The siege of Chillán occurred July 27 to August 10, 1813, as patriot forces attempted to dislodge a determined band of royalist defenders. The failure of

José Miguel Carrera José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impo ...

to take the city would contribute to his removal from office by the

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

later in the campaign.

Background

The city of

Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new � ...

was held by royalist troops under the command of Juan Francisco Sanchez, backed by forces under the command of Ildefonso Elorreaga and the Valdivian troops of Juan Nepomuceno Carvallo. Juan Francisco Sanchez had sent a message to

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 ...

for reinforcements as

began his siege. As a result, the governing body at

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

instructed Carrera to try to take the city before these new royalist forces could arrive.

The siege

The patriot forces surrounding

consisted of some of their best soldiers, but the siege was to occur in the midst of winter and in a difficult location. Old

The city of

was moved to its current location in 1835

/ref> was a city of 4,000 inhabitants, now increased to 9,000 with Sanchez's royalist forces. It was located on an easily defensible hill between the rivers ''Paso Hondo'', ''Maipón'' and ''Chillán''. By the time that Carrera arrived to take command of the siege, Joel Roberts Poinsett and

Juan Mackenna Brigadier Juan Mackenna (26 October 1771 – 21 November 1814) was an Irish-born, Chilean military officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence. He is considered to have been the creator of the Corps of Military Engineers of the Chilean ...

had already compiled a plan showing the enemy fortifications and for the location of the artillery. Although the patriot troops were equipped with waterproof ponchos, the winter weather was so unpleasant and the patriot supplies so limited that Carrera was concerned about the timing of the campaign.

The assault

As the days drew on, the patriot force began to suffer increasing numbers of deserters, and Carrera decided that a direct attack was needed before the entire patriot force disintegrated in the harsh winter conditions. The first attack, the battle of Maipón, occurred on August 3, with the second attack following two days later. The assaults were marred by the massacre of many of the civilian inhabitants of

and numerous atrocities. The assaults failed, however, to take the city, where the royalist forces held on staunchly.

Aftermath

Carrera had taken many casualties during these assaults, with his casualties and men taken prisoner numbering more than 500 men. His militia cavalry and some of the infantry had fled altogether, and without food and ammunition it was not going to be possible to hold the city perimeter. The only choice was to raise the siege on August 10 and retreat to

Quirihue Quirihue () is a Chilean city in Quirihue, Itata Province, Ñuble Region. It is located about 72 kilometers northwest of Chillán and 410 km southwest of Santiago. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Insti ...

and Concepción. The failure of the siege of

would begin to undermine the credibility of Carrera in the eyes of the leadership in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chillan, Siege of Conflicts in 1813 Battles involving Chile Battles involving Spain Sieges involving Spain Battles of the Spanish American wars of independence Battles of the Chilean War of Independence Battles of the Patria Vieja Campaign 1813 in the Captaincy General of Chile July 1813 events August 1813 events

Siege of Chillan A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...