Some speculated that the cold reception of the Legion in the towns of Buenos Aires had discouraged Lavalle. Others maintained that their family was in danger in the city, becoming hostages of the regime. And some, the most fanciful, said that the specter of Dorrego was haunting him…
It is true that before giving the order to retreat, Lavalle had slept in the same room in Navarro where he wrote the fatal sentence, but from there to talking about ghosts was another topic.
The truth is that they had to retrace their path and head to Santa Fe, where they could receive orders from Montevideo to continue the campaign. On that journey, the Legion’s discipline relaxed even more and the entire path to its objective was plagued by irregularities. Entire regiments would disappear for days and rejoin the Legion with the fruits of their misdeeds.
The city of Santa Fe fell without much resistance. The general Eugenio Garzónthe leader of the plaza, surrendered without a fight. The superiority was overwhelming.
His life and that of his officers was respected despite his close relationship with General Oribe, former president of Uruguay, who had been dismissed by Fruitful Rivera.
Forced to expatriate, Oribe placed himself under the orders of Juan Manuel de Rosaswho not only recognized his rank as general, but also named him head of the army of almost ten thousand men that marched in Lavalle’s footsteps.
While in Santa Fe, Lavalle received the news that Araoz de Lamadrid He had revolted in Tucumán, taking leadership of the Northern Coalition, and was marching towards Córdoba to join forces with the Legion.
Together, with a formidable army, they planned to defeat Oribe’s army and attack Buenos Aires. The unitary generals agreed to meet on November 20 at the Romero post, Córdoba.
When the Legion was about to abandon Santa Fe, many residents expressed their desire to join Lavalle’s men for fear of reprisals. The general well knew that these people would hinder the march but he could not ignore that leaving them to their fate was like murdering them in cold blood.
The Legion left Santa Fe followed by a caravan of civilians that snaked through the desert, followed closely by federal guerrillas who forced the Legion to form in battle order to scare away the intruders.
These clashes further hindered the march.
After a few days with no news about Lavalle and his people, Lamadrid decided to leave, without sending a single message to coordinate a new meeting place and date. When the Legion reached its destination, it found no trace of its allies. Stung by the federal guerrillas, Lavalle decided to go to the Quebracho Herrado post.
Before leaving, a letter addressed to the general, written by Captain Halley – a French naval officer who enjoyed Lavalle’s friendship – was presented to the camp. In this letter he informed him that France was abandoning the cause of the Unitarians and offered him safe conduct to the place to be determined, in addition to financial compensation. Lavalle simply tore up the letter; He couldn’t retrace his steps. He only limited himself to writing to Lamadrid informing him that he would wait for him in Quebracho Herrado and strongly asking him to have fresh horses.
Oribe’s troops were hot on his heels, and Lavalle, to speed up the pace, forced the civilians to leave behind all belongings that were not strictly necessary, as they hindered the march. The desert was littered with furniture, chairs and tables, as if it were a shipwreck.
The guerrillas were getting so close to the Legion camp that, on November 28, Lavalle was forced to fight with 1,600 infantry under the orders of Colonel Pedro Diazan officer of long experience who had served under the orders of Saint Martinand 4,500 cavalry under the command of Niceto Vega and Colonel Vilela.
The horse was exhausted due to poor pasture and lack of water; There were barely 4,000 horses left of the 20,000 they had when they left Buenos Aires. This proved fatal because the charge of the unitary cavalry, which attacked the left flank, was left without the strength to advance as soon as the battle began. To make matters worse, the Legion’s artillery had lost its explosives during the march, so it was almost unable to operate.
The charge of the federal cavalry was forceful, and Lavalle was on the verge of being taken prisoner, saved at the last moment by the actions of Colonel Niceto Vega.. The general was able to save himself with what he was wearing.
The stubborn defense of Díaz’s infantry was praised even by Oribe himself. Colonel Hilario Lagos guaranteed the lives of Díaz and his man if they surrendered. They did so, but a long march to their prison awaited them, where they would spend several years confined. Díaz eventually joined Rosas’ army and fought in Caseros against his former allies.
Thus concluded for Lavalle the Battle of Quebracho Herradowith the loss of 1,500 men killed and wounded. Oribe only had to regret a hundred losses.
When Lavalle found himself in Uncle with Lamadridthe recriminations were mutual, and since then misunderstandings reigned that forced them to act separately, without the coordination of their leaders, which precipitated the final defeat after a unitary “contradanza” that led them to a series of confrontations with the federal forces in Cuyo and the provinces of northwestern Argentina, until the death of Lavalle in his flight to Bolivia.
If it had not been for this defeat and the conflictive relationship between the unitary leaders, the history of the Confederation would have been different.
Bartolome Miter He dedicated these verses to defeat of Quebracho Herradoa way to give literary flight to a drive full of errors and without meaning.
Creating lead and shrapnel
Has prostrated eminent patriots
Burn your chest in sacred fire
And sing the noble song of war
Source: Ambito
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