MILITA RY ASPECTSO F TH f BAMO r~ .·C. MO·RA· LES Militar,y aspects of the life of Simon Bolivar, The Liberator, by Capt R. C. ~'.' Morales, Venezuelan Amy. Command and f,"',",,,~t' .. ,.',' General Staff College. 31 May 49. {Jj T is Docnment • IS A HOLDING OF THE , ARCHIVES SECTDON "­ LIBRARY SERVICES FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS ~ DOCUMENT NO. N~25~.190 COpy NO. ~__ CGSC Form 160 Al'ffiy-CGSC-P2-1798-7 Mar 52-5M 13 Mal' 51 MILITARY ASPECTS OF THE yn OF SIMON ]30LIVAli, THE LIBEHATOR RAMON C MORALES Captain, Venezuelan Army (Translated into English by Captain Robert 0 Barraza) EITLITABY ASPECTS OF THE LIFE OF Sll~ON BOLIVAR, THE LIBERATOR Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, was born in Caracas on 24 July 1783. His parents were Don Ped.ro Balivar and Dona Maria d~ la Concepcion Pala­ cios y Blanco •. Among his professors were Don Andres, Bello and Don Simon Rodrig1.1.e~, the latter being the one who influenced ,Bolivar's life the most by incul­ eating in him at an early age the ideals of the Emancipation of America. At the age of 16, he traveled to Spain 1Jvhere he met his cousin, Maria Teresa del Taro y Alayza, whom he married in Madrid. After his marriage he returned to Venezuela where his wife died seven months later, a tragedy that considerably afflicted Boliv8x.. In order to mitigate his sorrow, Bolivar returned to Europe. In Vienna he ran into his 010. professor, tlffr Rodriguez, who advised him to participate in recreation extensively• Tvvo months later Rodrig1J.ez called him and they both took off on a trip to Italy .. In Rome, at Monte Aventino, Bolivar swore to dedicate his life to the independence of his country .. On 2 April 1810, being a Lieutenant in the Infantry Be.ttalion of the Milltia of Aragua, Bolival:" participated in a conspira.cy to depose Captain General Don Vicente Napar2~. The conspiracy was discovered and Bolivar was imprisoned but, thanks to the intervention of the marquese from Toro, was only confined to his possessions of Aragua as a punish­ ment .. About that time, Spain had been inv~ded by Napoleon Bonaparte. On 18 April 1810, a ship docked at La Guaira with the news that the vn101e Peninsula had fallen to the French except Cadiz and the island of Leon where a council of regents had been established. The Pueblo of Caracas decided to take advantage of these circn.1L1­ stances in order to depose the Spanish Captain-General, who on the very neA~ day (19 April 1810) resigned after receiving pressure from the people and from a group of enthusiastic Revolutionaries, among whom out­ sho~~ Bishop Jose Cortes de Madariaga. The date of 19 April 1810 remained in this manner stamped in the history of Venezuela as the first foothold tOiJ\iards Independence, v!hich, ll1 order to consolidate itself, had to cost the nation. eleven long years of war and a great ntwlber of sacrificese From 19 April on, the Municipal Government constituted itself as the governm.ent, with the na.me of Junta Suprema Conservadora de los dere­ chos de Fernando VII (Conservative Suprt:me Board of the Rights of Ferdinand VII)" The Supreme Board saw fit to send diplomats to the. Antilles, the United States and England in order to obtain moral. and 4naterial support. for her government. Bolivar "uletS designated to go to England, and realiz­ ing his longed-for dream, recommended that General Francisco de Miranda':J ii'l turn, be relieved from his position and be sent. back to Venezuela .. Miranda was one of the forerunners of the Venezuelan Independence~ Miranda, upon returning fl"om Europe, was elected President of the nSociedad Patriotica,n of which Bolivar was also a member" This club was a political club, similar to the Jacobins Club of France, -which de­ fended with audaclty the sacred principles of liberty and equalit:y-, and which -worked intensely in favor of the declaration of independence 011 the part of Congress~ The effort.s of the uSociedad Patrlot.icau \;7ere revv-arded v:Tith great success when the Decla~ation of Independence was signed in a solerm1 8es­ sian of Congress on 5 July 18110 The constitution, inspired by that of .. the United StatesJ 1,iJas decreed ar.td signed on 21 December 1811. Colonel Bolivar, duri.ng J'L1.1y 1812, 'Nas defending the Plaza de Pu.ert/o Cabello from attacks launched tif Spanish Captain Domingo Monteverde, who had invaded thro1,.1.gh the Px'ovmce of Coro; Balivar was forced to abandon the city due to the treacher.t of a milltia officer, Francisco Hernandez Vinani. In late July 1812, after General Miranda had signed a capitulation with Monteverde, and dtu~ing the latter's advance into Caracas, :Miranda -2= was in La Guaira making arrangements to go abroad. Hearing r1.1.1nors