The Battle of Cotagaita was fought on October 27, 1810 during the Campaign of Upper Peru

Upper Peru

Upper Peru was the region in the Viceroyalty of Peru, and after 1776, the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, comprising the governorships of Potosí, La Paz, Cochabamba, Los Chiquitos, Moxos and Charcas...

 in the Argentine War of Independence

Argentine War of Independence

The Argentine War of Independence was fought from 1810 to 1818 by Argentine patriotic forces under Manuel Belgrano, Juan José Castelli and José de San Martín against royalist forces loyal to the Spanish crown...

 when the troops of the Army of the North

Army of the North

The Army of the North , contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest and the Upper Peru from the royalist troops of the Spanish...

 were sent by the Primera Junta

Primera Junta

The Primera Junta or First Assembly is the most common name given to the first independent government of Argentina. It was created on 25 May 1810, as a result of the events of the May Revolution. The Junta initially had representatives from only Buenos Aires...

 government in Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 to the Alto Perú to fight the Royalists. It was the first skirmish of the Army of the North in this theatre. The battle was fought near the town of Santiago de Cotagaita, nowadays in Potosí Department

Potosí Department

Potosí Department is a department in southwestern Bolivia. It comprises 118,218 km² with 709,013 inhabitants . The capital is the city of Potosí....

 in Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

.

General José Manuel de Goyeneche was appointed by the viceroy of Perú

Viceroyalty of Peru

Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...

 to command the royalists forces in Alto Perú, whom in along with the president of the Real Audiencia of Charcas, Vicente Nieto, decided to establish a forward post in Cotagaita under the command of Frigate Captain

Frigate Captain

Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries.It is, usually, equivalent to the Commonwealth/US Navy rank of commander.Countries using this rank include Argentina and Spain , France , Belgium , Italy ,...

 José de Córdova y Roxas. These forces were left isolated after the pronouncement of Cochabamba

Cochabamba

Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people...

 (September 14) and later of Oruro

Oruro, Bolivia

Oruro is a city in Bolivia with a population of 235,393 , located about equidistant between La Paz and Sucre at approximately 3710 meters above sea level. It is the capital of the department of Oruro....

 (September 24) in favor of the Junta in Buenos Aires.

The royalist forces comprised the provincial battalion of Potosí, under commander Indalecio González de Socasa; the Puno battalion; veterans of Borbón; the King's Volunteers; dragoons of Chichas and lancers of Cinti. The revolutionary forces included the first battalion under commander Gregorio Perdiel; sixth battalion under commander Carlos Forest, Hunters battalion under commander Manuel Dorrego

Manuel Dorrego

Manuel Dorrego was an Argentine statesman and soldier. He was governor of Buenos Aires in 1820, and then again from 1827 to 1828....

; Blandengues battalion under commander Abraham González; and the Husars Regiment under commander Martín Miguel de Güemes

Martín Miguel de Güemes

Martín Miguel de Güemes was a military leader and popular caudillo who defended northwestern Argentina from the Spanish during the Argentine War of Independence.-Biography:...

.

The attack started in the early hours of the morning and ended at 2pm the same day. Not having been able to dislodge the royalists from their trenches, Balcarce effected and orderly retreat without being chased.

After the Cotagaita action, the revolutionary forces were obligated to retreat towards Tupiza

Tupiza

Tupiza is a city in Potosí Department, Bolivia. It is located at around at an elevation of about 3160 m. The population is 23,100...

 and then Suipacha, to await reinforcement, where later they achieved their first victory at the Battle of Suipacha

Battle of Suipacha

The Battle of Suipacha was fought on 7 November 1810 in Bolivia during the Bolivian War of Independence between the Spanish colonial army and the Republican forces sent by the Primera Junta from Buenos Aires. At the time Bolivia was known as Upper Peru . It was the first decisive defeat of the...

.