Jan.] SURRENDER OF CALLAO. 243 



CHAPTER IX. 



Surrender of the Castles of Callao, by General Rodil, to the Patriots — Dreadful 

 Effects of the Siege — General Quintanilla surrenders the Island ofChiloe — Visit 

 the Ruins of Pachamcamac, a magnificent Temple of the Sun — Homeward- 

 bound — Strait of Magellan — Two Excursions into the Interior — Entertained 

 by a Tribe of Patagonians — Their Stature and Hospitality — Human Skeletons 

 of a gigantic Size — Touch at the Falkland Islands — A fruitless Search for Island 

 Grande — Arrive at New-York. 



Just as we were entering the roadstead of Chorillos, on the 24th 

 of January, 1826, Callao and its castles, which had been so long and 

 so desperately defended by the gallant Rodil, were surrendered to the 

 patriots by capitulation. The Spanish flag had given place to that of 

 the Peruvian republic ; the gates were thrown open, salutes were fired, 

 and every thing betokened triumph and rejoicing on the part of the 

 patriots. Not so with the skeleton of a garrison which marched out 

 as prisoners of war, although the terms of capitulation which their 

 gallant commander obtained for them were highly favourable. Only 

 three hundred shadows of men remained of three thousand who occu- 

 pied the fortress a short time previous to the commencement of the 

 blockade- They were conquered by famine alone, and displayed 

 through the whole siege a Spartan-like heroism worthy of a better cause. 



I have already stated that the independence of Upper and Lower 

 Peru had been accomplished by the decisive victory of Ayacucho, the 

 result of a desperate battle which was fought on the 9th of December, 

 1824. General Rodil, who commanded the castles of Callao, it will 

 be recollected, refused to surrender according to the articles of capitu- 

 lation, but obstinately defended them for upwards of a year. Being 

 well supplied with stores and ammunition, he rejected every proposal 

 for surrender, and the place continued to be closely invested by sea 

 and land, and was declared by proclamation to be in a state of rigorous 

 blockade when I entered it in the Tartar, as mentioned in Chapter III. 



In the mean time all the foreign shipping on the coast sustained much 

 inconvenience for the want of the fine bay of Callao ; being obliged 

 during the continuance of the siege to discharge their cargoes in the 

 open roadstead of Chorillos, a few miles farther south. Offers of 

 mediation, therefore, were made by the officers of the British squadron 

 on the station, but to no purpose. Rodil still persisted in maintaining 

 the castles without any possible benefit to his country. The Peruvians 

 were therefore obliged still to keep up a large force before Callao, at 

 an immense expense, assisted by a Chilian and Colombian squadron. 



At length, after sustaining a rigorous siege for more than a year, and 

 being reduced to absolute famine, Rodil was compelled to capitulate 

 to the Colombian forces, commanded by General Salon, who had been 

 assisting the Peruvians in driving the troops of Old Spain from the 

 country. At the time of surrender Callao was literally in a state of 



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