 11 Chapter 13 of the Emancipation of South America by Bartolomé Mitre translated by William Pilling this Librevox recording is in the public domain recording by Pietronater Chapter 13 the Army of the Andes 1816-1817 the organization of the Army of the Andes is one of the most extraordinary feats recorded in military history it was a war machine composed of men filled with the spirit of the Argentine Revolution and with a passion for things American without which spirit and without which passion it could never have achieved the task before it never was the military automaton more thoroughly imbued with human energy the auxiliary corps of Las Eras formed the nucleus of the Army to which was soon added two companies of the 8th Regiment from Buenos Aires with four field guns in 1815 Colonel Thapiola joined it with two squadrons of the Grenadiers these corps were greatly strengthened by volunteers who joined them in Cuyol in 1816 the new government appointed by the Congress of Tucumán constituted it formally as the Army of the Andes under the command of San Martin as Captain General with General Soler as Chief of the Staff and further strengthened it with the 7th Regiment of Infantry from Buenos Aires and additions to the 8th Colonel Conde being placed in command of the 8th and Colonel Cramer a Frenchman who had served under Napoleon in command of the 7th the 11th under Las Eras was divided into two battalions of which the 2nd became the first light infantry under Lieutenant Colonel Alvarado a 5th squadron under Nekochoa was added to the Grenadiers thus early in September the Army numbered 2300 men with the flags a force still insufficient for the work but recruiting went on briskly the question of giving freedom to all slaves who would enlist being under discussion at Tucumán San Martin spread the report in Cuyol that the idea was to be carried out was revised to cabildos to prevail upon the slave owners to set their slaves free before the project became law there was much unwillingness to exceed this proposition but at length it was resolved to set two thirds of the slaves free the manumission not to be effective until the army crossed the Andes this gave a further reinforcement of 700 and 10 men to the infantry before the end of the year the army numbered 4000 men almost all of whom were Argentines the Chilean immigrants were organized into a reserve as the nucleus for the future army of Chile this reserve was placed under command of Ohigins who received a commission as a general of the united provinces but within it were many partisans of Carrera upon whom San Martin looked with suspicion the army was sustained by a combination of patriotic subscriptions gratuitous services and of regular and arbitrary taxes some carried arms other gave money or labor all the inhabitants of Cuyo contributed in some way or another to the great work for the furnishings of arms, powder and equipments special measures were adopted San Martin found the man he wanted for this work in a mendicant friar named Luis Beltran this Beltran was a native of Mendoza and being in Chile at the time of the revolution had joined the patriots and served as an artillery man at the siege of Cheyenne after Rancagua he returned on foot to his own country with a bag of tools of his own making on his shoulders self-taught he was at once a mathematician and a chemist an artillery man and a maker of watches or of fireworks a carpenter, an architect a blacksmith, a draftsman a musician in addition he was of a robust constitution and of soldierly bearing he became one of the chaplains of the new army San Martin soon discovered his extraordinary talents and entrusted him with the establishment of an arsenal soon he had 300 workmen under his orders all of whom were taught by himself he cast cannon, shot and shell melting down the church bells when other metal was not to be had made limbers for the guns saddles for the cavalry knapsacks and shoes for the infantry and all other kinds of necessary equipment forged horse shoes and bayonets repaired damaged muskets and in his leather moments drew on the walls of his grimy workshop designs for carriages specially adapted for the conveyance of war material over the steep passes of the Andes in 1816 he took off his friar's frock the uniform of a lieutenant of artillery with a monthly salary of 25 dollars and became the archimedes of the army of the Andes in addition to this arsenal San Martin established a laboratory of salt peter and the powder factory in charge of his aid the camp major kondarko using water power to work the machines this factory produced excellent gunpowder sufficient for the supply of the army at very small cost he also set up a manufactory of army cloth which cloth was dyed blue and uniforms for the troops were made of it by the women of Mendoza free of charge a military tribunal was created and the medical staff was organized under Dr. Paroisien a naturalized Englishman the commissariat and treasury were also placed under the strictest regulations everything was prepared for an offensive war and for the distant operations in May 1816 the scheme was almost upset by the persistence of the central government in prosecuting the war in Upper Peru San Martin had taken great interest in the projected congress of Tucumán since the idea was first mooted looking upon it as the last hope of the revolution four deputies were sent from Cuyo who were all friends of his and who took deep interest in his plan one of them, Don Juan Martin Pueyredon, was elected president the majority of this congress were in favor of the establishment of a constitutional monarchy San Martin and Belgrano who commanded the armies of Cuyo and the north were the pillars of the state edifice and though San Martin was in theory a republican they both shared in this opinion but both were equally convinced that the first step should be a declaration of independence in order to put an end to the present anomalous position in which they, still nominally subject to the king of Spain made war upon Spain under a flag of their own thus the declaration of independence on the 9th of July was welcomed by San Martin as a master stroke of policy Don Juan Martin Pueyredon now president of the United Previnces had already so far adopted the military ideas of San Martin that on the 16th of June he had given orders for the dispatch of men and arms to Cuyo but San Martin was not content with mere acquiescence in his plans he wanted the hearty approval and concurrence of the chief of the state he accordingly left Mendoza for Cordoba on the 15th of July and there met the president the conference lasted three days and resulted in a complete understanding between them then, as no maps existed of the passes of the Andes, he sent his aide the camp Condarco who was a skillful engineer with a copy of the declaration of independence to the governor of Chile but, he said to him as he gave him his instructions your real errand is to reconnoiter for me the roads by Los Patos and Uspayata without making a note you must bring back in your head a plan of them both I shall send you by Los Patos and, as they are certain to send you back at once if they don't hang you, you will return by Uspayata which is the nearest way as San Martin had anticipated the copy of the declaration which Condarco presented to Marco del Pont was burned by the public hangman of Santiago and the messenger was sent back at once with scant courtesy but in his receptive brain he brought with him plans of both roads which he drew out on paper at his ledger and these plans so obtained became the chart of the first operations of the army of the Andes in the early spring San Martin brought the various core of his army from their cantonments and encamped them on an open plain about a league to the north of Mendota where the recruits were thoroughly drilled and the whole force was taught to act in concert every hour of the day had its allotted work in the evening the officers attended classes for instruction and tactics to complete this organization a printing press was added to the stores from which bulletins of victory were to be issued to the world teaching to the liberated people the principles of the Argentine Revolution which the soldiers supported with their bayonets on the 17th of January 1817 there was high holiday in the city of Mendota the streets and plaza were decorated with flags