Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
chased by the provincial government. The
cavalry was predominantly
mestizo
(of mixed
Spanish/Indian descent), while officers were
Spanish and
criollos
(Argentine-born Spanish).
They were joined by exiled Chileans led by Gen-
eral Bernardo O'Higgins, who had been
defeated by the Spanish in 1814 at the Battle of
Rancagua.
In September, 1816 San Martín met with the
Pehuenche Indians at a camp 30 leagues south
of Mendoza to request their permission to lead
his army across their territory in order to
attack the Spanish from the south. However,
this was far from his real intention. In one of
the most daring and best orchestrated feats in
military history, San Martín led his troops
(which numbered well over 4,000), heavy artil-
lery and all, across some of the highest peaks in
the Andes into Chile. Taking the Spanish by
surprise, he defeated them in the
Battle of
Chacabuco
in February of 1817. This smash-
ing victory marked a change in the balance of
power in the war which would culminate with
the surrender of the Spanish forces in April
1818 at the Battle of Maipú, and the creation of
the independent nation of Chile. San Martín
would use Chile as his base of operations until
1821 when, in the last phase of the War of Inde-
pendence, he drove the Spanish from Peru.
Unfortunately, even San Martín's military
prowess could not safeguard the city of
Mendoza against a natural disaster. At dusk on
March 20, 1861, Holy Thursday, a major earth-
