SECOND RIFLE BATTALION. 493 



which gave liberty to that important de- 

 partment of Colombia; in this last action 

 it was again commanded by Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Mackintosh. The few surviving 

 officers, not exceeding five or six, and the 

 men not exceeding thirty, having passed 

 from one sea to the other, and assisted in 

 the liberation of the whole of Colombia, 

 petitioned the Liberator to be allowed to 

 retire, few being without scars, and all 

 bearing various decorations of honour, as 

 testimonials of the services rendered to the 

 state. This was readily granted, and pen- 

 sions given to those who had suffered, 

 either by wounds or in constitution ; and 

 thus this battalion ceased to exist as soon 

 as Colombia was no longer in want of its 

 services. 



In justice to General Bolivar, it must be 

 observed, that during the campaign of 1819, 

 he did every thing in his power to alleviate 

 the sufferings of the English ; and the day 



