Then he began his fight with the royalists in the land of Nueva Granada. At this time he had no horses and his men had had to abandon most of the provisions and ammunition. While in these straits, he learned that a royalist army of 5,000 well disciplined men was approaching. Bolívar had three days only in which to get ready, but at the end of that short period he had arms and horses provided and his men prepared to fight. Then he attacked the enemy, at first by the system of guerrillas and later in formal battle, in which his genius succeeded in defeating the disciplined strength of his foes. On entering the emancipated cities he was received with the greatest enthusiasm and acclaimed as their liberator. New recruits joined him everywhere.
These pitched battles would receive greater mention in history were it not for the fact that another one took place almost immediately afterwards which, by its magnitude and its results, made the others sink to a secondary place. The royalists took position in a place called Boyacá. They were commanded by Barreiro, and formed the vanguard of the army of the viceroy Sámano. Bolívar attacked them with an army only two-thirds their size and was victorious. Among the independents was José Antonio Anzoátegui, a major general, who fought like a hero and succeeded in breaking the stubborn resistance of the enemy. Death spared him on the field of battle, but his glorious career ended a few days after the victory of Boyacá, following a short illness. He was thirty years old. A member of a very distinguished family, his culture was brilliant, his character was pure, his loyalty and patriotism were unsurpassed. His loss was equivalent to a great defeat. Barreiro, the commander of the royalists, fell prisoner to Bolívar's troops. This battle occurred on August 7, 1819, and was not only a complete victory for the forces of independence, but also meant practically the end of the Spanish régime in Nueva Granada.
Regarding the crossing of the Andes and the victory of Boyacá, J.E. Rodó
(Uruguayan), one of the greatest thinkers of recent years, says:
"Other crossings of mountains may have been more adroit and more exemplary strategy; none so audacious, so heroic and legendary. Twenty-five hundred men climb the eastern slope of the range, and a smaller number of specters descends the other side; these specters are those of the men who were strong in body and soul, for the weak ones remained in the snow, in the torrents, on the heights where the air is not sufficient for human breasts. And with those specters of survivors, the victory of Boyacá was obtained."[1]
One of the elements required for the upbuilding of Colombia—the independence of Nueva Granada, was created by the victory of Boyacá. This was by its effects the greatest triumph of Bolívar up to that moment. The Liberator advanced to Bogotá and was received there in a frenzy of admiration and love.
The whole march and campaign lasted 75 days. This is the time a man would require to traverse the distance covered; but it was completed by an army, fighting against nature and man, and conquering both. Immediately after the triumph of Boyacá, Bolívar sent troops to the different sections of Nueva Granada, and felt the satisfaction of repaying this country for what she had done when she placed in his hands the army with which he first achieved the freedom of Venezuela. In Bogotá, he obtained money and other[1] very important resources with which to continue the war in Venezuela. As elsewhere, he used his marvelous activity in the work of organization, and in conducting his armies on the field of battle. A great assembly of the most prominent men of Bogotá conferred upon him the title of Liberator of Nueva Granada, and bestowed the same title on all the men composing his army, each one of whom also received a cross of honor called the Cross of Boyacá. A Vice-President of Nueva Granada was appointed, General Francisco de Paula Santander, the man who had organized the troops which Bolívar joined when he invaded the viceroyalty. Bolívar considered all the inhabitants as citizens of Colombia, without asking questions about their previous conduct, and issued passports to those who cared to depart.
[Footnote 1: J.E. Rodó—Bolívar.]
After Boyacá, the campaigns of Bolívar were very swift, very successful and on a very different footing from his past campaigns. His enemies henceforth had to give up calling him the chieftain of rebels and bandits, and to treat him as an equal. He, however, by word and act showed to the world that he was not their equal, but very far their superior. After Boyacá "victory is always true, and grows, and spreads as the waters of a flood, and from peak to peak of the Andes, each mountain is a milestone of triumph."[1]
[Footnote 1: J.E. Rodó—Bolívar.]
The royalists retreated from Bogotá, and Sámano fled to Cartagena. As for
Bolívar, he soon returned to Venezuela, leaving the business of Nueva
Granada in the hands of Santander, recommending him to respect the rights
of everyone, because, as he said, "Justice is the foundation of the
Republic."