The Battle of El Toro (March 6, 1820) was a battle fought near

Maullín Maullín is Chilean town and commune in Llanquihue Province which is part of Los Lagos Region. The commune is located in at the outflow of Maullín River. History In 1674, there was a group of soldiers Basques in the present position of the commu ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

between Chilean patriots and Spanish royalists, during the Chilean War of Independence.

Background

After the

capture of Valdivia The Capture of Valdivia ( es, Toma de Valdivia) was a battle in the Chilean War of Independence between Royalist forces commanded by Colonel Manuel Montoya and Fausto del Hoyo and the Patriot forces under the command of Thomas Cochrane and J ...

, Lord Cochrane departed, leaving Colonel

Jorge Beauchef Jorge Beauchef (1787 in Velay, France - June 10, 1840 in Santiago, Chile) was a French military who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. He is best known in Latin America for his participation in the Chilean War of Independence, where he won man ...

as commander and governor of

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

. Beauchef decided to head south in order to secure Osorno, to expel the remains of the royalist forces from the Chilean mainland and to take possession of the area south to the Maullín River, so that the Spanish would not be able to reoccupy Valdivia by land. His main worry was a possible regrouping of the Royalist forces in the area, since they far outnumbered his own. Beauchef and his small army arrived at

Trumao Trumao is the name of a soil of the Andosol order found in southern and central Chile. Trumaos are formed from young volcanic ash, by volcanic ash redeposited by aeolian processes or by volcanic ash mobilized as alluvium. Trumaos are characterized ...

where they were aided by local Mapuche-Huilliche who ferried them over

Bueno River Bueno River (Spanish: ''Río Bueno'') is a river in southern Chile. It originates in Ranco Lake and like most of Chile rivers it drains into the Pacific Ocean at the southern boundary of the Valdivian Coastal Reserve. Its lower flow forms the bo ...

and provided the Spanish with ox carts. Beuchef reciprocated by giving the Mapuche-Huilliche liqueur and indigo dye which he had brought with him for this end. Oral traditions seem to indicate that local Mapuche-Huilliche joined the patriot army and fought in the battle. This support was in breach with the

Parliament of Las Canoas The Parliament of Las Canoas ( es, Parlamento de Las Canoas) was a diplomatic meeting between Mapuche-Huilliches and Spanish authorities in 1793 held at the confluence of Rahue River and Damas River near what is today the city of Osorno. The par ...

where Mapuche-Huilliche had agreed to support Spain against its enemies. Previous to this battle, all the royalists garrisons that had managed to escape from the cities of Valdivia and Osorno gathered at the

Carelmapu Carelmapu (lit. from Mapudungun "Green Land") is a port and town ( es, pueblo) at the western end of Chacao Channel, southern Chile. Carelmapu was established by the Spanish in 1602 as San Antonio Ribera de Carelmapu following the Destruction of ...

Fort. The governor of Chiloé Brigadier Antonio de Quintanilla was disgusted with the poor performance of the old colonel

Manuel Montoya Manuel Montoya Fernández (born 18 October 1959) is the handball coach and manager. He started at the Col·legi Pare Manyanet in Barcelona. He has a Doctorate, PhD in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences and is a professor at the Instituto Nacio ...

and replaced him with Gaspar Fernández de Bobadilla and captain Miguel de Senosiain, and ordered them to return north and combat the patriots. Bobadilla and Senosiain re-crossed the Maullín River at the head of 300 soldiers.

The battle

On March 6, Colonel Beauchef sent an advanced scouting group of 50 soldiers under the command of captain José María Labé. As the scouting party was advancing south, they were attacked by the royalists, who ambushed them from a forest near the Hacienda El Toro. Labé managed to maintain his ground for about an hour answering the fire, but finally started to retreat overwhelmed by the numerically superior enemy. The royalists came out of their shelters and started to closely pursue the patriots, who by then were in full retreat. When Beauchef heard the shots, he decided to intervene with the 90 soldiers under his command, while allowing Labe's troop to move to his rear, in order for them to rest and recharge his ammunition. The Royalist were then left to face the fresh and entrenched patriot forces, who faced them with increased firepower. As they didn't know how big were Beauchef's forces, they became discouraged and demoralized, and halted their attack. Beauchef immediately seized the opportunity and ordered a frontal bayonet counter-charge with all the forces under his command, causing the Royalists to flee. The patriots, using the horses captured to the enemy began an implacable persecution. The Spanish royalists left the field, leaving behind 40 dead, 106 prisoners and 140 guns and most of their ammunition. Beauchef lost 11 soldiers and had 29 injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:El Toro, Battle of Conflicts in 1820 Battles involving Chile Battles involving Spain Battles of the Spanish American wars of independence Battles of the Chilean War of Independence Battles of the Chiloé Campaign Battle of El Toro Battle of El Toro March 1820 events