Sketch of O'Higgins, San Martin, Lord Cochrane, Las Heras, and Monteagudo....Sailing of the Expedition, and arrival at Pisco....Debarkation....Occurrences at Pisco....Colonel Arenales, with a division of the Army, marches to Arica....Troops embark and proceed to Ancon....News of the Revolution of Guayaquil....Capture of the Spanish Frigate Esmeralda....Army goes down to Huacho....Head Quarters at Huaura.
Few things are more irksome, or perhaps none more difficult, than to pourtray living characters, especially those of great men. Misapprehension, flattery, or odium, generally constitute the chiara obscura of the painting; however, as this task has at this period of my narrative become indispensable, I shall endeavour to fulfil it with impartiality, hoping that at its conclusion my readers will confess that the colours have not been carelessly selected, nor in any way misapplied.
Don Bernardo O'Higgins, the supreme director of Chile, possesses a considerable share of real courage; is resolute in executing a determination, but tardy in forming it; diffident of his own abilities, he is willing to take advice from any one, but always inclined to consider the last as the best. Thus, without forming his plans on the judicious analysis of the counsels offered, by eschewing the good, and rejecting the evil, he has often been led into difficulties in his political administration. These waverings were highly injurious to the furtherance of Chilean prosperity, which was, no doubt, the idol of his soul; and this same want of determination often produced evils of no less moment in the military department. His love of his country was doubtless sincere, and perhaps his earnest desire to be always right sometimes led him into errors; but in this case it is more just to judge of the motive, or the cause, than of the action, or the effect. The establishment of the senada consulta was in itself a virtuous measure; but the expectation of finding five individuals who should see the good of the country, and the advancement of its true interests, through the same medium as himself, was one of the virtuous mistakes of O'Higgins, which placed him under the control of his own creatures, and often retarded the execution of plans of vital importance to the state, and rendered their execution either abortive or nugatory.
The private character of O'Higgins was truly amiable. He was kind and condescending; apparently more at home at his evening tertulias than when under the canopy of the Supreme Directorship. In the whole of his conduct it might be truly said, that
"E'en his vices lean'd to virtue's side."
Being the son of an Irishman, Don Ambrose Higgins, who died in the high situation of Viceroy of Peru, he was passionately fond of the countrymen of his father, and I believe an Irishman was never deceived in his expectations of support and protection in O'Higgins. In short, the character which a Chilean gave to me conveys a very accurate summary of his general outline. "There is too much wax, and too little steel in his composition; however, there are few better, and many worse men than Don Bernardo."
The character of General San Martin will be best drawn from the conduct which he has observed. He was first known while in a military capacity in Spain, where he served as Edecan de Policia to General Jordan, with the rank of Captain. At this time a majority became vacant, which he solicited of General Castanos, but meeting with a refusal, he abandoned Spain and her cause, came over to England, where he took shipping and proceeded to Buenos Ayres in 1811. He there received the command of a division of the patriot troops, and defeated a party of 500 of the enemy at San Lorenzo. He was afterwards appointed commander in chief of the army of Buenos Ayres, in Upper Peru, where nothing transpired to render an account of his command of any importance. When superseded, he went to Mendoza, and there met O'Higgins and the Chilean refugees; a plan for the restoration of Chile was formed, San Martin took the command of the army. The success of the patriots at Chacabuco and Maypu has already been related, from which time nothing of importance occurred till 1820, when he was appointed by the Chilean government general in chief of the forces sent to Peru, called the "liberating expedition." I shall abstain from making any comments on the character of General San Martin, leaving my readers to form their own opinions concerning him, founded on the facts which I shall present, authenticated by the circumstances as they arose.
Lord Cochrane is too well known to require any encomium from my pen. His services to his native country entitled him to the honour of knighthood in the military Order of the Bath; being the only captain in the British navy, who enjoyed this distinguished badge of national glory. In the new world, when his services were not needed in the old, his career of glory has been as brilliant as his most important services were necessary; and I do not hesitate in asserting, that but for his assiduity and unremitting attention, his military knowledge, and determined valour, the western shores of America would have still been in the possession of Spain; her fleet would have now commanded the Pacific, and "British Commerce" would have been excluded from the extensive market which it enjoys. Chile, Peru, and Columbia have repeatedly expressed their gratitude, the high sense they entertain, and the just appreciation which they hold of the merits of this hero; this supporter of their rights; this defender of their liberty—and if the name of Cochrane can ever be forgotten in the old world, or his services not duly requited, it will be found enrolled in the imperishable archives of the new, enshrined in the gratitude of the present and future generations. "Lord Cochrane is such a miracle of nautical skill and courage; his cause of banishment from his country is so lamentable—his adventures have been so romantic—and his achievements so splendid, that no Englishman can read them without pride, that such things have been done by his countryman; and without solemn concern that such talents and genius should be lost to the land that gave them birth."[6]
Don Juan Gregorio de las Heras, Major-general, and second in command of the army, had established his character as a soldier and a commander, by his boldness and intrepidity at Talcahuano, in 1817. This general merited the applause of every one, and his conduct in Peru endeared him to every soldier, and every lover of the cause in which he fought;—there can be no doubt that had he been the commander in chief, those torrents of blood which have been shed in Peru since 1820, would most certainly have been spared. In his actions Las Heras was mild, affable, and unassuming, and in his manners he was a perfect gentleman. In his general character he was sincere and candid; uniting always such qualities as made him beloved by his friends, and feared by his enemies; in fine he is an ornament to society, and an honour to his birth-place, Buenos Ayres, where his patriotic virtues have been rewarded with the Supreme Magistracy.
Don Bernardo Monteagudo was one of those individuals who too often appear on the stage in revolutionary times, who "without feeling mock at all who feel." He is a native of Upper Peru, of the lowest rank in society, of spurious offspring, and African genealogy; he applied himself to the study of the law, and his mind is composed of the very worst materials which characterize the sullen zambo; his imagination is active and aspiring, like that of the mulatto, a composition which is formed to fulfil the Spanish adage, "tirar la piedra, y esconder la mano, throw the stone, and hide the hand." He had been repeatedly employed by his master San Martin to gild over, under the forms of law, such proceedings as even he, with a blushless cheek was ashamed to avow. The murder of the two Carreras at Mendosa, and that of the Spanish officers confined at San Luis, are examples of what one monster can execute, and another defend. His subsequent conduct in Peru will better serve to define his true character than what I dare even venture to attempt—for fear it should be supposed that prejudice has acted as a stimulus.
The talents and literature of Monteagudo have been held up as possessing considerable perfection; but it was justly said by Un Limeño[7] in his Alcance al Postillon, printed at Santiago, September 5th, 1822, "that his productions were impertinent comparisons, formed for benumbed and monotonous newspaper paragraphs."