and streamers the whole army marched in to salute the Virgen del Carmen as its patron saint and to receive a special army flag embroidered by the ladies of the city when the usual formalities were over San Martin ascended a platform in the great square with the flag in his hand and waving it over his head said in a voice which could be heard by all soldiers this is the first independent flag which has been blessed in America one great shout of rose from the people and the troops in answer then he added soldiers swear to sustain it and to die in defense of it as I swear to do we swear was the answer from 4000 throats a triple discharge of musketry and 25 guns then saluted this new flag the flag of redemption of South America which passed the Cordillera waved in triumph along the pacific coast floated over the foundations of two new republics aided in the liberation of another and after 64 years served as a funeral pole to the body of the hero who thus delivered it to the care of the immortal army of the Andes end of chapter 12 chapter 13 of the emancipation of South America by Bartolome Mitre translated by William Pilling this Librivox recording is in the public domain recording by Piotr Natter the passage of the Andes 1817 quote what spoils my sleep is not the strength of the enemy but how to pass those immense mountains end quote said Saint Martin as from Mendoza he gazed upon the snow-clad summits of the Andes which as a mighty barrier separate the wide plains of the Argentine Pampa from the smiling valleys of Chile through 22 degrees of latitude from the desert of Atacama to Cape Horn these mountains at 33 degrees south latitude divide into two parallel rangers one running southward along the borders of the pacific ocean the other forming the Grand Cordillera upon which Saint Martin gazed from Mendoza the coast range is a succession of granite hills with rounded summits and gentle slopes like to the waves of a petrified sea the Great Cordillera is in its center composed of three or four ranges of conical and sharply defined peaks which rise one over the other to a height of 21,000 feet above the level of the sea crowned with perpetual snow at its feet lie deep valleys from which perpendicular precipices rise up to the clouds and the mighty condors wheeling in airy circles at that dizzy heights are the only living things to be seen there are also lakes fed by torrents of melted snow which pouring down the mountain sites into these valleys find that time snow exits their path being closed by immense heaps of debris hurled from the lofty by the force of ice and winter these immense groups of mountains are traversed by rugged defiles and narrow paths the result of volcanic action wind along the edges of precipices while below roar the mountain streams carrying great rocks along with them tossing them about as though they were straws here nature displays her giant strength as an artificer decking herself with no other elements than the cactus mosses and thorny plants everywhere are seen traces of the world in embryo as it emerged from chaos in the process of creation between the Cordillera and the coast range stretches a great central valley cut across in places by spurs from the higher mountains which take an oblique line to the south till they lose themselves in the ocean or reappear as or as clusters of islands which are the summits of mountains springing from the bed of the sea the great Cordillera can only be crossed at certain passes those which have connection with our history are in the center those of Uspayata and Lospatos in front of Mendota and San Juan to the north those of Laramada and Comecabayos by which the Argentine province of Larioja communicates with Coquimbo and to the south that of the Plancheon which gives access to the valley of Talca and that of the Portillo which leads to the plain of Maipo and to the capital of Chile these passes from 9,000 feet to 12,000 feet above the level of the sea are covered with snow in winter and are practicable only in the height of summer until then they had been crossed only by small detachments of soldiery or by troops mules the paths being in many places so narrow as only to give room for one mounted men at a time the passage of a numerous army with guns and baggage was held to be impossible and had never been thought of till the feat was accomplished by San Martín food and forage for men, mules and horses had to be carried with them and it was necessary to reach the other side and force sufficient to concentrate the different columns upon his weak points and to make all the preparations secretly so that the army might rush like a thunderbolt from the western slopes of the mountains and do battle in the open plain San Martín by his complex spy system had deluded the enemy into the belief that the invasion would come from the passes of the south his real intentions he had kept from friends and families alike in September 1816 he invited the Poenche Indians who occupied the eastern slopes of the Andes commanding the entrances to the passes of the plancheon and portillo to a conference at the fort of San Carlos to the south of Mendoza with the invitation he sent them many mules laden with spirits and wine with sweetmeats cloth and glass beads for the women horse gear and clothes for the men in savage pomp they came the warriors followed by their women rode up to the fort on the day appointed in full war costume flourishing their long glances and commenced proceedings by a sham fight in the indian fashion dashing at full speed round the fort from whose walls a gun was fired every five minutes and was answered by indian yells then the chiefs entered the fort and were told by San Martín that the spaniards were foreigners who intended to rob them of their lands their cattle their women and children and that he desired to pass through their country with an army to go by the plancheon and portillo passes to the country the other side of the mountains there to destroy these spaniards the indian chiefs listened to his request and granted him the permission he required after which they with their warriors gave themselves up to an orgy which lasted eight days on the sixth day san martín returned to Mendoza satisfied that the indians with their usual perfidy would at once inform marco of his project and took care that their information was confirmed by the agents of marco in Mendoza who sent him the patches to the same port dictated by san martín at the same time san martín advised the government and his friend guido that he had arranged with the indians for supplies of cattle and horses and for help in his expedition without in any case giving a hint of his real intentions marco harassed by the alarming news sent him by his supposed spies in Mendoza and annoyed by the guerrillas under martín rodriguez who infested the country between the maule and the maipo and sucked villages even in the facility of the capital itself adopted most ill-conceived and contradictory measures he fortified the ports and organized a flotilla to act against an imaginary naval force which his spies in Cuyo informed him had already left Buenos Aires he cut trenches in the pass of uspayata made a map of the southern provinces and a survey of the mouths of the passes in that district strengthened the guards at all the passes after concentrating his troops scattered them again all over the country and followed the example of San Martin by holding a great conference with the indians of Arauco the policy of San Martin was successful the captain general of Chile attempted to defend the whole of his frontier and had no idea where the real attack was to come from one only of his many counsellors advised him to concentrate the army on the capital and there make ready for whatever might happen instead of that he increased the general discontent by arbitrary executions till all classes of the people longed for the appearance of San Martin and made ready to help him as best they could small parties of troops were on several occasions attacked and routed by army bands of the peasantry and the bandit Neyra made himself famous by similar exploits in the encampment but Mendoza, matters were far different their methodical activity and automatic obedience blended with intelligent enthusiasm, there one far seeing will reigned supreme there everything was known that Marco had either thought or did, each