The Battle of Acosta Ñu (), also known as the Children's Battle () in Paraguay and the Battle of Campo Grande () in Brazil, took place on 16 August 1869. It was the last major engagement of the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

between the Triple Alliance and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. The 3,500 poorly armed Paraguayans, mostly boys between nine and fifteen years old, old men and wounded combatants, confronted 20,000 Brazilian and Argentine veteran soldiers.

Background

In the middle of 1869, the

an Army was in full retreat and

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

was under allied occupation.

Francisco Solano López Francisco Solano López Carrillo (24 July 1827 or 1826 – 1 March 1870) was a Paraguay, Paraguayan statesman, Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870, of which he serve ...

, the Paraguayan president, refused to surrender and retreated to the hills, vowing to keep fighting to the end. The commander of the allied forces, Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, the Duke of Caxias, suggested that the war was militarily over. Pedro II, the Brazilian emperor, refused to stop the campaign until López surrendered. Caxias then resigned and was replaced by the Emperor's son-in-law, Prince Gaston of Orleans, the Count of Eu. The Count of Eu and the main Allied troops advanced and took

Caacupé Caacupé (; Guaraní language, Guarani: Ka'akupe , literally: "Behind the Mount") is a city and district in Paraguay. It is the capital of the Department (subnational entity), department of Cordillera Department, Cordillera. The town was founded i ...

on August 15, though López had already moved to Caraguatay, leaving

Bernardino Caballero Bernardino Caballero de Añazco Melgarejo y Genes (20 May 1839, Ybycuí, Paraguay – 26 February 1912, Asunción) was a Paraguayan military officer and politician. He was a General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), off ...

to guard the rear. In an attempt to block the Paraguayan Army from retreating to Caraguatay, the Count of Eu sent a cavalry division to Barrero Grande (now

Eusebio Ayala Eusebio Ayala Bordenave (August 14, 1875 – June 4, 1942) was a Paraguayan politician who served as the 28th President of Paraguay from 7 November 1921 to 12 April 1923 and again from 15 August 1932 to 17 February 1936. A member of the Liberal ...

), while the 1st Corps pursued López. Before engaging Caballero at Acosta Ñu, the cavalry division was reinforced by the Brazilian army's 2nd Corps, including Argentine soldiers under the command of Col. Luis María Campos.

Battle

Allied troops reached the rear of Paraguayan forces near Barrero Grande on August 16. The allied troops consisted of some 20,000 Brazilian and Argentine soldiers, facing about 4,300 Paraguayan teenagers and adult veterans. To disguise how young the bulk of his forces were, Caballero disguised many of the nine- and ten-year-olds among his ranks with false beards. The battle began at 8:30 in the morning in on Campo Grande, also known as Acosta Ñu ('Acosta's Field'), an open plain of about favorable to the Brazilian cavalry. However, because the approach to the field was narrowed by the confluence of two streams, Arroyo Yukyry and Arroyo Piribebuy, the Allied 1st Crops infantry, under the command of Col. Manoel Deodoro da Fonseca, led the initial attack. Over the next eight hours, the Paraguayans offered fierce resistance, retreating across Arroyo Yukyry where they had eight cannons and cover. They set fires and used the smoke to hide their movements, but they soon spread through the dry grass. The Paraguayans repelled an attempt by the Allied troops to cross the stream, but the Count of Eu's artillery fire caused heavy losses for the Paraguayans, allowing the Allied 4th Cavalry Brigade to cross the stream and attack the defenders' flank as the Caballero’s troops assumed a classic square formation to defend themselves with bayonets. By this time, the Allied 2nd Corps reached the Paraguayan rear, blocking a retreat. The Allied infantry attacked with bayonets, overran the Paraguayan positions, and captured Caballero's cannons though Caballero was able to escape with a small number of troops. Many of the injured soldiers died due to fires that swept the battlefield. Some scholars, such as Julio José Chiavenatto, accused the Count of Eu of ordering fires set to kill fallen soldiers, including burning a field hospital. A contemporary report from the Viscount of Taunay, who was present at the battle, however, blames the Paraguayans for setting fires to hide their movements that then spread out of control.

Legacy

The battle of Acosta Ñu is depicted in the painting by

Pedro Américo Pedro Américo de Figueiredo e Melo (29 April 1843 – 7 October 1905) was a Brazilian novelist, poet, scientist, art theorist, essayist, philosopher, politician and professor, but is best remembered as one of the most important academic painter ...

, as well as in a series of paintings by Argentine painter Modesto González. The Viscount of Taunay provided an eyewitness account of the battle in his book (''Memories of War and Travel''). Each year in Paraguay, August 16th is marked as "" (

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honour of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

of Paraguay) to commemorate the memory of the children who lost their lives in the battle. The holiday was first declared in 1948 by provisional president Juan Manuel Frutos.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acosta Nu Conflicts in 1869 Acosta Nu Acosta Nu Acosta Nu Acosta Nu August 1869 1869 in Paraguay Massacres in Paraguay 19th-century murders in South America History of Cordillera Department