Battle of Las Tres Acequias
Battle of Las Tres Acequias | |
---|---|
Part of the Maipo river, San Bernardo | |
Result | Victory for Carrera |
200 cavalry,
800 mounted militia,
no numbers for artillery
200 cavalry,
4 guns
The Battle of Les Tres Acequias, fought during the
Background
On 23 July, after two months of arguing with the Supreme Director
O'Higgins, meanwhile, was still the commander in chief of Francisco's government, and had acquiesced to the signature of the treaty. O'Higgins marched from Talca towards Santiago with a division of troops to remove Carrera. O'Higgins regarded Carrera and his political faction as being responsible for the military failures of the earlier campaign, as well as the previous overthrow of O'Higgins' political mentor, Juan Martínez de Rozas. In the eve of the battle O'Higgins encamped in the Mardones property, to the south of Maipo River, waiting for Carrera's forces, overnighting at the small hamlet of Pérez farm.
The battle
On the morning of 26 August, the then
Eschewing further reconnaissance, O'Higgins ordered his men forward in a determined attack against the larger enemy force, apparently optimistic following the early preliminary victory delivered by
O'Higgins' men fled, mainly to the south, attempting to cross the Maipo river and seeking safety in the buildings around Chena. O'Higgins' own mount had collapsed wounded, and he retreated from the field on a borrowed horse, leading a unit of 100 men to safety. Meanwhile, the bulk of the 3rd division of Carrera's force, under the command of José Miguel Carrera himself, had been positioned on the suburbs of Santiago at the beginning the battle. Despite a force march, it did not arrive in time to take part in the main action. When the cavalry from the 3rd division arrived, it joined the units chasing O'Higgins' men from the battlefield – but as the sun set around 18:30, Carrera's men gave up the pursuit.
Consequences of the battle
Luis Carrera did not pursue his enemies any further that night, keeping to his position. He placed some forces as a diversion towards the Hacienda de Tango, accompanied by the guns he had seized from O'Higgins. Whilst these guns provided a desultory bombardment, Carrera's main body left Perez's farm and retreated two kilometers to the north, to the hamlet of Ochagavia.
On the next day, O'Higgins finally regrouped to the south of the Maipo and reunited his men, with the intention of joining them with his rear units and undertaking a fresh attack. In the midst of this, news came from Talcahuano of the arrival of the royalist expedition of General Mariano Osorio, advancing quickly towards them. This intervention encouraged both sides to settle their differences and to jointly defend their country.
O'Higgins sent a representative to José Miguel Carrera to convey the news of the situation and his intentions. After some further negotiations, the two leaders settled their differences at the Hacienda de Tango, jointly signing a declaration in Santiago on 4 September. On the following day O'Higgins left the capital to assume the leadership of the 1st division, consisting of his old forces, under the overall command of José Miguel Carrera. These forces would conduct the defence of Chile, leading up to the disaster of the battle of Rancagua.