The Battle of Campichuelo was an action fought on 19 December 1810 between revolutionary forces led by

Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentina, Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He to ...

and royalist troops on the right bank of the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

, part of the

Paraguay campaign The Paraguay campaign (1810–11) of the Argentine War of Independence was the attempt by a Buenos Aires-sponsored militia, commanded by Manuel Belgrano, to win the royalist Intendency of Paraguay for the cause of May Revolution. In Paraguay ...

of the

Argentine War of Independence The Argentine War of Independence () was a secessionist civil war (until 1816) fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli, Martín Miguel de Güemes, Martin Miguel de Guemes and José de ...

. It ended with a victory for the forces of Belgrano.

Antecedents

The

Primera Junta The Primera Junta ("First Junta") or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' ("Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata"), is the most common name given to the first government of what ...

sent an expedition to Paraguay in the belief that a majority of its population supported a rebellion against the rule of colonial Governor Bernardo de Velasco. On 24 September they agreed to send General Manuel Belgrano, who had been appointed governor and captain general of the

Banda Oriental Banda Oriental (Eastern Bank), or more fully Banda Oriental del Río Uruguay, was the name of the South American territories east of the Uruguay River and north of Río de la Plata that comprise the modern nation of Uruguay, the modern state of Ri ...

by decree of 4 September.

The battle

Because Paraguayan royalists had removed all boats on the River Paraná along its borders, Belgrano's forces had to build boats from leather, some canoes and large wooden rafts suitable to carry 60 men and four cannon, as the crossing was expected to be opposed. The river was 1000 meters wide at the crossing point, and the current would carry them a league and a half downstream, to Campichuelo hill. The passage started at 11:00 pm on 18 December, when a force of 12 men surprised the enemy, taking two prisoners and some weapons. The main crossing took place from 3:00 am until 6:00 am on 19 December under the command of Major General Machain, forcing the enemy to abandon their position.Instituto Nacional Belgraniano
/ref> Belgrano was operating from the former capital mission of Santa Maria de la Candelaria (

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

today) and nearby sites located in the Argentine province of

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragui, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It has ...

. Belgrano led a small force: 800 men, half cavalry and infantry, with six small-caliber cannon. They faced a 500-man royalist force led by Pablo Thompson. Belgrano issued a proclamation asking the royalists to join the revolutionary ranks; on their refusal he attacked and defeated the royalist forces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campichuelo Amphibious operations involving Argentina Battles of the Argentine War of Independence Battles involving canoes Battles involving Paraguay History of Itapúa Department Conflicts in 1810 December 1810