690 



PAKAGUAY. 



the Argentine Eepublic of an intention to join 

 the alliance, it did not wait for a formal decla- 

 ration of -war, but seized, in the first days of 

 April, the Argentine vessel Salto, in the Para- 

 guay River, near Assuncion. A few days later 

 a Paraguayan army invaded the Argentine ter- 

 ritory. On April 13th it captured two Argen- 

 tine vessels in the port of Corrientes, and on 

 April 14th occupied the city of Corrientes, where 

 it appointed a provisional Government, consist- 

 ing of three citizens of Corrientes. OnApril 1 6th 

 the Argentine Eepublic declared war against 

 Paraguay, which was followed, on April 18th, 

 by a declaration of war against the Argentine 

 Bepublic by the national Congress of Para- 

 guay. 



In the first days of June the city of Cor- 

 rientes was recaptured by Gen. Paunero's Ar- 

 gentine Brigade, assisted by the Brazilian fleet 

 and a small body of their infantry and artillery. 

 The loss on both sides was considerable for the 

 number in action, the allies losing two hundred 

 and fifty out of eight hundred, and the Para- 

 guayans about four hundred out of twelve or 

 fifteen hundred, few prisoners being taken, and 

 those mostly wounded. Three cannon, some 

 arms and munitions, and a flag were captured 

 from the Paraguayans. The victory had, how- 

 ever, little value, as, from want of supplies and 

 sufficient force, no attempt was made to use the 

 town as a basis, and it was evacuated on the 

 following day, the Argentines returning to Es- 

 quina, and the Brazilian fleet proceeding to 

 Tres Bocas to blockade the Paraguay, merely 

 leaving a gunboat to watch Corrientes. 



On the 10th of June the Paraguayans, to the 

 number of eight thousand men, under Gen. 

 Lagruna, with their baggage and artillery in the 

 front, marched toward the passage of San Borja, 

 on the Uruguay River, and launching nineteen 

 flat-bottomed boats they had brought on carts, 

 put on board twenty-five or thirty men and 

 rowers on each, who crossed over, under cover 

 of four pieces of cannon, which opened fire on 

 the small force of one hundred and fifty Bra- 

 zilians on the Rio Grande side of the Uruguay 

 and dislodged them, forcing them to withdraw 

 toward San Borja. By 1 1 o'clock the Paraguay- 

 ans had five thousand men and six pieces of ar- 

 tillery on the Brazilian side, and pressed heavily 

 on the Brazilians, who had been reinforced by 

 the first battalion of volunteers and two hun- 

 dred cavalry, and were drawn up with two 

 pieces of cannon in the centre, in front of the 

 little village of San Borja. Here a stand was 

 made, but the Brazilians were overpowered and 

 driven within the village, which, finding it hope- 

 less to resist the superior force brought against 

 them, they soon abandoned, retiring to Itu. 

 The Brazilian loss was eighteen killed and 

 twenty-nine wounded ; and the Paraguayans 

 lost heavily in the first detachment while cross- 

 ing. 



On July llth they entered Itaquy, and on 

 July 19th, 20th, and 21st they crossed the river 

 Jbicuy without opposition, and occupied Uru- 



guyana, an important Brazilian to\vn on the 

 Uruguay. 



President Lopez, at this time, issued a decree, 

 annexing the Argentine province of Corrientes 

 to Paraguay, "in order," as he says, " to pre- 

 serve the equilibrium of the Plate." All arms, 

 horses, cattle, and woollen and cotton goods 

 were declared articles of war, and as such ap- 

 propriated by him for the army. 



On June llth a severe naval engagement 

 took place, some three leagues below the city 

 of Corrientes, at the mouth of the Eiachuelo, 

 between the Paraguayan fleet, which came 

 down the Parana River, and the Brazilian fleet. 

 The Paraguayan fleet was composed of eight 

 steamers, the Tacuari, Paraguary, Marquez de 

 Olinda, Ipora, Ibera, Salto, and Jejuy, and six 

 flat-boats mounting sixty-eight or eighty pound- 

 ers. They also had a battery of forty rifled 

 cannon of heavy calibre, from which they 

 poured continued volleys of Congrevo rockets, 

 grape, etc. Their fleet carried boarding crews, 

 mustering seventeen hundred men, and the 

 land batteries were manned by two thousand 

 horse and foot. The Brazilian fleet consisted 

 of the Amazonas (eight guns), Jequitinhonha 

 (eight guns), Belmonte (eight guns), Araguary 

 (seven guns), Ignatemy (seven guns), Paranahiba 

 (eight guns), Beberibe (seven guns), Ypiranga 

 (six guns), Mearini (seven guns). The battle 

 lasted from 9.30 A. M. to 6 p. M. The attack 

 was begun by the Paraguayans, the Tacuari 

 and Marquez de Olinda boarding the Parana- 

 hiba, and the Salto attacking the same vessel 

 on the poop. A boarding party leaped on 

 deck and soon were masters of all the aft 

 part of the vessel, while a Paraguayan officer 

 seized the helm and gave orders to the engi- 

 neers. At the same time the Brazilian flag was 

 hauled down, and the steamer all but captured, 

 when the Amazonas came to her assistance and 

 overpowered the assailants, recovering the Para- 

 nahiba and sinking the Salto. The Tacuari 

 and Olinda drew off, but the latter went 

 aground, and was immediately abandoned. The 

 fight between the Amazonas and the three 

 Paraguayan steamers was desperate and san- 

 guinary, the former capturing the commanders 

 of the Olinda and Salto ; and Admiral Messa, 

 of the Tacuari, was severely wounded in a 

 hand-to-hand conflict. At this moment the 

 Paraguary ran aground, being pursued by the 

 Araguary, and burned by the Brazilians. But 

 the imperial gunboat Jequitinhonha met with a 

 like misfortune, and was abandoned after a se- 

 vere conflict with the batteries. After the lo^s 

 of the Salto, Olinda, and Paraguary, the Para- 

 guayans got disheartened, and the Amazonas 

 succeeded in sinking the Jejuy and taking five 

 flat-boats (the other being sunk), the rest of 

 the fleet beat a precipitate retreat, the only 

 vessels escaping being the Tacuari, Ipora, and 

 Ibera. At six p. M. the battle was over, and the 

 Brazilian fleet master of the day, having only 

 lost one vessel. But the carnage was unpre- 

 cedented, the loss of the Paraguayans being far 