man worked diligently at his appointed task and all trusted blindly in their chief the forges blazed day and night the arsenal turned out cartridges by the hundred thousand Frey Beltran made special carriages for the artillery adopted to the mountain passes, the guns themselves were to be carried on the backs of mules slings were prepared for carrying them over dangerous places and sleds of raw height in which they might be holed up by men when the gradients were too steep for the mules the general in chief silent and reserved, thought for all inspected everything and provided for every contingency large provision was made of charkikan, a food much in vogue among the mulleteers, composed of beef dried in the sun, roasted and ground to powder, then mixed with fats and chile pepper and pounded into small compasse, a soldier could carry enough of this in his knapsack to last him eight days mixed up with hot water and maize meal ready roasted, it formed a soup at once nutritious and appetizing. San Luis alone furnished 2,000 arrobas and the total provision amounted to 3,500 arrobas, 87,200 pounds. The soldiers made for themselves closed sandals of raw height called tamangos, which were lined with fragments of old clothes collected for that purpose from all the province. Water bottles were made from the horns of the animals slaughtered in the encampment and slings were made for them out of the rough edges of the cloth from which their uniforms were made. The sabers of the cavalry were carefully sharpened but they had only three trumpets till governments sent them two more. 30,000 horseshoes were prepared, which was a great innovation as the Argentines were not accustomed to shoot their horses. Without them the hooves of the cavalry horses would have been worn down in the way over the stony passes. Four cables, each 170 feet long and two anchors formed a portable bridge. Cuyo alone furnished 13,000 mules but the promise of government to replenish the exhausted treasury were not fulfilled. A rebellion had broken out in Cordoba which taxed the resources of Puerredon to the Atmos to repress. But he aided San Martin in every way he possibly could with clothes, saddles, tents and arms and wrote him quote, don't ask me for anything more unless you wish to hear that I have hung myself to a beam in the fort. End quote. And also, quote, you may well say that among us there has never been seen an army so well fitted out but neither has there been seen a director who had equal confidence in a general and it must be added never a general who so well predicted that confidence as yourself. After all, my mind would be easier if you had another thousand good soldiers with you. End quote. Everything was ready. The army consisted of 3,000 infantry in four battalions led by Alvarado, Cramer, Conde and Las Eras five squadrons of the mounted grenadiers, 1700 sabers led by Zapiola, Melian, Ramayo, Escalada and Necochea and 250 artillery with ten six pounders, two howitzers and nine four pounder mountain guns under command of La Plaza 1200 mounted militia from Cuyo accompanied the army besides militias and artisans. The army was arranged in three divisions each entirely independent of the others the vanguard under Soler and the reserve under Ohiggins marched by the pass of Los Patos Las Eras with the artillery marched by that of Uspayata which was the only one practicable for guns and ammunition. All the food necessary for 15 days they took with them also 600 bullocks for slaughter and a special supply of onions and garlic very necessary at high levels both for man and beast. As flankers to the main army a detachment of militia and Chilean immigrants left San Juan under a fort by the pass of Laramada marching upon Coquimbo and another left Rioja by the pass of Vincina marching on Copiapo and Vasco to the south another detachment composed of mounted infantry, grenadiers and Chileans marched under the Chilean captain Freyr by the Planchón Pass in support of the Chilean guerillas and were aided by a party of 30 dragoons under Captain Lemos who went by the Portillo Pass Both the main body and the detachments had orders to debouch on Chilean territory from the 6th to the 8th of February 1817 Each general of division was given by San Martín himself a pen and ink plan of the route he was to follow with notes and written instructions San Martín himself went by the pass of Los Patos but had arranged a system of flag signals by which Las Eras could communicate with him across the intervening valleys. His last instructions from government were quote the consolidation of the independence of America from the kings of Spain and their successors and the glory of the united provinces of the south are the only motives of this campaign this you will make public in your proclamations, by your agents in the cities and by all possible means. The army must be impressed with this principle and shall have no thought of pillage oppression or of conquest or that there is any idea of holding the country of those we help end quote. He was also authorized to raise a national army in Chile which should remain under his orders even when a new government was established was prohibited from capitulating with the enemy under any circumstances and was charged to avoid any interference in party questions among the Chileans. He was also authorized after the re-establishment of the municipality of Santiago to preside over the free election of a provisional president. He was instructed to use his influence to postpone the election of a congress until Chile was entirely free from the enemy and to persuade the Chileans to send deputies to the congress of the united provinces in order to establish a perpetual alliance between the two countries. As the leading files of the army entered the passes, San Martín on the 24th of January 1817 wrote to Godoy Cruz quote this afternoon I leave to join the army. God grant me success in this great enterprise end quote. The plan of the campaign as drawn up by San Martín on the 15th of June 1816 was to cross the Cordillera by the passes of Uspayata and Los Patos to reunite his forces in the plain beyond, there to beat the principal force of the enemy and to seize the capital. The principal spur from the main range which cuts the central valley of Chile is that which springs from the great peak of Aconcogua. From this spur a smaller one branches off which is called the Sierra of Chacabuco and runs parallel to the main spur in closing between them the parallel valleys of Putaendo and Aconcogua watered by two streams bearing the same names which ultimately unite to form the river Aconcogua which empties itself in the ocean beyond the coast range of hills. The road by Uspayata passes to the south of the great peak and through the valley of Aconcogua to the frontier town of Santa Rosa. The road by Los Patos is much longer and passing to the north of Aconcogua leads by the valley of Putaendo to the narrow pass of Achupayas which lies to the west of Santa Rosa. Thus any force stationed at this point would be placed between two fires by the convergence of the two divisions and if it retreated to the Sierra of Chacabuco which lay to the south would leave the plane of Chacabuco available for the concentration of the army. Chacabuco was thus the strategic point upon the occupation of which depended the issue of the whole campaign. Meantime Cabot had left San Juan on the 12th of January and on the 8th of February issued from the northern passes. The whole province of Coquimbo rose in arms to welcome him. Captain Ceballos, detached by him, routed a royalist force of a hundred men on the plains of Salala, capturing two small guns and 40 prisoners. By the 12th Cabot was master of the entire province. On the same day Davila with the detachment from Rioja took the city of Copiapo. The whole of the north of Chile was in the power of the invaders. On that same 12th February, Freyr at the other extreme of the line of operations occupied the city of Talca after a skirmish on the plains cutting all communication between the capital and the south. He represented himself to the vanguard of the main army and was joined at once by the Chilean guerillas and by Neira. It was only on the eve of departure that San Martín explained his plan in its entirety to his generals. On the 18th of January Las Eras marched with a flying column by Os Payata with instructions to