Rufino Carrasco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 10, 1817 Talina, Potosí Department, Bolivia |
| Died | 1891 |
| Allegiance |  Bolivia |
| Branch |  Bolivian Army |
| Years of service | 1829 — 1883 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel [1] |
| Battles/wars | Peruvian-Bolivian War of 1841-1842 |
Rufino Carrasco (1817-1891) was a Bolivian Lieutenant Colonel who was notable for his service at the Battle of Tambillo of the War of the Pacific.
Rufino was born as the son of Manuel Carrasco, sergeant major of the Guides Squadron, he joined the Bolivian Army at a young age, during the Government of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz. He participated in the conflicts of Humahuaca, Iruya, Montenegro and in the famous Battle of Ingavi. In February 1875 he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of Cochabamba. [2] [3] Subsequently, the National Senate, on the proposal of the Executive and Legislative Resolution of November 1, 1888, amounted to Rufino Carrasco to the degree of brigadier general of the Bolivian Army.
Currently, his remains were found in the cemetery of Oruro. [4]
Carrasco's participation in the contest between Peru and Bolivia against Chile is little known. However, it is known that thanks to him Bolivia won one of the few battles against the Chilean Army. [5] [6]
On December 6, 1879, 70 chicheños snipers defeated 24 Chileans in the Tambillo gorge. The Chilean troops were preparing to enter Oruro and Potosí to cut supplies from Sucre. [7]
After the defeat, which left 9 dead and 11 wounded in the Grenadiers of Chile; Carrasco's men obtained 11 prisoners and a booty of 18 Winchester rifles, 14 swords, 16 beasts, and countless mounts, belts, and ammunition.
Carrasco's bravery, which was overshadowed despite his victory at Tambillo, is opposed to the performance of Narciso Campero. Campero was at the head of the Bolivian Fifth Division, of which Rufino was a colonel. After the Battle Tambillo was won, Carrasco raised the Bolivian flag in Atacama and waited for reinforcements that never arrived:
It is extremely strange to me that General (Narciso) Campero (...) after entrusting me with such a difficult expedition, launching me with only 70 men until I was within eight leagues where considerable enemy forces are, have not sent forces to support us. We, resolved to sacrifice ourselves for the homeland, we do not omit any means of doing so, but for any failure that may arise in the future, you and only you will be responsible to the Bolivian people, "wrote the colonel, in a letter sent to the Headquarters of the State. Bolivian major.
Those were the words of Carrasco, who ended up vacating Atacama due to the lack of reinforcements.
A year later, in 1880, Rufino Carrasco published a Manifesto on the expedition of the Bolivian coast, in which he gives an account of his participation in the conflict. This document was published in 2016, in a facsimile edition, by the Ministry of Defense of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. [8]
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Andrés Avelino Cáceres Dorregaray served as the President of Peru two times during the 19th century, from 1886 to 1890 as the 27th President of Peru, and again from 1894 to 1895 as the 30th President of Peru. In Peru, he is considered a national hero for leading the resistance to Chilean occupation during the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), where he fought as a General in the Peruvian Army.
Narciso Campero Leyes was a Bolivian general and politician who served as the 20th president of Bolivia from 1880 to 1884. The Narciso Campero Province was named after him.
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The Battle of Tacna, also known as the Battle of the Peak of the Alliance, effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian alliance against Chile, forged by a secret treaty signed in 1873. On May 26, 1880, the Chilean Northern Operations Army led by General Manuel Baquedano González, conclusively defeated the combined armies of Peru and Bolivia commanded by Bolivian President, General Narciso Campero. The battle took place at the Inti Urqu (Intiorko) hill plateau, a few miles north of the Peruvian city of Tacna. As a result, Bolivia was knocked out of the war, leaving Peru to fight the rest of the war alone. Also, this victory consolidated the Chilean domain over the Tarapacá Department. The territory was definitively annexed to Chile after the signing of the Tratado de Ancón, in 1884, which ended the war. Tacna itself remained under Chilean control until 1929.
The Tacna and Arica campaign is known as the stage of the War of the Pacific after the Chilean conquest of the Peruvian department of Tarapacá, ending with Chilean domination of the Moquegua department in southern Peru. During this campaign Bolivia retired from the war after the Battle of Tacna, and Peru lost the port of Arica. Also, Manuel Baquedano assumed command as the new Commander in Chief of the Chilean Army, and the Allied Presidents were thrown out of office and replaced by Nicolas de Pierola in Peru and General Narciso Campero in Bolivia.
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The Battle of Tambillo was a battle of the War of the Pacific that occurred on December 6, 1879, between the Bolivian 5th Division under the command of Colonel Rufino Carrasco and the Chilean garrison stationed at the town commanded by Lieutenant Emilio Ferreira.
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Quintín Quevedo Ferrari was a Bolivian military officer who rose to prominence after aiding Mariano Melgarejo in the overthrow of President José María de Achá in 1864. He was also a famous and early explorer of the Bolivian Amazon, exploring the Madeira River and the Beni savannah frontier. In 1872 he launched an invasion from Valparaíso, Chile, resulting in an international crisis which is believed to have led to a secret alliance treaty between Peru and Bolivia against Chile. Said alliance became effective with the Chilean occupation of Antofagasta and the Bolivian Litoral Department, leading to the War of the Pacific.
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Carlos Manuel de Villegas was a Bolivian military officer and veteran of the War of the Pacific. He was influential during the Bolivian Civil War of 1898–1899, siding with the Liberals and serving under José Manuel Pando. He held various positions in the Bolivian Army and had an unceremonious end to his career after accusations of treason were spread by his detractors. He was the son of General Carlos de Villegas, a Bolivian Minister of War.
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