On 9 December 1824, on the Pampa de la Quinua near Ayacucho in the Peruvian Andes, General Antonio José de Sucre's patriot army defeated the larger royalist army of Viceroy José de la Serna. The wounded viceroy was taken prisoner, and the same day his generals signed a capitulation that ended Spanish rule in Peru.
Battle of Ayacucho
9 December 1824 · 201 years ago
The last royal army
Sucre, Simón Bolívar's chief lieutenant, commanded a patriot army of Peruvian and Colombian troops. Britannica puts it at about 6,000 men against about 9,000 royalists; Sherwell gives fewer than 6,000 against more than 9,000, and the Peruvian army historians quoted by El Peruano give 5,780 or 6,775 patriots against about 9,300 royalists.1
The royalists took position on the hill of Condorcunca above the plain, with Canterac, Valdés and Monet among the viceroy's generals. Before the fighting began, many officers and men crossed between the lines to embrace friends and relatives on the other side.2
The battle
The royalists attacked down the hill. On the patriot left, La Mar's Peruvian division held off Valdés, and on the right the Colombian general José María Córdoba led his division forward and broke the royalist line. His order is remembered in different words: Lieutenant Jaime Taype, quoted by El Peruano, gives it as “Soldiers! Arms at will! The step of victors!”, while Sherwell renders it as “Colombians, use your weapons at your own will. Advance to conquer!”.3
La Serna, wounded, was taken prisoner, and with him Canterac, Valdés and a long list of generals and officers. Sherwell counts more than 2,000 rank and file and fourteen guns taken; El Peruano gives 3,200 soldiers taken prisoner, besides the officers.4
The capitulation
With the viceroy a prisoner, Canterac took command and went to Sucre to negotiate, and the capitulation was signed by Sucre and Canterac on 9 December. The royalist forces were to leave Peru and Upper Peru, today Bolivia, and the garrisons there surrendered in the weeks that followed. Only the fortress of Callao, the port of Lima, held out, until January 1826.5
Also on this day
Battle of Reading
9 December 1688 · 337 years ago
Dutch dragoons of William of Orange under Hans Bentinck, helped by townspeople, attacked an Irish Army detachment loyal to James II in Reading during the 1688 invasion of England. The king's men were driven out in one of the few real battles of the Glorious Revolution.
