Battle of San Nicolás
Encyclopedia
The Battle of San Nicolás was a naval engagement on 2 March 1811 on the Paraná River
between the Spanish royalists
from Montevideo
, and the first flotilla
created by the revolutionary government
of Buenos Aires
. It was the first engagement between the two fleets in the River Plate
region since the revolution. It was a royalist
victory.
, which was occupied by Napoleonic troops. The royalist authorities in Montevideo opposed the measure and declared a naval blockade of Buenos Aires. In the city of Montevideo, ther was a navy base serbving as port for the royal Spanish fleet in the South American Atlantic coast. The local Junta Grande
(Buenos Aires' revolutionary government) decided to establish a fleet to conmtest the Spanish dominion of the local waters.
, which had been taken for the most part out of service as obsolete. He obtained a schooner
, a brigantine
and a sloop
, christened respectively "Invencible", "25 de Mayo" and "América".
Recruiting of the crew was another difficult endeavor, as the inhabitants of the pampas were not used to a sailor's life. The solution was to hire foreigners, who for the most part did not speak Spanish. The rank and file was filled with locals.
Command of the flotilla was given to a Maltese
privateer
, Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista Azopardo
. This sailor had arrived in the River Plate at the beginning of the 19th Century, and had participated in the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
of 1806 and 1807. Azopardo commanded the "Invencible", seconded by Hipólito Bouchard on "25 de Mayo", and Ángel Hubac, on "América".
had been sent to Paraguay
to help the locals join the revolution, but after an initial victory at the Battle of Campichuelo
, he was defeated at the Battle of Paraguarí
and was forced to retreat. The Junta decided to respond to the reinforcement request from Belgrano, and tasked Azopardo with the transport by river of the reinforcement troops and artillery to Paraguay. The Maltese raised his flag in the "Invencible", while the Frenchman
naturalized Argentine Hipólito Bouchard was put in charge of the brigantine "25 de Mayo". Lastly, the sloop "América" was put under the command of the Frenchman Abel Hubac.
The royalist authorities in Montevideo learned of these plans and detached a flotilla to intercept the rebels. The mission was given to Jacinto Romarate, an able officer, who could deploy seven small warships of superior quality, and firepower than his enemy's.
they saw the royalists abnd Azopardo decidid to do battle. The rebel commander order a battery of cannons were removed from the ships and installed on the coast, and that a regiment of sailors and militias made ready to fight from the river coast.
On March 2 they fought, when the royalist ships closed in the rebels. In the first encounter, two royalist brigantines ("Belén" and "Cisne") became groudned near the coast and were made targets for the coastal cannons and the rebel infantry
. Nonetheless, Azopardo could not get to board them and the ships finally freed themselves and retreated.
After several hours the royalists tried a new attack, and shot at the "Invencible". The "América" was hit several times, with a gash opening on her prow
, beginning to take on water, and had to be abandoned by the crew. The royalists then concentrated on the "25 de Mayo", which they tried to board
; the poorly trained crew became panicked and abandoned ship jumping overboard, against the attempts of Bouchard to stop them.
The royalist vessels closed in on the "Invencible", which was by now fightng on her own, and boarded her. The crew fought valiantly for almost two hours until the situation became unsustainable. Azopardo tried to blow up the munitions depot, but the wounded begged him not to do it, so he was forced to surrender.
rivers by the royalist fleet from Montevideo; which would last until 1813 with the creation of a new naval squadron and the victories of William Brown. For the moment, it meant that the reinforcements requested by general Belgrano did not arrive. A few days after the battle at San Nicolás, Belgrano's army was attacked and defeated at the Battle of Tacuarí
(March 9, 1811).
Juan Bautista Azopardo became a prisoner of the royalists and was taken to Ceuta
, Spain. The revolutionary government in Buenos Aires, still started a judicial process in absentia
to determine his involvement in the defeat. The report obtained recognized Azopardo's courage, but concluded he had demonstrated lack of experience in command and that he had allowed lack of discipline on his crew. The sentence given was the indefinite inhabilitation of command in the armed forces, establishing that he could only serve as a subordinate officer.
Azopardo confronted while imprisoned in Spain charges of adhering to the revolutionary cause; and was condemned to death to later have his sentenced commuted. Finally in 1820, the liberal movement in Spain headed by general Rafael de Riego freed all political prisoners including Azopardo allowing him to return to South America. The following year, Buenos Aires rescinded his inabilitation order and allowed him to return to military life in the Argentine Navy.
