14 



LORD COCHRANE'S ARRIVAL IN CHILI. 



1st and Hth battalions of Coquimbo, which had 

 already borne the brunt of the action on our right, 

 attacked the enemy so briskly, that they entirely 

 overthrew them and put them to rout. The gates 

 and lanes being occupied by our cavalry, only the 

 commander-in-chief Osorio, and two hundred 

 horse, escaped ; and it is probable that he will not 

 long evade the pursuit of the troops which are in 

 search of him. All the enemy's generals have 

 fallen into our hands ; and, up to this date, we 

 have taken 3000 men and 190 officers ; and on 

 the field of battle lie 2000 killed. All the artil- 

 lery and ammunition, the hospitals and stores, 

 the military chest, and every article it contains 

 — in a word, everything appertaining to the 

 royal army, is either dead, or prisoner, or safe in 

 our power. 



" Our own loss amounts to one thousand killed 

 and wounded. As soon as the returns of their 

 names are received, they shall be transmitted to 

 your Excellency, together with those of the officers 

 most distinguished on this occasion. 



" I have to acknowledge the greatest obligation 

 to Senor General Balcarce, whose talents have 

 materially sustained the army since the very first 

 moment of the campaign. The Adj utant-general 

 Aguirre I may give the same praise ; and the 

 other individuals of my staff, including Don Diego 

 Paroissiens. 



" I am also highly satisfied with the conduct of 

 the chief engineer, Dable, and my aides-de-camp, 

 O 'Brian, Guzman, and Escalada ; and the secre- 

 tary of war, Zenteno, and my own private secre- 

 tary, Marzan. My only regret is, that I cannot 

 do adequate justice to all parties, as it is to their 

 united valour and exertions that the country is 

 indebted for so glorious a day. 



" I entreat that your Excellency will permit the 

 names of the officers who have assisted in this 

 severe and honourable campaign, to be inserted 

 after this despatch. 



" I am aware that it will hurt the modesty of 

 our gallant Supreme Director, Don Bernardo 

 O'Higgins, but I feel it right to mention that his 

 Excelleney, notwithstanding his being severely 

 wounded, having insisted upon being placed on 

 horseback, actually rode to the field, and was in 

 the battle at its conclusion. I grieve, however, to 

 add, that these exertions have aggravated his 

 wound. 



" God protect your Excellency many years, 

 "Jose de San Martin. 



" P.S. The action commenced at 9 in the morn- 

 ing, and ended at sunset. The force of the enemy 

 was 5300 men ; ours was 4900." 



From that day, the 5th of April, Chili may date 

 her complete independence ; for although a small 

 portion of the Spanish troops endeavoured to make 

 a stand at Conception, they were soon driven out, 

 and the country left in the free possession of the 

 Patriots, or, as their expressive language calls 

 them, Hijos del Pays, Sons of the Land. 



Having now time to breathe, the Chilian Go- 

 vernment, aided by that of Buenos Ayres, deter- 

 mined to attack the Royalists in their turn, by 

 Bending an armament against Peru — a great and 

 bold measure, originating with San Martin, who 

 saw that the independence of neither of these 



countries could ever be secure, whilst a great 

 Spanish force maintained itself in their neigh- 

 bourhood, supported by the wealth and resources 

 of Peru. 



Had this expedition sailed at once, there could 

 have been little doubt of its immediate and com- 

 plete success ; Peru, in fact, had been left nearly 

 defenceless, by the efforts she had made to repress 

 the revolutionary spirit of Chili ; and from this 

 exhausted situation she did not recover for some 

 time. Chili, however, and Buenos Ayres, being 

 both, in a great degree, similarly circumstanced, 

 were not at first equal to the great exertions ne- 

 cessary to send out an expedition ; the difficulty 

 of providing ships, arms, and other requisites, and 

 the indolent habits acquired under their former 

 rulers, prevented any real progress being made in 

 the expedition till about March 1820, two years 

 after the battle of Maypo. They had, however, an 

 animating cause before them ; they were quick- 

 ened by success, and strongly stimulated, both by 

 the hopes of securing their independence, and by 

 the dread of again sinking under the ancient 

 yoke. 



The Spanish naval force in the Pacific was at 

 this time considerable ; and although the Chilians 

 had made great exertions to equip a squadron, 

 and had distinguished themselves at sea on more 

 than one occasion, they could not for a long time 

 have gained such a command of the sea-coast as 

 was essential to the grand project above-men- 

 tioned, had not Lord Cochrane, fortunately for 

 the Independent cause, accepted an invitation from 

 the Chilian Government, to take the command of 

 their navy. 



The great influence which Lord Cochrane's 

 renown, his matchless intrepidity, and his inex- 

 haustible resources in war, have had on the fate 

 of those countries, render some account of his pro- 

 ceedings an important part of this sketch. 



His Lordship arrived in Chili in November 1818, 

 when he was immediately appointed commander- 

 in-chief of the squadron. Many English officers, 

 and a great number of English and American sea- 

 men, attracted by the celebrity of his name, and 

 the romantic nature of the cause, eagerly flocked to 

 his standard. By their united exertions the Chi- 

 lian fleet was so greatly increased in numbers and 

 efficiency, that in February, and afterwards in 

 September, 1819, very gallant attacks were made 

 on the batteries and shipping at Callao, which 

 although not followed by any important success, 

 gave practical confidence to the fleet, while it 

 alarmed the Spaniards, by displaying an extent ol 

 naval power of which they had previously no con- 

 ception. His Lordship, after this attack, went to 

 Guayaquil, where he surprised and captured a 

 number of valuable Spanish ships, laden with 

 timber and naval stores. He then sailed from the 

 coast of Peru, apparently with the intention of 

 returning to Valparaiso : instead of which he pro- 

 ceeded, with a celerity and decision perfectly in- 

 comprehensible to his dilatory enemies, to Talcu- 

 huana, the port of Conception, a frontier town of 

 Chili. Here General Freyre, commanding the 

 district, re-inforced his Lordship with a detach- 

 ment of troops, and he sailed for Valdivia, an im- 

 portant and strongly-fortified Spanish town in the 

 south. On the 2d of February 1820, Lord Coch- 

 rane succeeded, by a characteristic combination of 



