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Second Battle of Huachi
Part of the Ecuadorian War of Independence
Segunda Batalla de Huachi
Battle of Huachi 1821
Date12 September 1821
LocationHuachi Grande near Ambato, Ecuador
1°17′45″S 78°38′50″W / 1.29583°S 78.64722°W / -1.29583; -78.64722Coordinates: 1°17′45″S 78°38′50″W / 1.29583°S 78.64722°W / -1.29583; -78.64722
Result Royalist victory
Belligerents
Flag of Gran Colombia (1820–1821) Gran Colombia
Bandera de Guayaquil Free Province of Guayaquil
Spain Kingdom of Spain
Commanders and leaders
Antonio José de Sucre
José Mires
Melchor Aymerich
Strength
900 infantry
100 cavalry[1][2]
1,200 infantry
500 cavalry[3]
Casualties and losses
300 killed or wounded
500 prisoners[3]
100 escaped[4]
250 killed or wounded[5]

Template:Campaignbox Ecuadorian War of Independence The Second Battle of Huachi was a confrontation that occurred on 12 September 1821 between pro-independence troops led by General Antonio José de Sucre and Royalist troops led by General Melchor Aymerich, president of the Real Audiencia of Quito. Sucre, after having won the Battle of Yaguachi on 19 August, advanced towards Quito. The Spanish, who followed closely, positioned themselves to do battle in a field called Huachi, where they had already defeated Guayaquil forces a year before.

Development of the Battle[]

After a brief contact between both forces, the Spanish pretended to flee. General José Mires allowed the Albion and Guayaquil battalions to pursue the Royalists, but they were attacked by the Royalist cavalry and the infantry who turned around and encircled the Patriot battalions. With the Patriot army in disarray and Sucre wounded, the few surviving Patriots retreated to Guayaquil, leaving many men and supplies on the battlefield.

Consequences[]

The Royalists managed to keep Quito under Spanish rule. Generals Mires and Sergeant Major Antonio Martínez de Pallares were captured.[6] Sucre, who was wounded and dismounted, was on the verge of being taken prisoner in the rout, but was just in time saved by his aide-de-camp, the Chilean officer Manuel Jordán Valdivieso, who pulled him on the back of his horse and crossed the enemy lines.[7][8] Quito would only be conquered by Sucre after the Battle of Pichincha in May 1822.

References[]

  1. Marley, David F. (1998). Wars of the Americas: a chronology of armed conflict in the New World. 1492 to the Present. Santa Bárbara: ABC-CLIO, pp. 430. ISBN 978-0-87436-837-6.
  2. Encina, 1954: 38-41.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Marley pág. 430
  4. Encina, Francisco Antonio (1954). Bolívar y la independencia de la América Española. Emancipación de Quito y Alto y Bajo Perú. Tomo V. Santiago: Nascimiento, pp. 56.
  5. Encina, 1954: 57
  6. Moncayo, Pedro (1885). Ecuador de 1825 a 1875: sus hombres, sus instituciones y sus leyes. Santiago: Rafael Jover editor, pp. 125.
  7. Serrano Wilson, Emilia (1888). Americanos célebres: glorias del Nuevo mundo. I. Tip. de los Suc. de N. Ramírez y c.a. pp. 182. 
  8. Figueroa, Pedro Pablo (1906). Álbum Militar de Chile 1810-1879. Tomo IV. Santiago de Chile: Imprenta Barcelona. pp. 244. https://issuu.com/albedu/docs/figueroa__pedro_pablo_-__lbum__4_._1906. 
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