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
between the Spanish royalists
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
from Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, and the first flotilla
Flotilla
A flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as frigates, destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats, or minesweepers...
created by the revolutionary government
May Revolution
The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...
of 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...
. It was the first engagement between the two fleets in the River Plate
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
region since the revolution. It was a royalist
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
victory.
Precedent
On May 25, 1810 the River Plate colonies revolted against the Spanish Viceroy at the May Revolution in Buenos Aires, caliming the necessity of assuming local government due to the difficult situation in SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, which was occupied by Napoleonic troops. The royalist authorities in Montevideo opposed the measure and declared a naval blockade of Buenos Aires. In the city of Montevideo, ther was a navy base serbving as port for the royal Spanish fleet in the South American Atlantic coast. The local Junta Grande
Junta Grande
Junta Grande is the most common name for the executive government of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata , that followed the incorporation of provincial representatives into the Primera Junta .- Origin :...
(Buenos Aires' revolutionary government) decided to establish a fleet to conmtest the Spanish dominion of the local waters.
Creation of the rebel fleet
The Junta Grande which took control of the government in Buenos Aires named Francisco de Gurruchaga, as secretary of the Navy. He immediately set to work to create a small naval fleet. With effort, Gurruchaga bought five vessels of different types from local owners, and equipped three of them with artilleryArtillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, which had been taken for the most part out of service as obsolete. He obtained a schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, a brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
and a sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
, christened respectively "Invencible", "25 de Mayo" and "América".
Recruiting of the crew was another difficult endeavor, as the inhabitants of the pampas were not used to a sailor's life. The solution was to hire foreigners, who for the most part did not speak Spanish. The rank and file was filled with locals.
Command of the flotilla was given to a Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
, Lieutenant Colonel Juan Bautista Azopardo
Juan Bautista Azopardo
Juan Bautista Azopardo was a Maltese Privateer and military man who fought under the flags of The Netherlands, Spain and Argentina.- Early life :...
. This sailor had arrived in the River Plate at the beginning of the 19th Century, and had participated in the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
The British invasions of the Río de la Plata were a series of unsuccessful British attempts to seize control of the Spanish colonies located around the La Plata Basin in South America . The invasions took place between 1806 and 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars, when Spain was an ally of...
of 1806 and 1807. Azopardo commanded the "Invencible", seconded by Hipólito Bouchard on "25 de Mayo", and Ángel Hubac, on "América".
The first mission
At the beginning of 1811 the Junta Grande was immersed in armed conflicts in various fronts against counter-revolutionary (royalist) forces. A small army under the command of Manuel BelgranoManuel Belgrano
Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano , usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano, was an Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader. He took part in the Argentine Wars of Independence and created the Flag of Argentina...
had been sent to Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
to help the locals join the revolution, but after an initial victory at the Battle of Campichuelo
Battle of Campichuelo
The Battle of Campichuelo was a battle fought on 19 December 1810 between revolutionary forces led by Manuel Belgrano and Royalist troops on the right bank of the Paraná river, as part of the Paraguay campaign of the Argentine War of Independence...
, he was defeated at the Battle of Paraguarí
Battle of Paraguarí
The battle of Paraguarí took place on January 19, 1811, in Paraguarí , between the patriot army led by Manuel Belgrano and the Royalist army located in Paraguay...
and was forced to retreat. The Junta decided to respond to the reinforcement request from Belgrano, and tasked Azopardo with the transport by river of the reinforcement troops and artillery to Paraguay. The Maltese raised his flag in the "Invencible", while the Frenchman
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
naturalized Argentine Hipólito Bouchard was put in charge of the brigantine "25 de Mayo". Lastly, the sloop "América" was put under the command of the Frenchman Abel Hubac.
The royalist authorities in Montevideo learned of these plans and detached a flotilla to intercept the rebels. The mission was given to Jacinto Romarate, an able officer, who could deploy seven small warships of superior quality, and firepower than his enemy's.