The expedition having left Valparaiso, the O'Higgins entered the bay of Coquimbo, where the Araucano and a transport had been sent to embark some troops; these joined the rest, and we proceeded to our rendezvous, Pisco, and entered the bay on the seventh of September. On the eighth the troops began to disembark, but such was the prudence of General San Martin, that they were not allowed to proceed towards the town of Pisco, until about three thousand were landed; these advanced on the ninth, formed in three solid squares, under the command of Major-general las Heras, while San Martin ran down the coast of the bay, in the schooner Montezuma, to observe the operations of the enemy, which was composed of forty regulars, and two hundred militia, commanded by the Count of Monte-mar. This extraordinary prudence gave the inhabitants of Pisco time to retire, which they did, and took with them even the furniture from their houses, while they drove before them their slaves and their cattle into the interior. San Martin, not willing to attribute the absence of the inhabitants, and the loss of provisions, to his own tardy movements, but to the inimical feelings of the Peruvians, was very much chagrined, and stated it as his belief, that he had been deceived with respect to the accounts he had received from different parts of Peru; and, in fact, he began to doubt of the success of the expedition. What a contrast was this to the landing of the gallant Lieutenant-colonel Charles, about a year before; who, with less than one-tenth of San Martin's troops, disembarked, and in three hours possessed himself of the battery and town of Pisco. But this was considered an imprudent act, and a want of generalship: and so it was, if the greatest skill consists in avoiding danger, and in sparing both friends and enemies for a more convenient occasion, to which may be added, that Charles lost his life.
On the day on which the expedition arrived at Pisco, the constitutional government had been restored in Lima, and the Viceroy was at the theatre when he received the first news: he immediately retired, after having heard the old Spanish adage frequently repeated, "a cada cochino gordo, le llega su San Martin—for every fat hog, San Martin, will arrive;" alluding to the fairs held in Spain on the day of Saint Martin for the sale of hogs. The idea, that "all was not right in Denmark," induced Pesuela to send immediately for the manager of the theatre, and to examine the prompter's book; when convinced that there was no collusion between the South American hero and the clown of the Lima stage, his excellency dismissed the manager, stating, that being a native of Spain, he could not doubt his loyalty. Had he been an American, he would perhaps have been sent to prison for the prophetic crimes of Calderon, the author of the comedy.
On the fourteenth, part of the convoy which had been separated from us at sea arrived; and in the evening a Spanish vessel of war, bearing a flag of truce, having on board a Spanish officer, was sent by the Viceroy to San Martin to solicit a cessation of hostilities, and to appoint commissioners to conciliate the interests of Spain and America. On the twenty-sixth, the deputies met at Miraflores, two leagues to the southward of Lima, and signed an armistice of eight days; but at their conferences nothing was agreed to, the Spanish deputies requesting an acknowledgment of the constitutional government of Spain, and the evacuation of the Peruvian territory by the Chilean forces; and the patriots that of the absolute independence of the country. Such being the respective basis on which the conciliating deputies were ordered to insist, the conference ended on the fourth of October, and on the fifth hostilities again commenced.
On the arrival of the expedition at Pisco, several proclamations were issued: that of the supreme director of Chile contained the following paragraph:
"Peruvians,—behold the pact and conditions on which Chile, in the face of the Supreme Being, and calling on all the nations of the earth as witnesses and revengers of a violation, faces fatigues and death to save you. You shall be free and independent; you shall constitute your own laws by the unbiassed and spontaneous will of your representatives; no military nor civil influence, either direct or indirect, shall be exercised by your brethren in your social dispositions; you shall discharge the armed force sent to protect you at the moment you choose, without any attention to your danger or security, should you think fit; no military force shall ever occupy a free town, unless it be called in by a legitimate magistracy; neither by us nor through our assistance shall any peninsular or party feelings, that may have preceded your liberty, be punished: ready to destroy the armed force which resists your rights, we pray you to forget, on the day of your glory, all past grievances, and to reserve the most severe justice for future obstinate insults."
On the thirteenth of October, San Martin issued the following paragraph from the army press:
"People of Peru,—I have paid the tribute which, as a public man, I owe to the opinion of others: I have shewn what is my object and my mission towards you: I come to fulfil the expectations of all those who wish to belong to the country that gave them birth, and who desire to be governed by their own laws. On that day when Peru shall freely pronounce as to the form of her institutions, be they whatever they may, my functions shall cease, and I shall have the glory of announcing to the government of Chile, of which I am a subject, that their heroic efforts have at last received the consolation of having given liberty to Peru, and security to the neighbouring states."
The sequel will shew how these solemn promises were forgotten; and how the dreadful results which followed such a system of duplicity and deceit are characteristics which blacken the name of a private individual, and blast the honour of a "public man."
On the fifth of October, hostilities having recommenced, Colonel Arenales, with a division of twelve hundred men and two pieces of artillery, left Pisco for Ica, where he arrived on the sixth, and was received by the corporation and inhabitants of the city with the strongest marks of the most sincere enthusiasm in the cause of liberty. Colonel Quimper and the Count de Monte-mar, with a force of eight hundred men, fled from Ica, but two companies of infantry, with their officers, returned and joined Arenales. Part of the division under Arenales was sent to La Nasca on the twelfth, where they entered, and completely routed the enemy. Quimper and Monte-mar made their escape, owing to the fleetness of their horses; but all the baggage, consisting of arms, ammunition, and equipage, was taken, together with six officers and eighty privates.
On the fifteenth, about a hundred mules laden with stores belonging to the enemy were also captured; and Arenales having established an independent government at Ica, proceeded on his route towards Guamanga.
The troops of the expedition were distributed on the different estates in the neighbourhood of Pisco, Chincha, and Cañete, which either belonged to Spaniards, or Americans who had proved themselves inimical to the object of the liberating forces, particularly on those belonging to the Count of Monte-mar. All slaves capable of bearing arms, and willing to serve in the army of San Martin, were declared free; however, the number that presented themselves did not accord with the sanguine expectations of the chief, and his uneasiness at what he considered lukewarmness in general in the sacred cause began to produce impatience bordering on despair. He informed Lord Cochrane that he should remove his head quarters to Truxillo; but his Lordship fortunately advised him to desist from a plan which would undoubtedly at once have ruined all his hopes. Truxillo being at the distance of a hundred leagues to the northward of Lima, it would have been almost impossible for his troops to have marched across a country such as I have already described without experiencing the greatest privations; and for want of the necessary stores they could not possibly have returned by sea; besides, the division under the command of Arenales would have been abandoned to its fate, and almost delivered up to the enemy. The only temptation that such a position could hold out to San Martin was, that Truxillo is a walled city, easily tenable, and at a short distance from the sea-port of Huanchaco; however it was determined to remove the head quarters to the north of Lima, and on the twenty-second the troops began to embark.
On the twenty-sixth, the whole of the liberating expedition left the bay of Pisco, and on the twenty-ninth it arrived off Callao, where the vessels anchored under the island of San Lorenzo, presenting at once to Lima a view of the forces sent to free the metropolis of South America from the chains of colonial thraldom. On the thirtieth, the transports, under convoy of the San Martin, dropped down to the bay of Ancon; the O'Higgins, Lautaro, Independencia, and brig Araucano, still remaining in the bay of Callao.
