| Battle of Tarpellanca | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Chilean War of Independence | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 |  Mapuche Allies | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| | Toqui Catrileo | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 600 | 2,400 | ||||||
The Battle of Tarpellanca (September 26, 1820) took place between the forces of nascent Chilean Army and Spanish royalist guerrillas, in the context of the Total War campaign, during the later stages of the Chilean War of Independence.
After their victory at the Battle of Pangal, the Loyalist forces, composed of approximately 2,400 guerrilla and Mapuche Allies under the command of Vicente Benavides, decided to attack and destroy the city of Los Angeles. This city was defended by around 400 line soldiers under the command of Marshal Pedro Andrés del Alcázar, and had already survived four attempts by the same enemy.
At this juncture, Marshal del Alcázar received forged orders from General Ramón Freire to evacuate the city and move his forces to reinforce Chillán and meet with the main Army that was operating out of Concepción. Marshal del Alcázar, ignorant of the defeat suffered by the Patriot army at Pangal decided to evacuate the city, taking with him all the inhabitants, who otherwise would have been massacred by the guerrillas. He left the city on the 25th at the head of the Cazadores de Coquimbo battalion, 50 artillery troops, approximately 150 friendly Mapuche allies and about a thousand civilians, with their properties and animals. The long train made for a very slow speed.
As he was crossing the Laja River at the Tarpellanca ford, early on the morning of the 26th, the column was attacked by the troops of Benavides at the point where the river branched into two inlets leaving an islet in the middle. Marshal del Alcázar and almost all of his column were trapped there at the islet. A defense was hastily organized by making a circle out of the carts, but after 13 hours of battle, just as night was falling, the patriots started to run out of ammunition.
In order to try to save the many civilians that were traveling with his column, he decided to negotiate with Benavides. The Patriots surrendered in exchange for their lives and free passage for all the civilians, while Marshal del Alcázar and his officers were to remain as hostages and the surviving soldiers were to incorporate themselves to the guerrilla. The final truce was agreed at 2AM on the 27th.
After the surrender of the troops, Benavides ordered the prisoners to restart the march towards Yumbel. On the morning of the 28th, Benavides ordered all the prisoners executed, which were then shot, lanced and the bodies torn apart. The city of Los Angeles was torched.
Diego Jacinto Agustín Barros Arana was a Chilean professor, legislator, minister and diplomat. He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century. His main work General History of Chile is a 15-volume work that spanned over 300 years of the nation's history.
The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía. The conflict begun at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquest attempt establishing cities and forcing Mapuches into servitude. It subsequently evolved over time into phases of low intensity warfare, drawn-out sieges, slave-hunting expeditions, pillaging raids, punitive expeditions and renewed Spanish attempts to secure lost territories. Abduction of women and war rape was common on both sides.
The Chilean War of Independence was a war between pro-independence Chilean criollos seeking political and economic independence from Spain and royalist creoles supporting continued allegiance to the Captaincy General of Chile and membership of the Spanish Empire.
Francisco Casimiro Marcó del Pont Ángel Díaz y Méndez was a Spanish soldier and the last Governor of Chile. He was one of the main figures of the Chilean independence process, being the final Spaniard to rule as Royal Governor of Chile from 1815 to 1817, when he was deposed and captured by the patriot forces after the Battle of Chacabuco.
Gabriel Cano de Aponte was a Spanish soldier who served as Royal Governor of Chile from 1717 to 1733. His administration was the longest of all Colonial Governors and the second longest in the history of Chile after the administration of General Augusto Pinochet, who surpassed him by some eight months.
Chilote is a dialect of Spanish language spoken on the southern Chilean islands of Chiloé Archipelago. It has distinct differences from standard Chilean Spanish in accent, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, especially by influences from local dialect of Mapuche language and some conservative traits.
The Capture of Valdivia was a battle in the Chilean War of Independence between Spanish forces commanded by Colonel Manuel Montoya and the Chilean forces under the command of Lord Cochrane, held on 3 and 4 February 1820.
Fernando Alegría was a Chilean poet, writer, literary critic and scholar.
Pelantaro or Pelantarú was one of the vice toquis of Paillamachu, the toqui or military leader of the Mapuche people during the Mapuche uprising in 1598. Pelantaro and his lieutenants Anganamon and Guaiquimilla were credited with the death of the second Spanish Governor of Chile, Martín García Óñez de Loyola, during the Battle of Curalaba on December 21, 1598.
The Battle of Mataquito was fought in the Arauco War on April 30, 1557, between the Spanish forces of the governor, Francisco de Villagra, and Mapuche headed by their toqui Lautaro. It was a dawn surprise attack on Lautaro's fortified camp between a wooded mountain and the shore of the Mataquito River. The battle is notable for ending Mapuche pretensions to expulse the Spanish from Santiago, while also avenging the death of former governeor Pedro de Valdivia who had been killed by Lautaro's warriors four years earlier.
Marshal Pedro Andrés del Alcázar y Rodríguez de Zapata was a Spanish and later Chilean Army officer and hero of the Chilean War of Independence.
The Battle of Píleo was a minor engagement that took place between the forces of the nascent Chilean Army and Spanish royalist guerrillas, in the context of the Total War campaign, during the later stages of the Chilean War of Independence, and resulted in a Royalist victory.
Vicente San Bruno Rovira was a Spanish military officer, infamous for his cruelty during the Chilean War of Independence.
Vicente Benavides Llanos was a Chilean soldier who fought in the Chilean War of Independence.
Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Panama and Royal Governor of Chile.
Luis Muñoz de Guzmán was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as Royal Governor of Quito and Royal Governor of Chile.
Butapichón or Butapichún or Putapichon was the Mapuche toqui from 1625 to 1631, as successor to Lientur. After the death of Quepuantú in 1632 he became toqui once again from 1632 to 1634.
The occupation of Lima by the Chilean Army in 1881-1883 was an event in the land campaign phase of the War of the Pacific (1879-1883).
Anganamón, also known as Ancanamon or Ancanamun, was a prominent war leader of the Mapuche during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and a Toqui from. Anganamón was known for his tactical innovation of mounting his infantry to keep up with his cavalry.
The following lists events that happened during 1820 in Chile.