entrench himself at Giacabucco but to retreat if attacked by superior forces. Two days in his rare the main body marched on the 19th by Los Patos. The vanguard was commanded by Soler and one day's march in his rare came the reserve under O'Higgins. Groups of pioneers proceeded the columns clearing the way for them. Soler had instructions to debouch on the 8th of February into the valley of Putaendo to seize the bridge which crosses the river Aconcovua in front of the town of San Felipe to occupy that position then to open communication with Las Eras and if possible to attack the enemy in the rare at Santa Rosa. All the troops were mounted on mules and marched in single file along the narrow paths each 20 men being in care of a mulleteer the length of each day's march being decided by the facilities for grass and water at the halting places. Not only was the road itself by Los Patos more difficult than that by Uspayata but on account of the greater elevation and of its vicinity to the eternal snow of the higher peaks the cold was very much more intense it freezes hard there every night even at mid-summer and the rare faction of the air cost many of the men to drop from the ranks. Marco had dispatched 1000 men under Colonel Atero to reconnoiter the pass of Uspayata and on the 24th of January the advanced posts of Las Eras were attacked by the enemy at Pichueta on the eastern slope of the Cordillera a reinforcement under Major Martinev drove the royalists after two hours fighting across the summits San Martín on hearing of this at once dispatched Major Arcos with 200 men to seize the pass of Acupayas on the 4th of February Arcos found the guard there quickly reinforced he attacked at once and the day was decided by Lieutenant Juan Lavalle of the Mounted Grenadiers who here led the first of those desperate charges of cavalry for which he was afterwards so renowned at three in the morning of the 2nd of February Las Eras crossed the summit of the Cordillera and on the 4th at Sundown an advanced post of the royalists at Guardia Vieja was attacked by Major Martinev at the point of the bayonet after which Las Eras in obedience to express orders from San Martín retired upon his reserve on the 5th the alarm was given in the valleys of Putaendo and Aconcogua by the fugitives from Guardia Vieja and Acupayas but Atero deceived by the counter march of Las Eras into the idea that he was in full retreat left the pass of Uspayata open and marched with 700 men to meet the invaders at Acupayas thus without further trouble Las Eras debouched on the 8th on to the plain and occupied Santa Rosa Soler with the escort and two squadrons of Grenadiers had hurried on to the assistance of the small force at Acupayas and then on the 6th descended into the valley of Putaendo with all his cavalry Nekochea was then detached with 100 men of the escort against the town Felipe. On the morning of the 7th he was met by Atero and by feigning to retreat in the face of such superior numbers induced the royalist leader to follow him up the valley with 300 horsemen leaving his guns and infantry in a strong position on high ground behind him when he had drawn him well away from his reserve Nekochea suddenly wheeled his men into line and charged breaking up the enemy completely and driving him back to the shelter of his guns with a loss of 30 killed and four prisoners Atero after this repulse retreated with all speed to San Felipe destroying the bridge over the Aconkohua river fugitives reported that the enemy were tall men armed with very long swords whose charge no cavalry in Chile could resist on the 8th the two divisions encamped in the valley of Putaendo and were welcomed with enthusiasm by the inhabitants on the 9th the broken bridge was repaired by the suppers and while the whole army crossed a squadron of grenadiers under Melian advanced to the hill of Chacabuco and were there met by advanced parties of the column under las eras Beltan had lost 6000 mules out of 10000 and two thirds of his horses but he brought all his guns with him thus the preliminary operations were crowned with success a strategic combination of movements over a frontage of 1300 miles was completed in every point on the day prefixed by the author of the plan he had reason to be proud of the exploit but neither then or at any later date was he ever known to boast of it he had at that time much else to think of his cavalry horses were for the most part foundered by the passage of the rugged defiles and he had no time to lose if he was to fight a decisive battle on the 15th as he had promised the judgment of posterity is unanimous in respect to the importance of the passage of the Andes by San Martin not alone as a great military feat but also for the influence it had upon the final result of the struggle for emancipation Spanish historians speak of it as the turning point of the contest between Spain and her colonies in German military schools it is cited as an example of the importance of discipline in the army and of the value of foresight and attention to details on the part of a general the passage of the Andes by San Martin was a feat requiring greater strategy and skill than the passage of the Alps by Hannibal and by Napoleon it was unequaled till Bolivar repeated the exploit on the equator if compared with the two former it is seen to be a much greater achievement than either of them from its effects upon the destinies of the human race in place of vengeance, greed or of ambition San Martin was animated by the hope of giving liberty and independence to a new world the passage of the Andes by San Martin resulted in my paw the passage of the Andes by Bolivar resulted in Boyacá the decisive victories which liberated entire peoples from the slavery of foreign despotism the passage of the Alps by Hannibal and by Napoleon resulted only in the sterile victories of Trebia and of Marengo and of Chapter 13 Chapter 14 of the Emancipation of South America by Bartolome Mitre translated by William Pilling this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Piotr Natar Chapter 14 Czechabuco, 1817 from San Felipe San Martin sent off a trusty spy to Santiago with instructions to bring him back on the third day information of the movements of the enemy he then set himself to work to prepare for battle mounting his artillery and concentrating the different divisions on the 10th of February all the army was united on the open plane at the foot of the slope of Czechabuco on the 10th and 11th the engineers protected by skirmishers reconnoitered the roads and passes leading across the Sierra on the 11th the spy returned bringing answers to San Martin from his agents in the capital and copies of the secret orders of Marco the spy had visited the barracks of the royalist troops and had counted those on the march for Czechabuco San Martin then summoned for the Sierra of Czechabuco rises to a height of 4300 feet above the level of the sea about three miles before reaching the summit the main road from Santa Rosa to Santiago divides into two paths that to the left which is the shortest but also the steeper of the two is still only a brittle path the other is now the main road but was at that time little known both lead to the plane of Czechabuco but the point at which they descended from the heights are nearly two miles distant one from the other the left hand path first reaches the lower ground near the head of a valley about three miles long down which it winds until it joins the other path at the farmhouse of Czechabuco which stands at the head of the plane from the summit of the Sierra the whole country is seen spreading out as a beautiful panorama the plane at the foot extending southward some seven miles in the direction of Santiago is shut in by the hills of Colina through which there is a path behind light the great masses of the Cordillera to the west the spur runs on till it joins the coast range as yet unseen San Martin informed his officers that he had determined to advance without waiting for the rest of his artillery and to fight the decisive battle before the enemy had time to concentrate his forces the army was to march in two columns by the diverging paths which columns should debout simultaneously upon the plane beyond and attack the royalist position in front and on the flank the column on the right was put under command of solar and consisted of 2100 men with seven light