Spanish and Portuguese South America during the Colonial Period; Vol. 2 of 2

by Robert Grant Watson

The expedition set out amidst the cheers of the fleet, and on Sunday, the 28th of June, the troops disembarked at the small port of Enseñada, forty-eight miles south of Buenos Ayres. Why a spot so distant from the city should have been selected it is not easy to imagine; but this was in accordance with all the subsequent proceedings of the general. Their landing was unopposed by the Spaniards, who, of course, anticipated that it would be effected nearer the town, probably at Quilmes, where Beresford had set foot. Without loss of time the advanced guard, under General Levison Gower, the second in command, was en route, and it was followed by the main body of the army, which marched without opposition to Quilmes. So far, notwithstanding the low marshy ground and the immense bogs and lakes which intervene between Enseñada and Buenos Ayres, all went well, and it seemed scarcely possible to anticipate any but a favourable result of the enterprise. As no communication could be kept between the naval and land forces, the army had to encumber itself with the immense load of provisions necessary for the subsistence of ten thousand men during one week. For hours together the men were up to their middle in water, their artillery being often swamped in the marshes. Their provisions were scanty and wet; nor was there any shelter from the intense cold, even the supply of wine and spirits running short. The troops marched through a desert, the inhabitants having vanished, together with their horses and cattle.

Buenos Ayres was no longer the timid colonial city which Beresford had found it. The president of the municipality was Señor Alzaga, an energetic partisan of the King, and who carried great authority in the city, where his fortune placed him in the front rank. The people were armed. The national battalions were animated by the best spirit. Liniers, always brave, had now to sustain his high reputation and to win from the Crown the confirmation of the title which he had received from the people. Their past success gave both chief and soldiers confidence. They had seen what street-fighting was, and Whitelocke and his men would have to run the gauntlet of armed streets before reaching the fort.

Such was the spirit by which the colonial forces were animated, when, on the 1st of July, General Whitelocke reached the village of Quilmes, fifteen miles to the south of the town. A force of six thousand eight hundred and fifty men, with fifty-three guns, marched out of the town to defend the passage of the Riochuelo. On the succeeding night the two armies were encamped, respectively, on either bank of the stream which separated them. Next morning at daybreak the Spaniards were drawn up in battle order, anticipating an attack from the enemy; but General Gower, after having exchanged some shots, moved his troops to the left, with the intention of passing the Riochuelo, three miles higher up. Liniers followed his movement, but he did not arrive in time to interfere with his effecting the passage. He, however, succeeded in placing himself between the enemy and the town, near the Miserere, on the south-west of the city.

A combat now took place between the Creole militia and the brigade of General Crawford; but the discipline of the English troops and their great superiority in artillery quickly decided the day in their favour. The Creoles abandoned the field, leaving the whole of their artillery behind. The colonial force then became divided into two bodies. The cavalry, passing the English left, gained the plains. Liniers, who now gave up the town for lost, following the horsemen, gave them orders to rendezvous at Chacharita, a well-known farm three miles to the English rear. This was a wise measure on the part of the general; for had these fugitives entered the town they would doubtless have added to the dismay of the citizens, whilst from this position he could still annoy the English. The infantry took refuge in Buenos Ayres, where the general feeling had now undergone considerable revulsion. The night was cold and wet; the fugitives, worn out by the fatigues of the preceding day, were exhausted and beaten; the general was absent, no one knew where.

And here was renewed the series of infatuated mistakes committed by General Whitelocke. Instead of pursuing the broken enemy and taking advantage of their panic, he allowed them a night of repose, during which the energy of Alzaga was able in a great measure to repair the disastrous effects of the rout of Miserere. The chief of the municipality had not allowed himself to be carried away by the despair of the troops in the absence of the governor; he rather felt stimulated to increased energy. By his orders the soldiers were carefully tended in the municipality and in the barracks, and were cheered with the hope of better fortune in the future. Alzaga likewise caused ditches to be dug in the streets round the principal parade, facing the fort. He also sent messengers to Liniers, who, making a long detour,

succeeded in throwing himself into the town together with his horsemen.

On the morning of the 2nd of July, Buenos Ayres was already in a state of defence. The troops were distributed on the roofs of the churches, on the terraces of the houses, and on the balconies; whilst some pieces of artillery were put in position behind the ditches and behind the barricades which had been erected round the parade and round an open space called the Retiro. Thus when General Gower, who led the advanced guard, summoned the town to surrender, the aspect of affairs was entirely changed from that of the preceding evening; confidence had succeeded discouragement, and good hopes were entertained of yet saving the town. Alzaga replied, that he would not listen to any proposition for the surrender of the garrison.

Under these circumstances the English had to consider their mode of attack, and they employed the following day in making their preparations. On the 4th, the garrison made a sortie, and compelled their assailants to abandon some houses in the suburbs where they had taken shelter. There was also a slight encounter between the 88th regiment and one of mulattoes. The result of these two slight affairs did not fail to encourage the Spaniards.