On the third of November, his Lordship astonished the inhabitants of Callao, by sailing through the narrow passage that lies between the island of San Lorenzo and the main, called the Boqueron. Never had the Spaniards known a vessel of more than fifty tons attempt what they now saw done with a fifty gun frigate. Expecting every moment to see us founder, the enemy had manned their gunboats, and formed themselves in a line ready to attack us the instant they should observe us strike; to witness which, the batteries were crowned with spectators; but to their utter astonishment we passed the straight, leaving them to ruminate on the nautical tactics of the Admiral of the Chilean squadron.
Having passed the Boqueron, a ship and a schooner hove in sight; the ship proved to be English, the schooner to be the Alcance, from Guayaquil, bringing the news of the revolution and declaration of independence of that city and province, and having on board the ex-governor and other Spanish authorities. Guayaquil followed the example of the other South American cities in the manner in which she threw off the colonial yoke; the Spanish mandataries were deposed, and a new government established on the ninth of October, without any bloodshed, or even insults offered to the individuals deposed.
The adventurous spirit of Lord Cochrane immediately formed the project of performing the most gallant achievement that has honoured the exertions of the patriot arms in the new world. The two Spanish frigates Prueba and Vengansa had left the coast of Peru, and the only vessel of respectable force left at Callao was the frigate Esmeralda. She was at anchor in this port, guarded by fifteen gunboats, two schooners, two brigs of war, and three large armed merchantmen, besides the protection of the forts and batteries on shore, and a floating boom surrounding all the vessels, open only on the north side, lying close to the shore of Bocanegra. His lordship determined on cutting out the frigate, the brigs and schooners, and as many of the boats and merchantmen as might be possible. This daring enterprize was to be executed by volunteers alone; but when the act was proposed on the third of November to the crews of the different vessels, the whole of them wished to share in the glory of the undertaking. On this account it became necessary to issue the following proclamation, which was received with that enthusiasm which the voice of a hero causes, when he speaks to those who know his character:
"Soldiers and sailors,—To-night we will give a mortal blow to the enemy; to-morrow you will present yourselves before Callao, and all your companions will look on you with envy. One hour of courage and resolution is all that is necessary to triumph; remember that you are the victors of Valdivia, and fear not those who have always fled before you.
"The value of all the vessels taken out of Callao shall be yours; and, moreover, the same sum of money offered by the government of Lima to the captors of any vessel of the Chilean squadron, shall be distributed among you. The moment of glory is at hand. I hope, Chileans, you will behave as you have hitherto done; and that the Englishmen will act as they are accustomed to do both at home and abroad. Nov. 4th, 1820. Cochrane."
On the fourth of November, fourteen boats belonging to the Chilean vessels of war were manned, and left the ships, filled with volunteers, at half past ten o'clock at night; but this was only intended by his lordship to exercise the men. On the fifth, being the day determined on by the admiral for the gallant enterprize, the signalman of the flag-ship was sent to the signal staff erected on the island of San Lorenzo, where he hoisted two or three flags, and was answered by the O'Higgins; the Lautaro, Independencia, and Araucano immediately weighed anchor, and stood out of the bay, leaving on board the O'Higgins the boats and volunteers. This ruse de guerre completely succeeded, and the Spaniards were persuaded that they had nothing to fear that night, for they supposed that some strange sail had appeared in the offing, and that our vessels had gone out in pursuit of it. All being thus ready, at ten o'clock at night we again embarked in the boats, and proceeded towards the inner anchorage, on the outside the boom the United States frigate Macedonia, and the English frigate Hyperion, were at anchor; and, as we passed the former, after being hailed by the sentry at the gangway, who was immediately hushed by the officer on deck, many of her officers hung over the bulwarks, cheered us in whispers, wishing us success, and wishing also that they themselves could join us. Not so the Hyperion; although not so near to her, the sentries continued to hail the boats till we had passed.
The boats containing two hundred and forty volunteers proceeded in two divisions; the first under the command of Captain Crosbie, of the flag ship, the second, of Captain Guise of the Lautaro, both under the immediate direction of his lordship. At midnight we passed the boom; Lord Cochrane being in the first boat, was hailed from a gun boat, but, without answering, he rowed alongside her, and standing up, said to the officer, "silence! or death; another word and I'll put you every one to the sword!" Without waiting a reply, a few strokes of the oars brought the boats alongside the Esmeralda, when his Lordship sprang up the gangway and shot the sentry; the one at the opposite gangway levelled his musket and fired; his lordship returned the fire, and killed him, when turning round to the boats he exclaimed, "up my lads, she's ours!" The soldiers and sailors now boarded her in every direction, and possession of the quarter deck was immediately taken. The Spaniards flew to the forecastle, where they defended themselves, and kept up a continued fire of musquetry for seventeen minutes, when they were driven below, and obliged to surrender. We had scarcely obtained possession of the quarter deck, when a gunboat close astern of the frigate fired a shot into her; the shot tore up the deck under the feet of Captain Coig, the commander of the Esmeralda, and wounded him severely; it also killed two English sailors, and one native; but the officer and crew of the boat immediately abandoned her.
The frigate was in an excellent state of defence, and her crew under good discipline; the men were all sleeping at their guns, and the guard of marines on the quarter deck; and so prompt were the latter, when his lordship jumped up the gangway, that they appeared as if they had been ordered out to receive him; indeed had not the boats under the command of Captain Guise boarded at almost the same moment, behind the marines, the admiral and many others who boarded her on the starboard side must have fallen by their fire. His lordship at this time received a shot through the thigh, but, until the ship was ours, he paid no attention to the wound, except binding a handkerchief round it; after which he stood on one of the guns of the quarter deck, and laid his leg on the hammock netting, where he remained till three o'clock in the morning, and then went on board the O'Higgins to have it dressed by the surgeon.
The following order was issued by the admiral to the captains on the first of November, 1820:
"The boats will proceed, towing the launches in two lines parallel to each other, which lines are to be at the distance of three boats' length asunder.
"The second line will be under the charge of Captain Guise, the first under that of Captain Crosbie. Each boat will be under the charge of a commissioned officer so far as circumstances permit, and the whole under the immediate command of the admiral.
"The officers and men are all to be dressed in white jackets, frocks, or shirts, and are to be armed with pistols, sabres, knives, tomahawks, or pikes.
"Two boat-keepers are to be appointed to each boat, who, on no pretence whatever, shall quit their respective boats; but are to remain therein, and take care the boats do not get adrift.
"Each boat is to be provided with one or more axes or sharp hatchets, which are to be kept slung to the girdle of the boat-keepers. The frigate Esmeralda being the chief object of the expedition, the whole force is first to attack that ship, which, when carried, is not to be cut adrift, but is to remain in possession of the patriot seamen, to ensure the capture of the rest.
"On securing the frigate, the Chilean seamen and marines are not to cheer as if Chilenos; but, in order to deceive the enemy, and give time for completing the work, they are to cheer, Viva el Rey!