guns that on the left under command of Higgins consisted of 1500 men with two guns the latter was to engage the attention in front without attacking the position while solar marched upon his left flank and rear when a general advance would decide the day Atero, after the skirmish in the valley of Putaendo had retreated to Ciacabucco and Marco heredly sent reinforcements offering the soldiery a reward of 20 dollars for each one of the enemy killed and 12 for each prisoner but at the same time he secretly sent off his baggage to Valparaiso and not until the 10th did he appoint a commander for the army assembling at Ciacabucco he then selected Colonel Marotto of the Talavera regiment who reached the headquarters at the farmhouse on the evening of the 11th Marotto found under his orders 1500 infantry, 500 cavalry and 5 guns a force far inferior in numbers to that of the invaders and depressed in spirit but they were the flower of the Spanish army all that he had time to do that evening was to strengthen an outpost which was stationed on the summit in a position which commanded the eastern pass proposing to occupy the heights with his entire force on the following day at two in the morning on the 12th of February under a bright moon the Argentine army commenced their advance the infantry leaving their knapsacks behind them flanking parties from Soler's division the first to meet the enemy but had barely time to exchange a few shots when the position was attacked by O'Higgins who drove this advanced guard before him over the summit the royalists retreated in good order upon the main body which had advanced 3 miles up the valley at dawn of day Marotto believing that the whole force of the patriots was in pursuit of his vanguard by the main road withdrew his army across the valley which was intersected by a muddy stream and took up a strong position on the opposite slope placing two of his guns so as to command the mouth of the pass and extending his line to a hill on his extreme left where he established a strong force of infantry with the cavalry in the rear Thapiola with three squadrons of the Grenadiers harassed the retreat of the royalist vanguard but could make no impression upon it the ground being unfavorable for cavalry retreated in preventing the enemy from occupying two hills at the mouth of the pass where they might have seriously injured the advance of Higgins and advanced into the valley till forced to retire by the fire of the two guns in position in front at 11 a.m. O'Higgins debouched from the pass and dropped his infantry in line on the open ground under fire of the enemy for an hour he contended himself with returning their fire and beating off their skirmishers till as he afterwards set himself his blood was boiling to be at them in his excitement he forgot the positive orders of San Martin to wait for solar before attacking the enemy and gave the word to charge his men advanced with alacrity but were soon entangled in the muddy stream which they in vain attempted to cross under the fire of the enemy and finally retreated in disorder to the south of the pass San Martin sitting on his war horse saw from the heights above the repulse of his lieutenant at once he sent off his aide the camp Condarco to hasten the march of Soler this is the incident in his life which is commemorated in the equestrian statue which now graces the Plaza San Martin in Buenos Aires he then galloped down the slope and joined O'Higgins as he reached the lower ground he noticed an extraordinary movement in the ranks of the enemy and then described the head of Soler's column advancing rapidly on his flank O'Higgins again advanced while the Grenadiers under Thapiola charged the center of the enemy and sabred his artillerymen at their guns the position was carried by the bayonets and the royalist infantry formed square on their center Condal Alvarado with the vanguard of the right wing at the same time captured the hill on the left flank of the royalists while Necocea and Escalada charged the cavalry in the rear the victors then fell simultaneously upon the square which was speedily broken some of the fugitives made for the farmhouse in the rear but found their retreat cut off by Soler and were forced to surrender at discretion others tried to escape by the valley and there fell under the sabers of the Grenadiers the royalists lost in this action 500 killed, 600 prisoners all their artillery a standard and two flags while the loss of the patriots was 12 killed and 120 wounded but the moral effects of the victory were still greater the disaster of Ciacabucco spread panic among the adherents of the royal cause all over Chile only three men were undismayed Baraniel, Ordonyeth and Sanchez Baraniel, on the march with his hussars to join the army was met at the entrance to the plain of Ciacabucco by news of the disaster he counter marched to Santiago and offered Marco to take up an infantry soldier behind each of his horsemen and to fall upon the Patriot camp by night but Marco thought of nothing but his own safety and fled to Valparaiso leaving the capital in the hands of the populace on the 13th the Patriot army was in full march upon Santiago Necochea with his squadron of grenadiers being sent in advance to maintain order in the city where the next day the army entered amid the enthusiastic plaudits of the inhabitants as a Chilean historian says quote, San Martín occupied in carrying out his vast plans cared little for these futile manifestations he thought only of the resources for carrying on the work which he had gained by the victory end quote on the 15th he issued a proclamation convoking an assembly of notables who should name three electors for each of the provinces of Santiago Concepción and Coquimbo in order that they might appoint a chief for the state the assembly, to the number of 100 met under the presidency of Don Francisco Luis Tagle the provisional governor and declared that, quote they were unanimous in naming Don José de San Martín as governor of Chile with full powers end quote San Martín refused to accept the appointment and summoned another assembly to the number of 210 which by acclamation named General O'Higgins supreme director of the state which was what San Martín desired the new director appointed Don Miguel Taniarto his minister of the interior and Lieutenant Colonel Centero San Martín's secretary minister of war and marine and then issued a proclamation to the people and addressed a note to the foreign powers when Marco left the capital his troops at once dispersed some of them with Maroto at their head reached Valparaiso and at once embarked the rest were made prisoners among them Marco himself who had not even energy sufficient for a rapid flight and a general with great affability quote give me that white hand end quote said he with bluff sarcasm and leading him to an inner room he conversed privately with him for two hours and then dismissed him San Bruno who had murdered prisoners in the public jail was also taken prisoner and being sent at once for trial was quickly sentenced and shot in the great square which was an act of simple justice the victory of Chacabuco was received in Buenos Aires on the 24th of February all day shouts of triumph echoed through the streets while Canon roared from the fort and from the ships of the squadron anchored in the roadstead the captured flags were hang out from the balconies of the cabildo grouped around a portrait of the victorious general medals were decreed to the soldiers who had fought under him and to himself a special badge of honor while his daughter, Maria Mertedes received a life pension of 600 dollars per annum which her father devoted to her education government also sent San Martin his commission as Brigadier General the highest military grade in the Argentine service he in accordance with his previously expressed determination declined the honor but asked for further supplies of men, arms and money to carry on the campaign and appointed himself general in chief of the united Argentine and Chilean armies after arranging with the Chilean authorities for the formation of a naval squadron and establishing in Santiago a supreme council of the Lautaro Lodge half Chileans and half Argentines he announced his intention of returning to Buenos Aires to concert measures with government for the prosecution of the war the cabildo of Santiago offered him 