The Battle of
Yerbas Buenas
Yerbas Buenas is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. It lies in the geographical center of the country, on the fertile central plain, some south of the national capital of Santiago, south of Talca, the regional ...
developed during the
Chilean War of Independence on April 27, 1813. It is also known as the Surprise of Yerbas Buenas.
In the battle, the Chilean forces, under the command of Colonel
Juan de Dios Puga, and the Spanish forces, under the command of Brigadier
Antonio Pareja
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...
, confronted each other.
The battle began when, in the middle of the night, the Chileans let loose on the Spanish soldiers that were camping in the village of
Yerbas Buenas
Yerbas Buenas is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. It lies in the geographical center of the country, on the fertile central plain, some south of the national capital of Santiago, south of Talca, the regional ...
, near
Linares. In the beginning, the dark favored the Chileans, who created confusion among the Spanish troops and almost won the battle but just at the light of day, the Spanish realized that they were greater in number than the Chileans, and launched an attack. A third of the Chilean patriots were killed; among these were Lieutenant
Enrique Ross and Colonel
Juan de Dios Puga.
With great difficulty, the survivors, directed by Captain
Santiago Bueras, managed to escape the Spanish attack and reach the base in
Talca
Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142.
The city is an importan ...
to inform General Carrera that the Spanish forces were nearing them.
External links
Conflicts in 1813
Battles involving Chile
Battles involving Spain
Battles of the Spanish American wars of independence
Battles of the Chilean War of Independence
Battles of the Patria Vieja Campaign
History of Maule Region
1813 in the Captaincy General of Chile
April 1813 events
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