Lord Cochrane and a great number of the officers again ascended the hill at the back of the house, and his lordship afterwards requesting a private conference with San Martin, (which was the last time he ever spoke with him) he assured him that it was not too late to attack the enemy; he begged and entreated that the opportunity might not be lost, and offered himself to lead the cavalry; but to all this he only received the cold reply, "I alone am responsible for the liberties of Peru, yo solo soy responsable de la libertad del Peru;" when the Protector retired to an inner apartment of the house, to enjoy his customary ciesta, afternoon nap, which was however disturbed by General las Heras, who came to receive orders, and inform his excellency that the army was still under arms. San Martin observing that it was four o'clock, the supper hour for his soldiers, ordered that they should receive their rations.
When San Martin assured Lord Cochrane that "he alone was responsible for the liberty of Peru," his lordship, convinced that any future attempt would be attended with the same success, mounted his horse; but Captain Crosbie, still hoping that something would take place, requested permission to remain at head quarters, which being granted, we rode down to Boca Negra, and embarked.
The British ship of war the Superb was at this time in the bay of Callao, and several of the officers, expecting to see the decisive blow struck in Peru, repaired to San Martin's head quarters, and were astounded at the coolness of a general, who, commanding twelve thousand men, should first abandon a favourable position in which he might have intercepted the march of the Spaniards, and then see an enemy composed of three thousand two hundred men pass without any hinderance, nay, without a single shot being fired, or without one attempt being made to bring them to action.
After Cantarac had led his troops into the batteries of Callao, in a manner that would have done honour to a Napoleon, the rejoicing was announced by the firing of guns, and other demonstrations, which would have harassed the soul of any leader, excepting that of the prudent San Martin. The American army marched to their old camp at the Legua, between Lima and Callao.
On the morning of the eleventh, Don Fernando Maso, who had been permitted by Lord Cochrane to land at Callao from the English brig Colonel Allen, came on board the O'Higgins, and asked his lordship, "if on the preceding day he had observed some officers on the huacas?" "Yes," returned his lordship. "They were," said Maso, "General Cantarac and his two edecans." Thus it was evident, that had the admiral rode up to them, as he at first intended, he would in all probability have been taken prisoner, for neither himself nor any one with him had any other arms than their swords. On the evening of the eleventh Lord Cochrane received an official communication from San Martin, stating, "I have taken such measures, that not one of the enemy can escape; by shutting themselves up in the batteries of Callao, they have delivered themselves up to me, and not one of them shall escape." But, to the surprise of all unacquainted with the consummate prudence of the Protector, Cantarac left the batteries on the seventeenth early in the morning, and having crossed the Rimac, marched without any molestation into the interior; nothing was done or attempted, except that eight hundred men were ordered to follow him and harass his rear, and protect such soldiers as might desert.
Thus General Cantarac, with three thousand two hundred men, passed to the southward of Lima, in sight of the protecting army of Peru, composed of twelve thousand, entered the batteries of Callao, where he refreshed and rested his troops for six days, and then retired, taking with him arms and treasure, and retreating with his booty on the north side of Lima, leaving the victorious San Martin to publish the following proclamation, which appeared in the ministerial gazette on the nineteenth:
"It is now fifteen days since the liberating army left the capital, resolved not to permit that even the shadow of the Spanish flag should again darken the illustrious city of Lima. The enemy haughtily descended the mountains, filled with the calculations they had formed in their ignorant meditations; they fancied, that to come and to view our camp was enough to conquer us; but they found valour armed with prudence; they acknowledged their inferiority; they trembled at the idea of the hour of battle, and profited by the hour of darkness; [from eleven to three o'clock in the day!] and they sought an asylum in Callao. My army began its march, and at the end of eight days of uncertainty, the enemy has had to fly precipitately, convinced of their impotency to try the fortune of war, or to remain in the position which they held.
"The desertion which they experience ensures us, that, before they reach the mountains, there will only exist a handful of men, terrified and confounded with the remembrance of the colossal power which they had a year ago, and which has now disappeared like the fury of the waves of the sea at the dawn of a serene morning. The liberating army pursues the fugitives; they shall be dissolved or beaten. At all events the capital of Peru shall never be profaned with the footsteps of the enemies of America: this truth is peremptory: the Spanish empire is at end for ever: Peruvians, your destiny is irrevocable; consolidate it by the constant exercise of those virtues which you have shewn in the epoch of conflicts. You are independent, and nothing can prevent your being happy, if you will it so to be. San Martin."
It would be an act of injustice not to mention here, that General las Heras, wounded to the very soul at the conduct of San Martin, which cannot possibly bear any other epithet than that of cowardice, left the service of Peru, or rather of the Protector of Peru, and requested his passport to Chile, which was granted. His example was followed by several officers of the army, who, disgusted with what had taken place, preferred obscurity, and even poverty, to that odious title which every true soldier and patriot detests.
Had the force under General Cantarac been attacked, it must have been beaten: the inferiority of it in every point, except discipline, ensured success to the patriot arms: these were treble the number of the enemy, fresh, vigorous, and enthusiastic; enjoying the opportunity of choosing the most advantageous positions, and in sight of the capital of the country, whose liberty they had sworn to defend; while the Spanish division was harassed with a long march, without any personal incitement, and nothing before them but the prospect of a few days' rest, and a return to the interior, in which they knew, that beside the ground they trod on, no one in that part of the globe acknowledged their domination, or obeyed their commands. If it be asked, who is blameable for this dereliction of duty to the cause of American liberty? I must answer, San Martin! The Spaniards themselves confess, that had the division under Cantarac been destroyed on the tenth of September, they should have lost all hopes of re-conquering the country, and should have immediately negociated in the most honourable terms possible for themselves, and abandoned America. Consequently, the torrents of blood which have been shed in Peru since the tenth of September, 1821; the miseries and privations of thousands in that portion of the new world; the disaffection of the natives to the just cause of their country, and their services to their Spanish leaders; the necessity of an army from Colombia to save Peru from an ignominious subjection to her ancient oppressors; all owe their origin to the success of the Spanish division on this day, which, although they obtained no decisive victory, accomplished the object which brought them from the interior.