10,000 ounces of gold for the expenses of his journey which he declined to accept for himself but devoted it to the establishment of a public library in that city one month after the battle he passed by the scene of his late victory and saw there a mound of earth under which lay the dead of the 12th of February of the Patriot army most of them negroes from Cuyo liberated slaves this mound was the first landmark of the war of emancipation end of chapter 14 chapter 15 of the emancipation of South America by Bartolomé Mitre translated by William Pilling this Librivox recording is in the public domain recording by Piotr Natter the first campaign in the south of Chile 1817 after the victory of Ciacabucco San Martín made three mistakes two of mere detail but one of importance which had an evil influence upon his later operations the campaign which ought to have finished immediately was thus prolonged and he was compelled to fight four more battles to accomplish the reconquest of Chile retarding by three years the prosecution of his great enterprise on the 12th of February he remained encamped on the field of battle instead of pursuing the enemy at least to the end of the plane of Ciacabucco the following day instead of marching upon the capital he ought to have pursued the fugitives to Valparaiso by this mistake 1600 veteran troops escaped to Peru to act against him later on but his great mistake consisted in his neglect to secure the fruits of his victory by an immediate campaign in the south the military strength of Chile lay in the south the people were warlike the royal cause had their many partisans and the country was full of strong military positions in a special the fortress of Valdivia backed by the islands of Chile a seaport by which reinforcements from Peru could be poured into the country looking far ahead the victor of Ciacabucco overlooked that which was close at hand Ordonyeth was an officer of great talent who up to that time had had no opportunity of distinguishing himself he and San Martín had fought side by side against Napoleon at the close of the war he was a colonel and with this rank he came to America in 1815 as governor of Concepción he was there still and now came forward as the most dotty opponent of his old comrade he had no regular troops with him but ably seconded by Sanchez he summoned the militia collected the soldier he dispersed to the north of the Maula garisoned the frontier of Arauco fortified the peninsula of Talcauano aided by the royal squadron made large provision of supplies sentry from the Biobio to the Maula with his light troops for two months he was un molested and had time to organize a division of 1000 men and to receive a reinforcement from Lima of 1600 regulars Freire, after his successes at Talcauano had contended himself with intercepting communications and his force was weakened by Rodríguez who marched his guerillas to the north while his instructions from San Martín horses and cattle for the main army were neglected at the same time several smaller parties of the patriots were cut up by the royalists San Martín did not totally neglect the south on the 18th of February a column of 1000 men under las eras left Santiago and on the 4th of March crossed the Maula and joined Freire at the Guillen but he marched so slowly that the enemy had plenty of time to prepare for him a Higgins who was left in supreme command by San Martín was greatly irritated at this delay and in April marched himself to his assistance with 800 men but his progress was just as slow as that of las eras who in the meantime after calling a council of his officers to attest the meagerness of his equipment for such an expedition marched resolutely on Concepción encamping on the 4th of April at the farmhouse near to the city Ordoniev who had been watching his movements fell upon him at night with 700 light troops but was beaten off with the loss of two guns and the next day las eras occupied Concepción Concepción lies on the northern bank of the Biobió at the head of the peninsula of Talcauano and about 500 miles distant from the fortified town of the same name las eras was thus in a critical position he dare not retreat and his force was insufficient to attack Ordoniev in his entrenchments he built a small fort on the Gavilan hill to the south west of Concepción and waited for Ohigins on the 1st of May four Spanish vessels anchored in the bay of Talcauano bringing the 1600 fugitives from Ciacabuco who had been sent back from Peru to reinforce the gaisan and Ordoniev thought himself strong enough to resume the offensive on the night of the 4th he solid out with 700 men and four guns to attack the left flank of the position held by las eras while Colomel Morgado with 400 men and two guns attacked on the right and a small force in boats rode up the Biobió to manage the city from the river the action commenced at daybreak and was hotly contested for three hours until Freire who commanded on the right of the position having routed Morgado and captured his two guns came to the assistance of las eras and Ordoniev was compelled to retreat hotly pursued by the grenadiers under Medina who captured one of his guns the flotilla was beaten off by two companies of the 7th regiment which arrived during the action the loss of the royalists in this smart affair was 192 killed and 80 prisoners the patriots had 6 killed and 62 wounded when all was over O'Higgins arrived upon the scene and in his satisfaction at the victory forgot all the displeasure he took the command and at once commenced operations against Talcawano Ordoniev having command of the sea and the Biobió had easy communication with the ports of Arauco which both furnished supplies and harassed the left flank of the patriots Freire with a flying column of 300 men was detached to capture these forts on the 12th of May Captain Tienfuegos with 60 men crossed the Biobió and took the fort of El Nacimiento after which two other forts nearer to Concepción surrendered the key of this line was the fortress of Arauco situated at its western extremity on the sea coast Freire incorporated the detachment of Captain Tienfuegos and on the 26th of May encamped on the river Camp Pague in the vicinity of this fort the garrison to the number of 200 men solid out to dispute the passage of the river Freire with 50 grenadiers and 50 infantry mounted and coop crossed the river lower down and fell upon the royalists with such impetuosity while the rest of his force attacked them in front that he completely routed them following they captured the fort with 11 guns and large stores of ammunition having lost 11 men drowned in the passage of the river and one men wounded a militia captain named Diath rallied the dispersed soldiery and adding to them some 400 Indians returned to the attack Tienfuegos who had been left in command met this new foe on the open but was completely beaten and Arauco was reoccupied by the royalists on the 3rd of June to be retaken by Freire on the 17th of July O'Higgins then made a treaty with the Indians of Arauco and so secured their neutrality meantime an advanced post had been established in the vicinity of Talcauano and frequent skirmishes took place with the garrison in which the patriots had always the advantage on the 22nd of July the army advanced within canon shot of the line of forts and lost the peninsula but was compelled by heavy rain to retire on the 24th Ordonyeth kept his main force within the line of his entrenchments but officers of his raised bodies of guerillas in the rear of the patriots cutting off supplies while detachments in boats made frequent descents on the coastline of Arauco losing many men but greatly harassing the patriots Talcauano was by nature a strong position and stronger still by art the garrison consisted of 1700 men and 70 heavy guns were mounted on the forts while a frigate, a brigade of war and five gun boats in the bay and a boat with one heavy gun on the western side of the peninsula enfiladed the approach from the south it was called by O'Higgins the Chilean Gibraltar and here it was that Ordonyeth by far-seeing prudence held the united forces of Chile and the United Provinces in Czech for three years during the winter O'Higgins had strengthened his army with several battalions of Chilean recruits in October he had nearly 4000 men under his immediate command and was also joined by two French officers of