Battle of Cuchilla del Tambo

The Battle of La Cuchilla del Tambo was fought during the Colombian War of Independence, fought between the Republican troops of New Granada and the expeditionary force of the Spanish crown who came to reconquer its former colony. It took place on 29 June 1816, at a place called La cuchilla del Tambo (the ridge of El Tambo), in the vicinity of the town of Popayán (in the south of the present-day Colombia). The Republican troops were completely defeated by the Royalist army. This triumph ended the First Republic of New Granada and completed the Spanish reconquest of New Granada.

Background
The United Provinces of New Granada had declared its independence from Spain in 1811, and by 1815 controlled large parts of present-day Colombia. But in 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, the restored King Ferdinand VII of Spain had sent a large fleet under command of Pablo Morillo to restore order in the colonies and destroy the Republic.

Pablo Morillo and his veteran troops besieged and straved in to submission the major port city of Cartagena de Indias between 26 August and 6 December 1815. Spanish Brigadier Sebastián de la Calzada and his 5th Division was sent south and, after defeating the Patriot troops at the battles of Bálaga and Cachirí, occupied the capital Santafé de Bogotá on 6 May 1816.

The Republicans now only controlled the area around the cities of Popayán and Cali, but were attacked from 3 sides. From Quito and Peru, Royalist forces were sent north to Pasto for a major offensive against Popayán. They were commanded by Juan de Sámano, who established his headquarters in Pasto. At the same time, from Cartagena de Indias, Pablo Morillo advanced south at the head of his expeditionary force. To the east, Bogota and the center of the country were occupied by the Spanish generals La Torre and Calzada.

In May 1816, Sámano left Pasto towards Popayán and camped with 1,400 men on the cuchilla del Tambo. During this time, the Republican troops were based in Popayán under the command of General José María Cabal, but he is replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel Liborio Mejía for being over-cautious. The new commander of the Patriot troops now took the bold decision to attack the Royalist forces rather than surrender.

The Battle
On 29 June 1816, Liborio Mejía and his 770 men attacked the Royalist troops commanded by Brigadier Juan de Sámano. The Spanish troops were numerically superior and positioned high up on a slope of the Cuchilla del Tambo, and protected by artillery. The Republican troops fought fiercely for 3 hours but were easily kept at bay by enemy fire. They were finally surrounded and forced to surrender, with only Mejía and a few men managing to escape. At the end of the fighting, the battlefield was littered with 250 dead Patriots, while Sámano took 300 prisoners and recovered all the Patriots' war material.

Consequences
On 1 July 1816, Sámano's army took possession of Popayán. Among the prisoners made there was the soldier José Hilario López, who is condemned to death but was providentially saved. Lopez would become President of Colombia between 1849 and 1853. The forerunner to the independence of Ecuador Carlos de Montúfar was not so lucky: he was captured, sentenced to death in Buga and executed shortly after.

Mejía fled with his last supporters to La Plata. It all ended on 10 July, when the Royalist commander Carlos Tolrá attacked the Patriot positions at La Plata and captured President Mejía. He was transferred to Bogotá, where on 3 September 1816, Mejía was executed for treason.

The victory of the Cuchilla del Tambo was decisive for the career of Juan de Sámano. As a reward for his victory, Pablo Morillo named him General commander of New Granada, with as capital Santafé de Bogotá. Sámano arrived there on 23 October 1816.

The rout of the Republicans at the Cuchilla del Tambo put a definitive end to the First Republic of New Granada. The Spanish Reconquest of New Granada was then completed, with the exception of a few areas in the Casanare Province which remained under the control of the Republicans led by Francisco de Paula Santander.

Links

 * El Pais
 * Radio Nacional de Colombia
 * Venelogia