Three small vessels were in the first instance obtained—the Hercules, the Zefiro, and the Nancy. The command of these was given to an Irishman, William Brown, who lost no time in displaying his fitness for the post, and who, indeed, played the part of a lesser Cochrane. With his insignificant force he vanquished the Royalist fleet and captured the Island of Martin Garcia and blockaded Montevideo. On land General Alvear took charge of the investing patriot forces. Montevideo could now look for no assistance from the sea, and on June 20, 1814, after having suffered many hardships, the garrison capitulated, and with the collapse of its gallant defence ended the power of Spain in the River Plate.
San Martin was then appointed Governor of Cuyo, with his head-quarters at Mendoza. The situation in general was serious. Outside Argentina and Uruguay the Royalist cause had held its own, and in many districts had triumphed. It was said that the Spanish expedition of 15,000 men was on the eve of embarkation in Europe, and even in the victorious River Plate Provinces dissensions between Artigas, the Uruguayan leader, and rival Generals had resulted in civil war.
It was undoubtedly necessary to obtain some recognition of the Constitution in Europe. To this end Rivadavia and Belgrano proceeded to the Old World and sought the assistance of various countries, particularly that of England. On May 7, 1816, they arrived in Europe. The harassed statesmen of Argentina had, after consideration, decided that the best means of avoiding anarchy was to establish a monarchy. The emissaries of the New World offered the throne to Don Francisco Paulo, an adopted son of King Carlos IV. These negotiations and others which succeeded them broke down and Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires. Rivadavia went to Madrid, where he was not permitted to remain. A little later Belgrano became possessed of the somewhat extraordinary idea of crowning a member of the family of the Incas. This naturally enough met with ridicule, and was rejected.
But this is to anticipate. While all this was occurring, the struggle in Peru had continued to show the fickleness of the fortunes of war. Rondeau had been appointed General-in-Chief of the Army of Peru; he, however, had proved himself a General of slow movements, and suffered several defeats. He also fell out with Guëmes, and a battle ensued between the two sections of the Argentine forces. In this Rondeau once again suffered defeat at the hands of the Gauchos. A belated peace was now made up between the leaders, and Guëmes was suffered to continue his brilliant campaign unchecked.
In 1816 Puyrredon was elected dictator of Argentina, which now took its place as an independent State. The new Republic had now time to look beyond its own frontiers. Its eyes turned first of all to the west, where the Chileans were still struggling against the garrisons of Spain. Events had not favoured the patriots on the western side of the Andes, and a number of the most prominent men had fled eastwards to Argentina, O'Higgins and many others establishing themselves at the town of Mendoza for the time being. There, unfortunately, a certain amount of jealousy had broken out between the Chilean leaders, for the existence of much of which there is no doubt that the Carrera family was largely responsible.
The three brothers Carrera were very notable personalities in the war of independence in Chile. In 1811 Don Juan José Carrera, who had attained to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of Hussars in Europe, returned to his native country to take part in its defence. He appointed himself Colonel of the National Guards, made his eldest brother, José Miguel, a Colonel of the Grenadiers, and his younger brother, Don Luis, Colonel and Commander of the Artillery. In 1812 Bernardo O'Higgins joined Carrera, who at first made him Lieutenant-Colonel of the Line, and afterwards promoted him to the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1813 the three Carreras, with a number of other officers, were captured by the Spaniards, and O'Higgins assumed command of the army. When the three Carreras recovered their liberty a dispute occurred concerning the chief command, and the forces of the opposing parties actually came to blows on the Plain of Maipú, where an action was fought, and where O'Higgins was made prisoner. After this a reconciliation was brought about.
There is no shadow of doubt that a number of these patriot leaders may be ranked among the host of great men, sometimes on account of their qualities as leaders, sometimes for their statesmanship, but in almost every instance for their genuine patriotism. Nevertheless, there have been very few historical characters or temperaments which have been more difficult to estimate from contemporary accounts of their actions and motives. Jealousy entered very freely into the patriot ranks, and the various chroniclers, however honestly they may have written, and however deep their convictions may have been, were inevitably swayed to a very great extent by this.
Thus a partisan of the Carreras would have been a strange being, according to the lights of these times, had he been able to discern a spot of goodness in the personality of San Martin, and the admirer of the heroic Cochrane would have had no higher opinion of the Argentine Liberator. The reverse of the medal was, of course, shown by San Martin's adherents, who might safely have been trusted to miss no defect in Cochrane, or in any other of his party. This condition of affairs prevailed throughout, and extended for the length and breadth of the Continent. Bolivar, Sucre, and everyone of note, was a hero to his own followers, and more or less a villain to the rest of the allied, yet rival, parties. As a rule these prominent leaders suffered rather than gained from the situation, since the calumnies of the period are more abundant than the laudations. It is only now that the history of the early nineteenth century is beginning to be written calmly and dispassionately, and as a result the participants in the great deeds of that epoch appear, with justice, greater to the modern world than they did in the eyes of their contemporaries.