distinction the first General Breyer came with a great military reputation gained in the wars of the French Republic and under Napoleon but his arrogance soon lost him the sympathy and confidence of his new comrades the other Alberto Dalb, captain of engineers was also a man of great experience and being of a more modest character rendered great service to the American cause heavy rains paralyzed operations until spring was well advanced but on the 25th of November O'Higgins again moved forward to some high ground one on shot of the line of entrenchments the plan of attack was drawn up by General Breyer on the extreme left of the royalist position was an outwork called the Morro against this the main attack was to be directed while the attention of the enemy was diverted by false attacks on the rest of the line O'Higgins and most of his officers were in favor of an attack upon the other flank but Saint Martin being consulted gave his opinion in favor of Breyer's plans which was accordingly adopted a desultery cannonade was maintained for several days when a north wind springing up which prevented the Spanish men of war from aiding in the defense of the line the columns marched to the attack in the early morning on the 6th of December the attack on the Morro was led by major Boshe and Captain Videla and a mixed force of Chewians and Argentines mounting on the shoulders of their men they scaled the outer wall and tore down a portion of the stockade behind when such a heavy fire was poured upon them that Videla being killed and Boshe severely wounded the column could advance no further till las eras brought up the supports when the position was carried by the bayonet at the same time a Spanish gunboat on the Biobio was captured by some boats led by an Englishman named Manning a rise attack by Condé on the center was repulsed at daybreak las eras found to his dismay that the Morro was merely an advanced work and that he was still outside of the line of entrenchments Colonel Boedo fell in attempting to force his way beyond the guns of two forts on the heights those of the frigate Vengantha and those of some gunboats converged their fire upon the conquered outwork causing heavy losses despite of which las eras maintained his position till O'Higgins sent him orders to retire which he did in good order after spiking the guns he had captured and carrying with him his wounded and prisoners the loss of the Patriots were 150 killed and 280 wounded this disaster put an end for the time to all offensive operations and on the day of the assault another strong reinforcement of royalist troops embarked Kayao for Tarkawano End of Chapter 15 Chapter 16 of the Emancipation of South America by Bartolome Mitre translated by William Pilling this Librivox recording is in the public domain recording by Piotr Natter Chapter 16 Argentine-Chileno Alliance 1817 the alliance between Argentina and Chile built with the blood of her soldiers in the assault of Tarkawano is the most important factor of this epoch and the struggle for the emancipation of America whether the objects of the alliance be spoken of or whether its results be summed up this alliance, the first celebrated in the new world between independent nations was no artificial combination it arose from the natural tendencies and from the reciprocal interests of two peoples and its effects were felt from Cape Horn to the equator never did two elite nations work more cordially together for one end never were greater deeds accomplished with such feeble resources without this alliance the struggle for independence would either have failed or would have been indefinitely retarded it originated in the help given by each country to the other in the first years of the struggle from 1811 to 1814 the fall of Chile in the latter year only strengthened the bond it was then seen to be an absolute necessity to both Chile alone could not free herself from her oppressors and Argentina without her had no military road by which she could reach her enemy while she herself lay open to assault the Argentine Republic undertook the conquest of Chile for three reasons first as a measure of self-defense second to secure the dominion of the Pacific as a means to the complete emancipation of South America which was the third reason for and the final object of the undertaking San Martin was the soul of the alliance O'Higgins was the connecting link the army of the Andes the muscle and sinew and the Lautaroge the secret mechanism it was to establish this alliance that San Martin had so hurriedly left for Buenos Aires after the victory of Chacabuco San Martin recrossed the Andes without other company than his favorite aid the camp O'Brien and a guide as he left Mendoza on the 19th of March he received a letter from Pueyrredon telling him that a war was imminent with the Portuguese of the Banda Oriental for which arms and money would be required from Chile and that in a few days he expected five armed ships which Carrera was bringing from North America which he would send on to Valparaiso and place at his orders. The Portuguese had occupied the Banda Oriental in 1816 with the tacit convivance of the Argentine government and Pueyrredon was at that time striving to avoid a rupture by diplomacy but a war with the Portuguese formed no part of the plans of San Martin who at the end of March reached Buenos Aires and avoiding a triumphal entry which was preparing for him went to business at once. 15 days afterwards he commenced his return journey having made such arrangements as he could for the equipment and support of a naval squadron on the Pacific, promising as general-in-chief help from Chile to the extent of 300,000 dollars. Don José Miguel Carrera in the year 1815 managed to raise 20,000 dollars among his personal friends in Buenos Aires and with this had gone off to the United States to raise a naval squadron for an expedition to Chile. By lavish promises he had prevailed upon some merchants in New York and Baltimore to sell him five ships fully equipped. In one of these, the Corvette Clifton, he reached Buenos Aires on the 9th of February, 1817. Puey Redon not only refused to pay for the ships but also prohibited the further progress of the expedition knowing that the presence of the Carreras in Chile would be most prejudicial to the cause of the alliance. A few days afterwards the Briggs Savage arrived from Baltimore and Carrera formed a plan for escaping with the two ships, but his intention being denounced to Puey Redon by one of the French adventurers who had come with him, he was arrested as a conspirator and confined in the Retiro Barracks where San Martin visited him on the 12th of April. Carrera hotly refused to shake hands with him and rejected his repeated offers to arrange matters for him with Puey Redon. They never met again. San Martin and Puey Redon both wrote to Ohiggins proposing that Chile should pension the three brothers Carrera in recognition of their former services. But Ohiggins considered that such a measure would offer a reward to crime. Carrera soon afterwards escaped from prison and fled to Montevideo. Later on he became conspicuous in the ranks of the enemies of Buenos Aires. On the 11th of May San Martin was again in Chile and was received in triumph at the capital. The enthusiasm of the people being increased by the news received the same day of the victory of Las Eras at Gavilan. The same day he sent his friend and aid the camp Alvarez Condarco off by way of Buenos Aires to London with money to purchase another ship of war. Condarco had also another mission which is enveloped in mystery and is pointed to as a stain on the reputation of San Martin and Ohiggins. A certain sum was to be left in deposit in London for their private account. The documents relating to this matter are written in cipher and have remained secret for more than 60 years. Only three persons have read them of whom two are dead. The third is the author of this history. Translator's note it appears that Condarco when in London purchased the ship Cumberland mounting 60 guns for $160,000 giving an order for that amount on the government and paying as a deposit $25,000 which sum being returned to him on payment of his draft he placed in the hands of someone in whom he had confidence on account of Ohiggins and San Martin. His confidence was misplaced. His English friend lost the money in gambling on the stock