"The two brigs of war are to be fired on by the musketry from the Esmeralda, and are to be taken possession of by Lieutenants Esmond and Morgell, in the boats they command; which being done, they are to be cut adrift, run out, and anchored in the offing as quickly as possible. The boats of the Independencia are to busy themselves in turning adrift all the outward Spanish merchant ships; and the boats of the O'Higgins and Lautaro, under Lieutenants Bell and Robertson, are to set fire to one or more of the headmost hulks; but these are not to be cut adrift so as to fall down upon the rest.
"The watchword, or parole, and counter-sign, should the white dress not be sufficient in the dark, are 'Gloria,' to be answered by 'Victoria!' (Signed) Cochrane."
It was the intention of Lord Cochrane to clear the bay, according to the instructions given; but being wounded, and the resistance made by the Spaniards on board proving much greater than was expected, Captain Guise ordered the cable to be cut; which being done, the frigate began to drift from her anchorage. The batteries were pretty active during the engagement, and when the Hyperion and Macedonia sheeted home their topsails and began to move out of the way of the shot, the firing increased. These ships shewed two lights, one at the mizen peak, the other at the jib boom, as distinguishing signals, which being observed by Lord Cochrane, he immediately ordered the same to be shewn on board the Esmeralda: thus she was brought out of the anchorage with less damage than either of the other two sustained. Indeed, excepting the shot from the gun boat, the Esmeralda sustained none whatever.
From the lists that were found on board the prize it appeared, that she had three hundred and twenty persons on board, besides some visitors, who, from what had been observed, imagined that nothing uncommon would take place that day. On the following, when the prisoners were mustered, their numbers only amounted to one hundred and seventy-three; thus their loss was one hundred and fifty-seven, besides several wounded, who at nine o'clock on the sixth were sent ashore with a flag of truce. Our loss amounted to eleven killed, and twenty-eight wounded. His lordship immediately proposed to the Viceroy an exchange of prisoners; which being acceded to, ours were immediately sent ashore, and those from the dungeons of Casas-matas were ordered to join the army under San Martin. The loss of the Esmeralda was a death blow to the Spanish naval force in the Pacific, and created a most extraordinary effect in Lima; the natives looked congratulations to each other, but dared not to speak, while the Spaniards indulged themselves with every kind of useless vociferation. To such a degree of frenzy were they wrought up in Callao, that on the sixth, when the market boat belonging to the United States' ship Macedonia went ashore, the crew was murdered by the infuriated Spaniards, who fancied that they had assisted the patriots on the preceding night.
Of this achievement of Lord Cochrane, Captain Hall says, "the skill and gallantry displayed by Lord Cochrane, both in planning and conducting this astonishing enterprize, are so peculiarly his own, and so much in character with the great deeds of his early life, &c."
Captain Downes, of the Macedonia, in a letter to General San Martin, says, "I do most sincerely congratulate Lord Cochrane upon the capture of the Esmeralda; the exploit was executed in a gallant stile never surpassed."
The bulletin of the army presented, in the report of the capture of the Spanish frigate, a specimen of the jealous feelings of the general in chief. The first statement is, "before the general in chief left the vice-admiral of the squadron, they agreed on the execution of a memorable project, sufficient to astound intrepidity itself, and of itself to make the history of the liberating expedition of Peru eternal."—Again: "those valiant soldiers who for a length of time have suffered with the most heroic constancy the hardest oppression, and the most inhuman treatment in the dungeons of Casas-matas, have just arrived at our head quarters. Flattering promises of liberty and the threats of death were not sufficient to destroy their loyalty to their country; they have waited with firmness the day on which their companions in arms should rescue them from their misery, and revenge the insults which humanity has received in their persons. This glory was reserved to the liberating army, whose efforts have snatched from the hands of tyranny these respectable victims. Let this be published for the satisfaction of these individuals and that of the army, to whose arms they owe their liberty. (Signed) San Martin."
Were the character of Lord Cochrane not known in the world, it might be believed that the plan and execution of this action were the offspring of the wisdom of San Martin; but how the liberty of the prisoners of war confined in Callao could be owing to the efforts of the army is quite paradoxical. Indeed the first assertion is as void of truth as the second, and it would be as easy proved to be so, were it necessary.
The only way to praise the hero of this enterprize is to leave here a blank: all those who contemplate this achievement must pay the tribute due to the friend of rational liberty, the advocate of South American emancipation, the supporter of the civil rights of the new world, the true friend of the oppressed.
On the ninth of November the army left the bay of Ancon, and dropped down to Huacho, where the troops immediately began to disembark, and head quarters were established at Huaura on the twelfth.
At Ancon General San Martin distributed several proclamations. In one addressed to the Spaniards residing in Peru, he says "Spaniards, your destiny is in your own hands; I come not to declare war against the fortunes and persons of individuals; the enemy of the liberty and independence of America alone is the object of the vengeance of the arms of the PATRIA.—I promise you in the most positive manner, that your property and persons shall be inviolable; and that you shall be treated as respectable citizens, if you co-operate in the great cause." To the Spanish soldier who wishes to abandon his arms, he promises a "safe and commodious passage to Europe should he request it," or wishing to remain as a soldier, or as a private citizen, "the same enjoyments and securities as the defenders of the country."
Similar promises were repeated at Huacho by a decree. "I. The goods and property of all Spaniards, excepting those who have publicly endeavoured to prolong the evils of the war by their seditious writings, shall be under the protection of the liberating army of Peru, in the same manner as the property of Americans. II. Those Spaniards who after we have taken possession of Lima (if the fortune of war favour us) shall solicit letters of citizenship, shall receive them, and shall be declared citizens of the state of Peru."
Had not General San Martin compromised himself in this solemn manner, his subsequent conduct in Lima could only have been called arbitrary; but when acting in direct violation of such public assurances, it is not harsh to call it dishonourable and unjust.
[6] Sir James Mackintosh, in the House of Commons.
[7] Dr. Don Jose Cabero y Salasar, Peruvian Charge d' Affairs in Chile.
Battalion of Numancia joins the Liberating Army....Victory at Pasco by Arenales....Route of Arenales from Ica....Courts Martial held in the Squadron on Officers....Conduct of General San Martin....Viceroy Pesuela deposed....Expedition to Pisco....To Arica....Action at Mirabe, under Lieutenant-Colonel Miller....Description of Arica....Of Tacna....Of Ilo....Armistice celebrated by Generals San Martin and La Serna....Prorogation of....Lord Cochrane leaves Mollendo, and arrives at Callao.
On the third of December the battalion of Numancia, being six hundred and fifty strong, left the service of the Viceroy of Lima, and passed over to that of the Patria, joining a detachment of the liberating army, sent to meet them at Retes in the valley of Chancay. This corps, which was entirely composed of Colombians, had retained the name of a regiment sent from Spain under General Morillo, and was considered the stay of the viceregal authority in Peru. A private correspondence had been held between San Martin and the officers of this battalion, and promises made to them by San Martin, which, like many if not all similar ones made by this great man, were never fulfilled. The loss of so important a part of the Spanish army was a severe blow to Pesuela and the Spaniards in Lima, and a great addition to the physical strength of the liberating army. The arrival of officers and private individuals from Lima increased daily; on the eighth, thirty-six officers, and a greater number of persons of respectability in Lima, arrived at Chancay, and joined the patriot forces.
On the eleventh, the news of the victory at Pasco, obtained by Colonel Arenales over General O'Reilly and a division of the royal army of twelve hundred men, arrived at Huaura. After the action at Ica on the sixth of October, Arenales marched with his division into the interior, and on the thirty-first he entered the city of Huamanga; but the Spanish authorities had fled, carrying with them the public funds. The inhabitants of Huamanga welcomed the arrival of the patriot forces, and voluntarily declared their independence of Spain and her mandataries. On the sixth the division left the city, and continued their march towards the district of Tarma; and the advanced guard arrived at Jauja, thirty leagues from Lima, at the same time that the Spaniards were abandoning it; a skirmish took place, and the Spaniards lost eight killed and twenty-one prisoners, including four officers. On the twenty-second a division advanced on the city of Tarma, and entered it on the twenty-third. Tarma immediately proclaimed itself independent of Spain. On the sixth of December the action was fought at Pasco; the loss of the enemy consisted in fifty-eight killed in the field of battle, nineteen wounded, three hundred and forty-three prisoners, including twenty-eight officers, two pieces of artillery, three hundred and sixty muskets, flags, ammunition, baggage, and utensils of war; but General O'Reilly made his escape to Lima. On the arrival of the news of the victory obtained at Pasco over the royalists, the city and province of Huanuco declared their independence, and the cities of Cueñca and Loxa, in the jurisdiction of Quito, advised General San Martin of their having also abjured all foreign domination, and enrolled their names in the list of free and independent states. On the fourth of January, the news arrived of the revolution of Truxillo, under the direction of its Spanish governor the Marquis of Torre Tagle.
Such a concatenation of successful events was certainly more than the general of the liberating army could have anticipated. From the fifth of November to the fifth of January the Spaniards had lost the whole of their naval force in the Esmeralda, the Prueba and Vengansa having disappeared: Numancia, considered the flower of their army and the prop of their authority, had deserted their cause; the division under the command of their trusty general, O'Reilly, had been defeated by a minor force; all the provinces to the northward of Lima had declared their independence, and were contributing with men and every other necessary to support the army then encamped within thirty leagues of the capital of Peru; every thing save hope seemed to have abandoned them, while every thing appeared to favour the cause of the liberating forces, and to invite them to crown their career of glory by entering Lima, which at this moment was the pandemonium of oppression and despair.
The incomparable prudence of San Martin, however, revolted at the effusion of blood which must necessarily be the precursor of so much glory: he felt more sympathy at knowing that both his own and the enemy's troops were falling victims almost hourly to the ravages of the tertian fever and other diseases, for want of proper medicines, care, and rest.
The situation occupied by the royal troops between Lima and Ancon, at a place called Asna Pugio, is very swampy, and the number of men who became affected with intermittent fevers increased daily; the hospitals in Lima were filled with them, and their decrease by death, as well as by desertion, was alarming to the Viceroy. The desertions would have increased if the distance of the head quarters of San Martin had not been so great, for several deserters were apprehended, and shot by the royalists.
On the second of February the officers of the ex-Esmeralda, named by General San Martin the Valdivia, in commemoration of the important victory gained by Lord Cochrane over this place, addressed the following letter to Captain Guise:
"Sir,—We have heard with regret and disappointment, that his excellency General San Martin has been pleased to order that the name of this ship shall be changed, and that she shall henceforward be known under the appellation of the Valdivia. We regret that in the squadron of Chile the immortal memories of Lautaro and Galvarino, who have, ages past, been sacrificed on the ashes of the aspiring liberty of their country, and the names of their surviving countrymen, O'Higgins and San Martin, (the avengers of their wrongs, and the restorers of their rights) should be associated with 'Valdivia,' a Spaniard who has shed such torrents of American blood, the conqueror and enslaver of Chile, and founder of the city which bears his name; and we are disappointed to find nothing in the new name commemorative of the capture of the Esmeralda, but that it has been made subservient to the celebration of another victory over the enemy, which, although we had the misfortune not to participate in it, yet claims our admiration and gratitude, but which bears no more relation to the capture of this ship, than the battle of Chacabuco does to that of Maypo; and, what would the victors of Maypo have thought had that memorable event borne the name of Chacabuco! It is further to be remembered, that very few of the captors of the Esmeralda took part in the affair at Valdivia.—We are fully aware, that there are instances in the squadron of ships being named after particular victories, (viz. Chacabuco) but these were bought into the service by the property of the state; the Esmeralda was purchased by the blood of her subjects.—If the Esmeralda be destined to lose the name under which she was captured, we express a hope that she will bear one more consonant to the feelings of those by whom the service was achieved, than that which has been selected. We have not had an opportunity of communicating with our brother officers of the squadron, and these remarks are to be understood as individually our own; we trust however that they will not appear to yourself or to the commander in chief irrelevant with the interest which we must always take in every thing in which the glory and prosperity of the navy of Chile are concerned.—May we beg, therefore, that you will take the earliest opportunity of bringing the subject before the admiral and his excellency general San Martin, for their consideration. (Signed.) Robert Bell, Lieutenant, H. C. Freeman, Lieutenant, J. M. Michael, Surgeon, James L. Frew, Purser, Hugh Jerome Kernan, Assistant Surgeon."
This letter, and the subsequent behaviour of the officers, obliged the admiral to order them under an arrest, and to exhibit charges against them for their trial by a court martial, which was held on the second of March. The charges were "For having, by their letter bearing date the second of February, 1821, addressed to Martin George Guise, Esq., combined falsely to represent to the said Martin George Guise, Esq., captain in the naval service of Chile, and on divers other occasions, that the appellation of the 'Valdivia,' given to the frigate Esmeralda was in disrespect to, and derogation of, the names of O'Higgins and San Martin, and thereby to excite dissatisfaction against the admiral and commander in chief, in commemoration of whose service in the capture of the fortifications of 'Valdivia' the said name was given to the 'Esmeralda.' For attempting to excite dissatisfaction against their aforesaid superior officers, by misrepresenting the name of the fortress of 'Valdivia,' so given in commemoration of useful services, as the name of a man whom the said officers further, with the intent aforesaid, have pronounced to be a Spaniard who shed torrents of American blood; and moreover, that the said officers did further, with the intent aforesaid to create dissatisfaction against the superior officer, falsely represent the person named Valdivia to have been the enslaver of Chile. That the said officers did hold various conversations derogatory to the vice-admiral of Chile, their commanding officer, and unnecessarily and impertinently did interfere in the matter of naming the 'Esmeralda,' contrary to the rules and subversive of the discipline of the naval service of the state."
The sentence given by the court was, that "James M. Michael, Surgeon, and James Frew, Purser, be dismissed the naval service of the state; and Robert Bell, Lieut., Henry C. Freeman, Lieut., and Hugh J. Kernan, Assistant Surgeon, be dismissed their ship, to be severely reprimanded and admonished by the court, but to be recommended by the court to the commander in chief for other appointments. (Signed) Robert Forster, President, W. Wilkinson, T. Sackville Crosbie, William Prunier, Henry Cobbett."
During the arrest of the officers of the Valdivia, Lord Cochrane wished to make an attack on the vessels of war, blockships, gunboats, and fortifications of Callao, and communicated the order for the same on the twentieth of February, which order to Captain Guise was answered by a private note to his lordship, stating, that he could not think of entering on this service with any officers except those under arrest, and that in case they were not permitted to rejoin their ship for this attack, he must resign the command of her, and begged Lord Cochrane to appoint another person to the command. The admiral answered Captain Guise, that he could not appoint another person to the command of the Valdivia, nor admit the resignation of Captain Guise on a private solicitude, nor even on an official one, without some reasons being alleged. Captain Guise now wrote officially, stating the refusal of Lord Cochrane to be a sufficient motive for his resignation, and expressing a request to be permitted to accompany his officers to head quarters, and tender his commission to General San Martin. His letter was also accompanied with one from the petty officers of the Valdivia, who refused to serve under any other commander than himself. After some further correspondence Captain Guise informed Lord Cochrane that he had given the command of the Valdivia to Lieutenant Shepherd, and considered himself superseded. The admiral, for the fourth time, sent Captain Guise an order to act as commander of the Valdivia, requiring a categorical answer to "whether he would or would not obey his orders, and signal to weigh, made four hours previous to this communication," again requesting some grounded reason for his resignation. The order to weigh was on service of importance, and Captain Guise refused to obey it, repeating, that his officers having been separated from his ship, he could not act, and had given over to Lieutenant Shepherd the command of the Valdivia.
On the twenty-second of February Lord Cochrane ordered Captain Spry to proceed in the brig Galvarino to the rendezvous off Chorillos, which order was answered by Captain Spry, who requested leave to resign the command of the Galvarino, as "his friend Captain Guise had been obliged to resign that of his ship," and alleging that he held no appointment from the Chilean government. Lord Cochrane demanded his motive for this letter, and why, without the appointment alluded to, he had exercised the authority of commander of the brig. The answer was, that "I (Captain Spry) entered the Chilean navy conditionally, to serve only during the period of the services of Captain Guise, under whose patronage and protection I left England;" that his appointment was a verbal one from the governor of Valparaiso, when he received his commission of Captain. He added a desire to be permitted to go to head-quarters at Huacho, and explain his conduct to General San Martin, concluding "if Captain Guise is compelled to resign the command of the Valdivia, I am determined no longer to hold that of the Galvarino." Captain Spry was placed under an arrest on the twenty-second of February, on charges to be exhibited, and such was the state of mutiny on board the Galvarino, that Captain Crosbie, of the flag-ship, was ordered to anchor her in a safe situation, which induced Captain Spry to write to the Admiral, stating, that as he had been superseded by Captain Crosbie, he considered himself on half-pay, and free from the jurisdiction of the martial law. His letter was answered by an assurance, that he was not superseded; but that having disobeyed the orders given, and declared his determination not to hold the command of the Galvarino, Captain Crosbie had been ordered to anchor her on the starboard beam of the O'Higgins, this appearing necessary from the state of the crew of the brig, and that he was not superseded in consequence of his said determination, nor had he gone through the usual forms of delivering up the brig. Captain Spry again insisted on his exemption from martial law; but finding the Admiral determined to bring the affair to the decision of a court-martial, of which he was aware that if the sentence were consonant with the crime, and according to the ordinances of the navy, he would never leave the deck of the brig, he now expressed no objection to being tried by his brother officers, who were "neither prejudiced nor interested."
The charges exhibited by the commander in chief were "for neglecting or refusing to proceed on service in the Chilean state brig Galvarino, pursuant to an order of the commander in chief, both verbally, and in writing, given on or about the twenty-second of February, 1821, in breach of the 14th article of war, made and provided.—For having contrary to his duty as an officer written or caused to be written, a certain letter to his commander in chief, signed John Tooker Spry, further declining, or refusing to proceed on the duty so ordered, or longer to serve than during the period of the services of Captain Guise, under whose patronage and protection he had left England, and for setting forth in the said letter, that if Captain Guise was compelled to resign the command of the Valdivia, he the said John Tooker Spry would no longer hold the command of the Galvarino; thereby delaying and discouraging the service, in breach of the 14th article of war.—That the said John Tooker Spry did by his conduct aforesaid, hold forth an evil example to his ship's company (who immediately thereafter did in writing and otherwise, refuse to weigh anchor until certain grievances, which they did not set forth in the said writing, should be redressed), the same being subversive of all discipline and subordination, and in violation of the 14th article of war, made and provided."
The sentence of the court-martial was, that "John Tooker Spry be dismissed the command of the brig Galvarino, be placed at the bottom of the list of captains, and be severely reprimanded by the court."
On the fourth of March Captain Guise communicated to Lord Cochrane, that Captain Spry having been dismissed the service by sentence of a court-martial, he requested permission to accompany him in his own boat to Huacho, which Lord Cochrane informed him he could not allow at that critical moment. On the sixth the two captains and the officers went down by the O'Higgins to head-quarters, where Ld. Cochrane on the twelfth again offered to Captain Guise the command of the O'Higgins, which he refused, as also ever to serve under Lord Cochrane again.
The whole of this affair was the result of what had passed at Valparaiso, before the expedition quitted that port; and from several circumstances connected with the conduct of these officers, and their publicly asserting, that General San Martin would not swerve from his promises made to them, their firm reliance on his support and patronage, as well as the subsequent behaviour of the general himself, evinced that he had been the entire instigator of what had passed at Valparaiso in July and August, 1820, both on the part of the Chilean government, and on that of the different officers who then and there misconducted themselves. He well knew that he could not tamper with Lord Cochrane, whose honourable feelings would not allow him to deviate from that line of conduct which had marked the whole tenour of his public life: and had not the officers of the squadron stood forth in support of their commander in chief, his tender of his commission would have been accepted by the government.
On the arrival at head-quarters of Captains Guise and Spry, the latter, in defiance of decorum and example, was appointed by General San Martin his naval adjutant, Edecan Naval, as if to gall the feelings of Lord Cochrane, and bring into supreme contempt the sentence of a court-martial, by protecting in the most public manner the individual who had merited the chastisement of the law. So elated was Captain Spry with his new appointment, that in the house of Colonel, now General Miller, he conducted himself towards Lord Cochrane in the most ungentlemanly manner, so much so, that the honourable feelings of Miller were wounded, and he apologized to the Admiral for the conduct of Spry.
On the fourth of March, General San Martin sent Captain Guise and his officers with a request to the Admiral to reinstate them in their former appointment: his lordship again offered Captain Guise the command of any vessel in the squadron with such officers as might at the time belong to the vessel, and to those officers who had not been dismissed the service, appointments to the vacancies in the squadron, according to the recommendation of the court-martial; but Captain Guise again refused to act with any other officers than those who accompanied him, and the officers returned their appointments, with the assurance that they would only serve under the orders of Captain Guise; they therefore all returned to the head-quarters of the army, where they remained until the surrender of Callao.
At the same time that the Chilean squadron was a scene of insubordination and irregularities among those officers whose duty it was to obey the orders of their commander in chief, not only for the good of the service of Chile, but to the end that they themselves might meet with that deference and obedience in their subalterns which constitute the very essence of military discipline, Lima was the theatre of anarchy and confusion. On the twenty-ninth of January a revolution took place in the Spanish army at Asnapugio, founded on the plea of inability in the Viceroy Pesuela to conduct the affairs of the viceroyalty, during such critical circumstances as the present. The result was, that an official communication was made to Pesuela, stating the absolute necessity of his abdication, and that it must take place within four hours. Pesuela answered, that the time specified was insufficient for him to deliver up the authority, but Cantarac, Caratalá, Valdes, Ricafort, and the other officers at the head of the insurrection replied, that the answer of his Excellency did not correspond with their expectations, and that "the troops were under arms, with all their officers, without a single exception, and that they would not lay them down until they had obtained an order to acknowledge General La Serna Viceroy of Peru, and were assured that a similar order had been given to the different tribunals and authorities. In consequence of this intimation, Pesuela issued the order, and La Serna was proclaimed Viceroy and Captain General of Peru. This change only proves the right of power, which admits of no interpretation, nor leaves any subterfuge to obedience. The similarity of the fate of the first and last of the Spanish Viceroys as governors general is rather remarkable. The first, Don Francisco Pizarro, was murdered in his own palace at Lima, by his subaltern officers; the last, Don Joaquin de la Pesuela, was forced to abdicate his authority in the viceregal palace at Lima, by his subalterns, and to nominate an usurper as his successor. On the seventh February La Serna addressed the following proclamation to the royal troops:—
"Soldiers!—Your will and support has placed me at the head of the government of the viceroyalty!"—A declaration more rebellious than any one presented by the insurgent chiefs of America, until the conduct of the Spaniards forced them to declare their independence of Spanish domination.
On the thirteenth February Capt. Carter, in the brig of war Araucano, arrived at Chancay, with the Spanish schooner of war Aransasu, which he had taken on the ninth. The Aransasu was from Panama, bound to Callao, having on board three officers belonging to the regiment of Numancia, and several Spanish merchants, as passengers.
On the thirteenth March part of the squadron left the bay of Huacho, having on board a division of the patriot forces, under the command of Lieut.-colonel Miller, destined to cause a diversion in the Spanish troops, by landing at Pisco. This object was effected on the twenty-first; but owing to the written instructions given by General San Martin, and from which Lord Cochrane was determined not to swerve, the result was what might have been anticipated: nothing of importance to the cause of America.
After the abdication of the Viceroy Pesuela, he retired to a country residence at the small village of La Magdalena, and wishing to send his lady and family to Europe, he solicited the necessary passport of General San Martin, well knowing that they could not escape the Chilean vessels of war employed in the blockade of Callao; but the permission was refused. Lady Cochrane and family having arrived at Callao in the British frigate Andromache, for the purpose of seeing his lordship before she left South America for England, Dona Angela, the Vicequeen, supplicated her ladyship to interpose her influence with the general, as the only means by which she could expect to obtain leave to embark for Europe. Lady Cochrane, actuated by that sincere philanthropy which so eminently distinguishes and adorns her, went immediately to Huaura, and obtained of General San Martin the favour she solicited, on condition that her ladyship would remain on shore in Peru one month, which was agreed to; but being the "better half" of a sailor, her ladyship declined remaining at head quarters among soldiers, and spent the whole of the time at Huaito, a plantation belonging to Doña Josefa Monteblanco, highly gratified with the kind and hospitable treatment of her host. The Viceroy's lady took her passage on board the Andromache, and Lord Cochrane was honoured by an introduction to her by Captain Sherriff. After some conversation. Doña Angela declared, that his lordship was a polite rational being, and not the ferocious brute she had been taught to consider him—a compliment which his lordship received with all due respect to her Vicequeenship.
On the return of Lord Cochrane to head quarters, it was determined by General San Martin, that a second division under the command of Lieutenant Miller should embark, and act according to the discretionary instructions of the admiral. The admiral left the bay of Huacho, and proceeded to Pisco, where some minor skirmishes took place with the enemy. The troops were re-embarked at Pisco on the twenty-second of April: his lordship hoisted his flag on board the San Martin, and with the schooner Aransasu proceeded to Arica, where with the assistance of uncommonly favourable winds we arrived on the fifth of May.
The landing in the bay of Arica is attended with almost insurmountable difficulties; indeed sometimes it is not practicable, except on the balsas made by the natives. These are composed of seal-skins inflated: two are generally sewed together end to end, and the balsa is formed by lashing two of these side by side, laying some canes on the top. The man who manages the balsa sits astride on the aftermost part, and impels the balsa with a double paddle, broad at each end, which he holds by the middle, and so dexterous are the natives, that there is not the least danger of being upset, or even of being wetted with the surf. On these original and apparently precarious rafts, all the merchandize is landed at Arica, and all the specie brought to the vessels, except the sea be very calm and the surf run low.
Immediately on our arrival at Arica, a flag of truce was sent on shore with a summons to surrender, accompanied by an assurance that all persons and personal property would be respected, except those and such as belonged to those who by their present conduct should prove themselves enemies to the cause of South American liberty. This was answered by an assurance that the persons and property at Arica were all under the protection of the arms of his Most Catholic Majesty, whose rights would be defended by his faithful vassals against his rebel subjects and foreign pirates. Nothing was now left but to enforce obedience, and the situation in which the San Martin had anchored not being a commanding one, she was hauled nearer in shore on the sixth, and a few shells thrown over the town; but as this had not the desired effect of intimidating the enemy, a landing of the troops was determined on, and in the night a convenient place was sought for to the southward, but the search proving fruitless, part of the troops were embarked on board the schooner Aransasu, under the command of Major Soler, and ordered to proceed to the northward to Sama, to land and march upon the town. On the eighth Lieutenant-colonel Miller followed with the remainder of the troops, to join Major Soler. A few shots and shells were occasionally thrown into the town, to keep the Spanish troops on the alert as to the movements of the ship, while our troops should make their appearance on shore, which happened on the morning of the eleventh, when the whole of the inhabitants and troops abandoned the town. Captain Wilkinson with the marines landed with considerable difficulty, and hoisted the Patriot flag on the staff at the small battery. Major Soler captured from the enemy fifty-eight thousand dollars and six bars of silver, under the protection of a guard of soldiers on their way to Arequipa.
