Battle of Clarines
| Battle of Clarines | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Venezuelan War of Independence | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Third Republic of Venezuela |
 Spanish Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Simón Bolívar Juan Bautista Arismendi |
Francisco Jiménez José María Chaurán Chief Chauràn | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 800-1600 soldiers |
~550 soldiers ~330 native archers +10 horsemen | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~900 | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Clarines (Spanish: Batalla de Clarines) was a battle in the Venezuelan War of Independence. Royalist forces attacked a north-bound force from the Third Republic of Venezuela near the town of Clarines. The outnumbered and poorly armed Royalists secured a victory against the Patriot rebels.
Background
After arriving from Port-au-Prince, revolutionaries Simón Bolívar and Juan Bautista Arismendi gathered a force of 700 soldiers at Margarita Island for a new campaign to take the city of Caracas.[citation needed]
Battle
On 9 January 1817, 10 days after Bolívar's and Arismendi's arrival in mainland Venezuela, the force, which had been bolstered with 900 more soldiers, was on the way to Puerto Píritu.[citation needed] It was there that they were attacked by a force from an entrenched Royalist position near the Unare River. The group had around 890 soldiers, including 330 native archers and 10 horsemen. During the course of battle, a native force, led by the Chief of Clarines,[citation needed] travelled from the south and surprised the Patriot forces. This outflanking caused the Patriot forces to be massacred.[1] Many survivors were driven into the forest, where they drowned or were later captured and executed.[2] In all, around 900 Patriot forces were killed.[1][3][4]
The battle was a major loss for the Patriot forces. Few survived the battle, including Bolívar, Arismendi, and five more officers.[3]
Aftermath
Bolívar and Arismendi fled to Barcelona by way of mule, with Bolívar moving into Guyana to reorganize the Patriot army and prepare for the Second Battle of Angostura.[3]
References
- ^ a b "09 DE ENERO 1817 BATALLA DE CLARINES". CAVIM (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ Gerdler, Yesimar (9 January 2020). "09 de enero: 203 años de la Batalla de Clarines". Televen (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 January 2023.
- ^ a b c Díaz, José Domingo (1829). Recuerdos sobre la rebelion de Caracas (in Spanish). L. Amarita.
- ^ Petre, Francis Loraine (1910). Simon Bolivar "El Libertador": A Life of the Chief Leader in the Revolt Against Spain in Venezuela, New Granada & Peru. J. Lane.