exchange and San Martin found himself penniless when he landed in England in 1824. End of note. The amount cannot have exceeded $29,500 a sum which San Martin had most certainly earned while the rigid exactness of all his dealings with public money placed in his hands is unquestioned. He steadily refused all recompense for his services. He did accept the hospitality of the city of Santiago when there but the early expenses of his establishment did not exceed $3,000. In pursuance to the alliance the government of Chile remitted $40,000 to Buenos Aires for the army of Aperperu and the Argentine government sent a thousand new baskets for the use of the Chilean army. The maintenance of the army of the Andes and the filling up of death vacancies was assumed by Chile and there was no further question on either side of pecuniary responsibility. When Ohiggins in April went to take command of the army of the south he left Colomel Don Ilarión de la Quintana as his deputy at Santiago. Quintana was an Argentine a family connection and an aid the camp of San Martin. Thus the supreme power in the state was made subject to Argentine influence under the direction of the Lautaro Lodge. This appointment wounded the national susceptibilities of the people was contrary to the policy adopted by the Argentine government and provoked open declaration that quote Chile owed nothing to the army of the Andes end quote. To destroy this impression government on establishing a military school reserved 12 nominations of cadets for natives of the province of Cuyo professing quote eternal gratitude to the illustrious peoples of the Rio de la Plata end of quote. But international gratitude is always a burden and the Chileans saw in it no reason for confiding the highest post in the state to a foreigner. Such was the position of affairs when San Martin returned from Buenos Aires. Quintana and Ohigins then both wished him to take charge of the administration he refused and advised Ohigins to appoint a Chilean in place of Quintana. One of the chief administrative acts of Quintana was to commence the coinage of Chilean money in the appropriate inscription indicative of the establishment of Chile as a sovereign state. One thousand dollars of this coinage were given to San Martín and Belgrano for distribution as medals among the Argentine troops. At that time Huire Don appointed Don Tomas Guido Argentine representative in Chile and his official reception at Santiago on the 17th of May was one of the great events of the year. Quintana as a result of these renewed relations sent Irithari to Europe as the diplomatic agent of Chile with instructions to act in conjunction with the diplomatic agent of the United Provinces wherever he might be. Rivadavia was at that time Argentine representative in Europe and to him were sent fresh powers and instructions to treat for the establishment of an independent monarchy in America. Ohigins from his headquarter at Concepción issued a decree creating a legion of merit in imitation of the legion of honor created by Napoleon. This institution had an aristocratic tendency as its members enjoyed special privileges. It was therefore unpopular and the Argentine government would permit no privileges to such Argentine citizens as received distinction. San Martín looked more favorably upon it as it responded to his idea of creating a special military class independent of local influences. One of the results of the restoration of Chile by Argentine arms was to give preponderance to one of the parties into which the country was divided. The Argentines, while recognizing the independence of the country and establishing a national government had imposed a dictator upon the country postponing indefinitely its constitutional organization. The government of Ohigins had against it not only its old adversaries, but also a large number of Chileans who were jealous of foreign influence. They took Carrera as their chief and national autonomy as their watchword, while they were animated only by personal ambition. Donia Javier de Valdez, sister of the Carreras resided at that time in Buenos Aires. At her house there were daily meetings of Chilean immigrants who were hostile to Ohigins. Among them a plot was hatched. She herself was the life and soul of the conspiracy. It was decided that several of the conspirators should cross the Andes to prepare their friends in Chile for an outbreak and should be followed by Don Luis and by Don Juan José Carrera who should keep quiet until joined by Don José Miguel who would go round Cape Horn from Montevideo in the ship General Scott which he was expecting from New York. They thought they had only to land in the country to be received with acclamation and placed in charge of her destinies. All that they feared was the Argentine army which was to be expelled, Ohigins was to be banished from the country as a traitor, San Martin was to be tried by court-martial as a criminal and all who resisted them were to be put to death. It was an absurd and criminal project if only partially successful would have ruined Chile for the second time. The first party of the conspirators crossed the Andes in July. Luis Carrera, this guy's epion, was arrested at Mendoza for robbing the males. Juan José, traveling under a false name and accompanied by a post-boy, was caught in a hellstorm during the night near San Luis. The boy died he was arrested on suspicion of murder and afterwards sent on to Mendoza and imprisoned with his brother. Luthuriaga, governor of Mendoza sent full accounts of these occurrences to Santiago. Meantime the other conspirators had arrived at a farmhouse belonging to the Carrera family and had been put under arrest as a measure of precaution in consequence of warnings from Buenos Aires. These news from Mendoza made it certain that some conspiracy was on foot. Numerous arrests among the partisans of Carrera followed the most notable among the prisoners being Dr. Don Manuel Rodriguez. Some said that the government was the author of the conspiracy. The general excitement was so great that Quintana could no longer maintain his position and eventually Don Luis de la Cruz, a native Chilean chosen by the Lautarolog, was appointed deputy director. San Martin, the guest of the Chilean people residing in a palace, still continued the simple, hardworking manner of life he had adopted in Mendoza. He dined alone at 1pm but at 4pm a state dinner was served at which Guido presided. At dessert he joined the company and took coffee with them. In the evening his saloon was a favorite resort of the best society of the city the Suare being invariably opened by singing the Argentine national anthem. After which San Martin led off the first minuet. These tertulias were celebrated in the society annals of the day and not a few of the Argentine officers fell captive to the beauty and grace of the girls of Santiago. Las eras and Guido among the numbers. San Martin had small sympathy for the Chilean people. Their manners and character did not please his austere mind and he was not the sort of man to make many friends. In his own country he had but three Belgrano, Pueyrredon and Godoy Kruth in Chile he had but one O'Higgins. He also suffered much at this time from neuralgia and rheumatism and could only sleep by an immoderate use of morphia. He thought that he could not live much longer. Those about him thought the same and sent notice of their fears to Buenos Aires in consequence of which General Antonio González Balcarce the hero of Swipacia was sent to join him as his second in command. In spite of his forebodings San Martin did not falter in the prosecution of his great enterprise and taking advantage of his friendship with Captain Bowles, Commodore of the British Pacific Squadron he sent under his care a trusty agent to Lima with letters to the viceroy proposing an exchange of prisoners. This he was anxious to effect not only for the sake of the prisoners and their friends in both countries but also for the purpose of procuring an official recognition of Chile as a belligerent power. But under these was a third purpose to him of more importance than either of the others. His messenger was a confidential agent who might thus have a pretext for meeting the leaders of the society in Lima and opportunity for sounding them and for spreading among them the Argentine ideas of which he was the champion. End of chapter 16