The Battle of San Nicolás
Azopardo's flotilla left Buenos Aires, going upriver on the Paraná. Arriving near San NicolásSan Nicolás de los Arroyos
San Nicolás de los Arroyos is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the western shore of the Paraná River, 61 km from Rosario. It has about 138,000 inhabitants . It is the head town of the partido of the same name...
they saw the royalists abnd Azopardo decidid to do battle. The rebel commander order a battery of cannons were removed from the ships and installed on the coast, and that a regiment of sailors and militias made ready to fight from the river coast.
On March 2 they fought, when the royalist ships closed in the rebels. In the first encounter, two royalist brigantines ("Belén" and "Cisne") became groudned near the coast and were made targets for the coastal cannons and the rebel infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
. Nonetheless, Azopardo could not get to board them and the ships finally freed themselves and retreated.
After several hours the royalists tried a new attack, and shot at the "Invencible". The "América" was hit several times, with a gash opening on her prow
Prow
thumb|right|295pxThe prow is the forward most part of a ship's bow that cuts through the water. The prow is the part of the bow above the waterline. The terms prow and bow are often used interchangeably to describe the most forward part of a ship and its surrounding parts...
, beginning to take on water, and had to be abandoned by the crew. The royalists then concentrated on the "25 de Mayo", which they tried to board
Board
-Flat surface:* Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat** See :Category:Engineered wood** Cutting board** Sounding board, of a musical instrument* Cardboard* Paperboard*Corrugated fiberboard*Fiberboard*Particle board, also known as chipboard...
; the poorly trained crew became panicked and abandoned ship jumping overboard, against the attempts of Bouchard to stop them.
The royalist vessels closed in on the "Invencible", which was by now fightng on her own, and boarded her. The crew fought valiantly for almost two hours until the situation became unsustainable. Azopardo tried to blow up the munitions depot, but the wounded begged him not to do it, so he was forced to surrender.
Consequences
The defeat caused the destruction of the rebel fleet and the taking control over the Rio de la Plata, Paraná and UruguayUruguay River
The Uruguay River is a river in South America. It flows from north to south and makes boundary with Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of the Mesopotamia from the other two countries...
rivers by the royalist fleet from Montevideo; which would last until 1813 with the creation of a new naval squadron and the victories of William Brown. For the moment, it meant that the reinforcements requested by general Belgrano did not arrive. A few days after the battle at San Nicolás, Belgrano's army was attacked and defeated at the Battle of Tacuarí
Battle of Tacuarí
The Battle of Tacuarí was a battle in Southern Paraguay between revolutionary forces under the command of General Manuel Belgrano, member of the Primera Junta government of Argentina, and Paraguayan troops under colonel Manuel Atanasio Cabañas, at the time at the service of the royalists.- History...
(March 9, 1811).
Juan Bautista Azopardo became a prisoner of the royalists and was taken to Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
, Spain. The revolutionary government in Buenos Aires, still started a judicial process in absentia
In absentia
In absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
to determine his involvement in the defeat. The report obtained recognized Azopardo's courage, but concluded he had demonstrated lack of experience in command and that he had allowed lack of discipline on his crew. The sentence given was the indefinite inhabilitation of command in the armed forces, establishing that he could only serve as a subordinate officer.
Azopardo confronted while imprisoned in Spain charges of adhering to the revolutionary cause; and was condemned to death to later have his sentenced commuted. Finally in 1820, the liberal movement in Spain headed by general Rafael de Riego freed all political prisoners including Azopardo allowing him to return to South America. The following year, Buenos Aires rescinded his inabilitation order and allowed him to return to military life in the Argentine Navy.
See also
- Argentine NavyArgentine NavyThe Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
- Juan Bautista AzopardoJuan Bautista AzopardoJuan Bautista Azopardo was a Maltese Privateer and military man who fought under the flags of The Netherlands, Spain and Argentina.- Early life :...
- Action of 14 May 1814Action of 14 May 1814The Battle of Buceo took place on 14–17 May 1814, during the Argentine War of Independence between an Argentine fleet under William Brown and a Spanish fleet under Admiral Sienna off the coast of Montevideo, in today's Uruguay.-Outcome:...
- Battle of Martín García (1814)Battle of Martín García (1814)The Battle of Martín García was fought from 10 to 15 March 1814 between the forces of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata under the command of then-Lieutenant Colonel Guillermo Brown, and the royalist forces commanded by frigate captain Jacinto de Romarate, defending the region.After a...