in this city that General Miranda had capitulated with Monteverde for money, Colonel Simon Bolivar, accompanied troY four patriots, had Miranda imprisoned by order of Colonel Manuel Maria Casas,Military Commandant of the port. Casas later turned Miranda over to Monteverde. History has erased the misconduct of Miranda and has freed him from all blame and has fixed the censure of his imprisonment_to the dimness and dis­ concert which the'fortUllate victory of Monteverde produced in the spirits of the Republicans. The year of 1812 signified to Vene~lela the sad date when the first Republic was lost. After this loss, Bolivar was able to embark to Cura­ zao, thanks to the intervention of his generous Spanish friend, Don Francisco Iturbe. Bolivar went from Curazaoto Cartagena, where he offered his ser­ vices to the Republican government of this city. - This government com­ missioned him so that he could rid the province of Loyalists, which he accomplished in a short time later. From Cartagena, Bolivax wen;t to P8~plona, where after a few militar,y victories against Spanish Briga­ dier General Correa Bolivar was promoted to Brigadier and given comraand of the Division of Cucuta. After this action, Bolivar asked the Congress of Nueva Granada, which was in session at Tlmja, for permission to invade Vene'zuela. It was conceded to him. and immediately he initiated such a bold undertaking with a force of only 500 men. This campaign, which history meritoriously classified as "admirable,n lasted for three months, during which time 1400 kIns were scaled, many field battles were vron, and culminated in General Bolivar's triu~phal entry into Oaracas. -On 14 October 1813, the municipality of Caracas acclaimed Bolivar as Captain-General of the Army and conceded him the title of uLiberator." In early 1814, ~ new danger was threatening the Republic -- Spanish General Jose Tomas Boves had appointed himself as the leader of the Vene­ zuelan plainsmen and was trying to advance on Caracas with a force of -5­ 3,000 Infantrymen -and 5,000 Cavalrymen. The patriot army tried to put up resistance at Valencia, La Puerta and La Victoria, but it was all useless against the great advance of -- Boves' plainsmen. Boliyar himself directed the action at l.a Puerta on 14 June 1814 but was defeated by the Spanish leader. On 4 July, the city of Valencia capitulated. From this moment on, the situation of the Republic reverted to being desperate. again. The Liberator thought of organizing the defense of Caracas, but changed his mind upon finding out that all the-western area ·was under the Royalist Forces. It was necessary to organize a resistance movement in the eastern provinces. On 6 Ju~ 1814, Bolivar started his withdrawal towards the East. A great number of emigrant families from Caracas followed this patriot army to escape the atrocities being committed by Boves' troops. This withdrawal remains knov~n as the "Emigration" in Venezuelan history. Let us quote a description frOll the Venezuelan historian Baralt: UHtU1ger, sickness, the harmful beasts of the forests, and the lead from the eneIDY", in competition they preyed upon their victims. The families that reached the East suffered as much as the troops and with them died and disbanded them­ selves. Some lived a life of extreme poverty in the foreign acred colonies and even though they later produced better days for Venezuela, few celebrated their venture and could turn again to the blue skies of their COUl1try. This impru­ dent immigration. cost Caracas more habitants than the earth­ quake of 26 March 1812." Boves ordered General Morales to pursue Bolivax. He caught up with him at Aragua de Barcelona where unfortunately the patriot army s1..1.ffered 4,700 casualties. The Liberator went from Barcelona to Carupano, where his authority was intentionally not recognized by the Republican leaders, Manuel Piax and Jose Feliz Ribas, causing him to embark to Cartagena. These disastrous events of the year 1814 marked the loss of the second Republic. Bolivar went from Cartagena to Tunja, where he informed the Congress of Granada about his actions. Congress entrusted him the mission of re­ ducing the city of Bogota, which he -accomplished bjt 12 December 1814. The government immediately fixed its seat of government in the city and ordered Bolivar to go dovID on the Magdalena River and reduce the Province -4­ of Santa Marte.• Ferdinand VII recuperated his throne on 22 March 1814 in accordance with the Valencey Treaty. His first worry was to re-establish defini-tely the Spanish Predominance in America. With this in mind, he sent an expe­ dition of 15,000 men and 65 transports to Venezuela, conunanded by Lieuten­ ant General Don Pablo Morillo.