Feb.] 



chronicle:. 



19 



protected by its fortifications, 

 \vhich for many days will not be 

 able to resist the vigorous siege 

 which we immediately established. 



General Morillo, surprised in 

 the midst of immense plains by 

 an army that had just come off a 

 march of 300 leagues ; General 

 Morillo, routed for the first time 

 that in America he has drawn his 

 sword, without at least bringing 

 on a general action, but now not 

 even waiting for the fire of our 

 fusiliers ; this same general Mo- 

 rillo now saw himself compelled 

 to fly, almost alone, from the field 

 of battle, having escaped from 

 two of our lancers, only through 

 the interposition of two of his 

 hussars, who fell by his side ; that 

 General Morillo, in short, who 

 lias so long outraged humanity 

 by styling himself the Pacificator 

 of South America, was, as it were 

 in a moment, shut up in the centre 

 of the Venezuelan plains, owing 

 to his own want of skill, and the 

 extraordinary celerity of our 

 movements. Such is the inter- 

 esting spectacle the action at 

 Calabozo offers to the military 

 world. 



The remainder of the enemy's 

 forces are already cut off from 

 the town, and ours have marched 

 on to meet them in every direc- 

 tion. Thus has the fate of our 

 republic been decided, without 

 having run the danger of a single 

 battle. 



17. Bulletin of the Liberating 

 Army. — General Morillo being 

 shut up in the town of Calabozo, 

 after the complete rout he expe- 

 tieuced on the 12th, the Liberat- 

 ing Army took up the most 

 advantageous positions round, in 

 order to blockade the enemy, and 



cut off his supplies. Our head- 

 quarters were established in the 

 town of Rastro, The enemy, on 

 the 14th, was compelled to aban- 

 don Calabozo, and this he did at 

 12 in the night, with such preci- 

 pitation, that he left in our power 

 the whole of his artillery, a large 

 quantity of muskets and ammuni- 

 tion, his hospitals, stores, &c. 

 He moved towards the town of 

 Sombrero by the most mountain- 

 ous road ; but his movement 

 having been observed before 

 mornmg by our advanced posts, 

 the army was ordered to march 

 on in pursuit of him. On the 

 15th, at 4< in the afternoon, a 

 squadron of cavalry belonging ta 

 the vanguard came up with the 

 Spanish column in the plain of 

 Auriosa, broke through the small 

 body of cavalry with which the 

 enemy covered his rear, and 

 obliged him to halt, continuing 

 to call his attention so as to give 

 time for the army to come up ; 

 but night came before a single 

 division of infantry an'ived, and 

 the enemy, under cover of it and 

 the surrounding thickets, was 

 enabled to resume his march* 

 Many dead and wounded, besides 

 more than 200 prisoners of the 

 various Spanish regiments, were 

 the result of the rencontre of our 

 van with the whole of the Spanish 

 column on this afternoon* The 

 pursuit was continued duiing the 

 whole of the evening, and in the 

 following morning of the 16th we 

 again came up with the enemy at 

 the ford of the river Guarico, near 

 the town of Sombrero, where the 

 hussars of our vanguard, who 

 ever since the break of day had 

 been pressing on his rear, obliged 

 him to stop. The enemy's posi- 

 C 2 tioft 



