24hoursworld

The battle of Sarandí on October 12, 1825: the happy fate with oppressive blood

Lecor, the Brazilian general, sent from Montevideo a thousand men under the command of Colonel Bento Manuel Ribeiro to join the troops of Bento Gonçalves. Lavalleja aware of this maneuver, tried to avoid the encounter and beat the forces separately, which was impossible for him. Faced with the threat, Lavalleja gathered his army, two thousand men in total, and everything was gambled for everything on the banks of the Sarandí stream, on October 12, 1825.

All the officers who fought for the liberation of the Cisplatina province were present there. Pablo Zufriategui on the right, Rivera in command of the left wing and the center under command of Manuel Oribe. Leandro Olivera ran the reserve. They seconded them Bernabé Rivera, Gregorio Pérez, Quesada, Francisco Osorio and Anacleto Medina (“The Indian”, the legendary officer who had saved Delfina, Pancho Ramírez’s lover when he gave his life trying to rescue her from Estanislao López’s men).

Rivera confused the enemy by crossing the river. The Imperials halted their march and changed flank, striking the center under Oribe’s command with such force that he fell back. Lavalleja’s timely attack in front of his eastern Argentines, with the slogan “Carbine on the back, saber in hand”, managed to reject the Portuguese advance. It was then that Rivera and Oribe consulted Bento Gonçalves and the forces of the center. Lavalleja, in turn, launched his reserve troops, gambling the battle in this maneuver.

The bewildered Imperials engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand fight. Spears and sabers collided in the open. The Uruguayans fought with all the verve of their convictions. The battle became a joust of champions. Each soldier individually fought with the enemy, imposing his strength and courage. Faced with imminent defeat, the Brazilian commanders crossed the torrential Yi River in a raft that they immediately destroyed so that they could not reach them.

The victory was complete… or almost, because some three hundred Imperials fled and Rivera got ready to catch up with them. It was necessary to capture the enemy to end the war. Rivera approached the Brazilians and separated by the river, shouting: “Call a boss I want to talk to him”. In the other side, Bento Manuel Ribeiro He replied that he was not willing to accept the proposal to surrender and without wasting any more time he continued on his way. Despite the weariness of the horse and the hunger of the men, Rivera pursued the fleeing Imperials. It was necessary to apprehend the fugitives to complete the victory, but this proved impossible. The bodies did not resist, the will was weakened. The Brazilians escaped, leaving 400 dead in the camp, 470 prisoners in addition to 52 officers, more weapons, cannons and the entire horse. Juan Lavalleja He left this recorded in the written part the day after this great victory. It was the beginning of the end of the Portuguese rule over the Banda Oriental, the beginning of the campaign of these eastern Argentines that would culminate in Ituzaingó.

The news of the victory immediately reached Buenos Aires, where the poet Juan Cruz Varela placeholder image He dedicated a passionate poem to him:

Day of salvation and complement!

You already woke up in Sarandí, oriental

What genius inspired you?

What genius came to write the annals of the free man

and their happy fate with the blood of oppressors?

researcher of history and art and author of the Historia Hoy site.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts