The Battle of Aragua de Barcelona ( es, Batalla de Aragua de Barcelona, link=no) was fought between Royalists of the Spanish Empire and the Second Republic of Venezuela on 17 August 1814. The battle saw Royalists attack

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

's force of 3,000 and win with their 8,000 soldiers. It was a major loss for the Patriots.

Background

After the victory of

José Tomás Boves José Tomás Boves (Oviedo, Asturias, September 18, 1782 – Urica, Venezuela, December 5, 1814), was a royalist caudillo of the Llanos during the Venezuelan War of Independence, particularly remembered for his use of brutality and atrociti ...

in the Second Battle of La Puerta (15 June), Simón Bolívar evacuated on 6 July what remained of his Patriot army from Caracas, accompanied by two thirds of the population, which were terrified by Boves' reputation for extreme cruelty. This Emigration to the East arrived in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

on 29 July, after having suffered thousands of deaths. ''El Libertador'' Simón Bolívar was in

Aragua de Barcelona Aragua de Barcelona () is the shire town of Aragua Municipality in Anzoátegui State in Venezuela. Notable people *Denzil Romero Denzil Romero (July 24, 1938 in Aragua de Barcelona – March 7, 1999 in Valencia), was a Venezuela Vene ...

when he learned of the approach of Spanish commander

Francisco Tomás Morales Francisco Tomás Morales (Agüimes Carrizal, Canary Islands, December 20, 1781 or 1783 – Las Palmas, Canary Islands, October 5, 1845), was a Spanish military, and the last of that country to hold the post of Captain General of Venezuela, reac ...

, who was in pursuit of the Patriot column, from San Diego de Cabrutica. He gathered a force 2,000 strong and was met by José Francisco Bermúdez who brought with him another 1,000. Fortifications were erected to protect the town from the much larger attack from Morales, who had 6,000 to 8,000 men. Prior to the main course of battle, a contingent led by

José Tadeo Monagas José Tadeo Monagas Burgos (28 October 1784 – 18 November 1868) was the president of Venezuela 1847–1851 and 1855–1858, and a hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence. Career Presidency In 1846, to head off the challenge from the Liber ...

marched with 700 men, including two cavalry contingents, that tracked down and attacked Morales' force, and were able to cause the loss of 600 men, munitions, guns, and horses using a cavalry charge.

Battle

Simón Bolívar sought to deploy the cavalry against the Royalist forces, but José Francisco Bermúdez made him wait until the Royalists had already reached the entrenchment. This modification proved to be ineffective against the enemy, and Royalist horses ran unabated while the infantry encircled many Patriot controlled areas. The breaching of the fortification prompted Bolívar to leave the city with 100 soldiers, and only four hours later an assault was made with 250 men by Monagas to destroy two Spanish artillery pieces, which failed and saw nearly all of them wounded or killed. The city soon fell to the Spanish after seven hours of battle.

Aftermath

The battle was a major loss for the Patriots. In the aftermath, Bolívar retreated to

Cumaná Cumaná () is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in South ...

, while Bermúdez retreated to

Maturín Maturín () is a city in Venezuela, the capital of the Venezuelan state of Monagas and a centre for instrumental exploration and development of the petroleum industry in Venezuela. The metropolitan area of Maturín has a population of 401,384 inha ...

. Patriot General

José Félix Ribas José Félix Ribas (; Caracas, 19 September 1775 – Tucupido, 31 January 1815) was a Venezuelan independence leader and hero of the Venezuelan War of Independence. Early life Ribas was the last of eleven sons, born to a prominent Caraca ...

proclaimed himself Supreme Chief of the West and ordered that Bolívar and

Santiago Mariño Santiago Mariño Carige Fitzgerald (25 July 1788 in Valle Espíritu Santo, Margarita – 4 September 1854 in La Victoria, Aragua), was a nineteenth-century Venezuelan revolutionary leader and hero in the Venezuelan War of Independence (1811–1 ...

must go into exile in

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...

(Colombia), where they arrived on 19 September. José Félix Ribas was not able to stop the Royalists. He was defeated in the

Battle of Urica The Battle of Urica took place during the War of Venezuelan Independence in the village of Urica (in modern-day Anzoátegui) on 5 December 1814, between the forces of Republican general in chief José Félix Ribas and Royalist caudillo José ...

and the Fifth Battle of Maturin, was taken prisoner and executed by beheading on 31 January 1815.

References

{{Reflist Battles of the Venezuelan War of Independence Conflicts in 1814 1814 in Venezuela