''Vargas Swamp Lancers'', or Monument to the Lancers ( es, Monumento a los Lanceros), is a large sculptural complex realized by Colombian artist Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt and by engineer Guillermo Gonzalez Zuleta in the department of Boyacá ( Colombia) as a memorial for the

Battle of Vargas Swamp Battle of Vargas Swamp ( es, Batalla del Pantano de Vargas) was a battle that occurred near Paipa, on July 25, 1819. A joint Venezuelan and Neogranadine army commanded by Simón Bolívar was trying to prevent Spanish forces from arriving at San ...

. It is the largest monument in Colombia. This monument depicts the attack of the 14 lancers commanded by Colonel Juan José Rondón. It is 33 m high and was dedicated in the 150th anniversary of the

Colombian Declaration of Independence The Colombian Declaration of Independence occurred on July 20, 1810 when the Junta de Santa Fe was formed in Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of the Spanish colonial Viceroyalty of New Granada, to govern the territory autonomously from Spain. T ...

(1970).

The Lancers

In July 1819, while marching against Santafé, the Republican army of Simón Bolívar, exhausted after passing across the Pisba paramount, faced a Spanish regular army commanded by General José María Barreiro. Bolivar's forces included the cavalry ''regiment Llano Arriba'' armed with

lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike s ...

s. The terrain was better suited for the Spanish troops, and Bolívar's army faced adverse odds. After initial clashes between the infantry of both sides, the Spanish cavalry attempted a flanking attack on the republicans. At this moment Colonel Rondón's small detachment of 14 lancers charged General Barreiro's horsemen at a point where the Spanish regulars were crowded onto a narrow track through swampland. This sudden counter-attack by the lancers of the ''Llano Arriba'' regiment, as portrayed in the sculpture, was a decisive point in the winning of the battle. Bolívar's main force moved up in support of the lancers and Barreiro's army, after suffering 500 casualties, fell back covered by the 2nd Numanicia Battalion as a rearguard.

The monument

The monument designed by Arenas Betancourt and Colombian engineer Guillermo Gonzalez Zuleta, is a bronze sculpture, depicting the 14 soldiers and their horses, suspended in the air and framed in a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

sculpture.

References

External links

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Monuments and memorials in Colombia Landmarks in Colombia 1970 sculptures Buildings and structures in Boyacá Department Tourist attractions in Boyacá Department Monuments of Colombia {{Colombia-struct-stub