On the fourteenth the whole of the troops and the marines belonging to the San Martin, amounting to two hundred and seventy men, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Miller, left Arica, and marched towards Tacna, twelve leagues from Arica, where they arrived on the fifteenth, and without any opposition took possession of the town; they were here joined by two companies of infantry, who deserted the cause of the king. Lord Cochrane ordered that these should form the base of a new regiment, to be called the first independents of Tacna, and as the particular flag for the troops of Peru was not determined on at head quarters, his lordship presented them with one having a sun in the centre on a blue field.
From original papers found in the custom-house at Tacna, it appeared, that the quantity of European goods in the stores at Arica belonged to Spanish merchants residing at Lima; consequently an order was issued for their being embarked in the San Martin.
Immediately on the landing of Lord Cochrane, he called upon the inhabitants to form a civil government, for the protection of their property against many individuals who began to come into the town from the country for the purpose of plunder, assuring them at the same time, that, although they had not attended to his invitation to remain in their houses, it was not his intention to deliver up the town to be sacked, nor had he done it, but at the same time he could not be answerable for thefts committed, unless the inhabitants would assist in the protection of their houses and property, and in apprehending all suspicious and disorderly persons; he also promised them that all private property belonging to Americans, the friends of the cause of their country, should be returned if claimed, and, consequent to this promise, the schooner Dos Amigos, and other property seized, were delivered to their owners.
Colonel Miller advanced with his division towards Moquegua, and had a sharp engagement with a party of royal troops at Mirabe, commanded by Colonel Sierra, who was taken prisoner. On the morning after the engagement, which took place in the night, another detachment of troops arrived to join the one stationed at Mirabe; but on hearing the fate of their comrades they thought it better to retreat than to enter into any dispute with the victorious troops, and their valiant leader. On the arrival of this news, and that the troops were at Moquegua, Lord Cochrane dropped down to Ilo, with the San Martin, for the purpose of being nearer to Colonel Miller's head quarters.
The town of Arica is the capital of the province of the same name; it is situated in a small valley, and stands close to the sea. It was anciently a place of considerable importance and size; but since the year 1605, when it was destroyed by an earthquake, it has gradually decreased, the more respectable inhabitants having retired to Tacna; their departure was also hastened by its being sacked in 1680 by the pirate John Warren. Arica has at present a parish church, and three poor convents, San Francisco, La Merced and San Juan de Dios. The population is composed of whites, indians and a few slaves. Owing to some low swampy ground, produced by the annual overflowings of the river and the want of proper drainage, intermittent fevers are very common here, of which many serranos, people from the interior, die, when they come down on business. All our people who slept on shore at Arica, including the admiral, suffered by them, and some died. The climate is similar to that of Lima, it seldom rains, but the fogs are very heavy.
The valley of Arica is small, but at the distance of a mile from the town it is pretty, owing to the relief which the eye feels when resting on vegetable productions, after being fatigued with the barren sandy scenery which surrounds the town. The principal produce of the valley is aji, capsicum, and olives, which are remarkably large, and finely flavoured; plantains, bananas, camotes, yucas, and other vegetables, are cultivated in the gardens, and some tropical fruits.
The town of Arica will doubtless become of considerable importance with the changes that have taken place in South America. Indeed it always would have been so, had not the colonial laws declared it a close port, no abilitado. It is the key to the provinces of Upper Peru, Arequipa, La Pas, Potosi, Chuquisaca, &c., being a better landing place than Ilo, Mollendo, or Quilca; it possesses also the advantage of fresh water for shipping, which is extremely scarce at the other ports. Arica is situate in 18° 28´ 40´´ south latitude, and 70° 13´ 30´´ west longitude.
The town of Tacna stands in a very pleasant and fruitful valley, it is considerably larger than Arica, and has a much better appearance; some of the houses are large, commodious, and well furnished; thus, among other articles, I saw several piano-fortes. The principal wealth of the inhabitants consists in their large droves of mules, for the purpose of conveying the merchandize from Arica into the interior, and from some parts of Upper Peru to Lima. Tacna is to Arica what Piura is to Paita.
On the twenty-seventh of May we came to an anchor in the bay of Ilo, and immediately supplied Colonel Miller with everything that he wanted; he had removed his head-quarters from the town of Moquegua to a farm called Rinconada, judging that the climate of this place was better for his troops, as it was cooler here than in the town.
Ilo is an indifferent anchorage, and a bad landing place; the village is composed of miserable huts, and a few houses which indicate the residence of penury; a scarcity of water prevails, and consequently of fruit and vegetables. Col. Sierra and Capt. Suares were here embarked, having been sent down by Colonel Miller; but they were soon afterwards liberated at Mollendo on their parole of honour, having sworn not to act hostilely until they should be exchanged according to the regulations of war.
At the moment when Colonel Miller was about to advance into the interior, having disciplined a number of recruits from different parts of the adjoining provinces, and when everything promised a general revolt in favour of the cause of independence, he transmitted to Lord Cochrane the original communication which he had received from the governor of Arequipa, announcing a cessation of hostilities for twenty days, from the date of the receipt of the communication. This armistice was ratified by General San Martin and the Viceroy La Serna on the twenty-third of May, and sent express by the latter to Ovalle, the governor of Arequipa.
The armistice had been personally formed by the contending chiefs, who met at Punchauca, and agreed on appointing new deputies for the purpose of conciliation; they were to hold their conferences on board of a neutral ship in the bay of Callao, for which purpose the Cleopatra was chosen.
Such was the state of Lima at this period, that the cabildo addressed the following official note to the Viceroy La Serna:
"Most Excellent Sir,—No title is more glorious, nor more amiable, than that of a Pacificator. Augustus, when stifling the volcano of civil war among the Romans, and giving peace to the universe, was the greatest of mortals, and almost a God upon earth. It is the duty of every prince to imitate this example, if he be desirous of, and interested in the health and prosperity of the people committed to his guardianship. Whoever knows the great advantages and feels what it is to reign over grateful hearts, will find more charms than in the most fortunate and prosperous warfare.
"Your Excellency, placed at the head of the junta of Pacification of Peru, has gained the love, the veneration, and the confidence of this city. The hope of this great felicity has caused us to suffer with resignation, losses and privations of every class. The end of the armistice is fast approaching, and we do not yet perceive one ray of this celestial gift. Why is it so long retarded, while Lima suffers such a train of evils that fill her with consternation?
"To the distance of twenty-five leagues round the city, the most frightful devastation every where reigns. Our cattle, our grain, and our fruits are the victims of military fury. The richest and most opulent of our provinces have succumbed to the prepotent force of the enemy, and the rest are threatened with the same fate; while this suffering capital experiences the horrible effects of a rigorous blockade, hunger, robberies, and death. Our own soldiers pay no respect to the last remains of our property, even our oxen, indispensably necessary for the cultivation of the land, are slain. If this plague continue, what will be our lot—our miserable condition!