MORALES. 519 



go, who commanded on the side of Coro ; 

 the Colonel was taken prisoner, and his 

 troops suffered severely. 



This advantage, however, being now, in 

 that quarter, of no use to the royalists, Mo- 

 rales embarked with his troops in July, on 

 board the Spanish frigate Ligera, the brig of 

 war Hercules, and nine transports ; and sail- 

 ing from Coro, arrived shortly afterwards at 

 Puerto Cabello. On the 3d of August, he 

 marched from thence, at the head of two 

 thousand men, against Valencia and Carac- 

 cas ; but being met on the heights of Birgi- 

 rama by General Paez, with a considerable 

 force, Morales was completely defeated, and 

 but few of his troops escaped. On the 5th, 

 four hundred royalists landed at Ocumare ; 

 but after a severe action with a body of pa- 

 triots, and losing half their force, the re- 

 mainder surrendered. 



Thus, in an almost incredibly short pe- 

 riod, the apparently formidable superiority 

 of the Spaniards was utterly annihilated ; 



