The Battle of Torata is part of the

Peruvian War of Independence The Peruvian War of Independence () was a series of military conflicts in Peru from 1809 to 1826 that resulted in the country's independence from the Spanish Empire. Part of the broader Spanish American wars of independence, it led to the dis ...

, which occurred on 19 January 1823 on the heights around Torata (town located northeast of

Moquegua Moquegua (, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Department of Moquegua, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Prov ...

) between the Liberation Army of Peru, under command of Argentinean General

Rudecindo Alvarado Rudecindo Alvarado (March 1, 1792 – June 22, 1872) was an Argentine general. He fought in the military campaigns of Manuel Belgrano, and in the Army of the Andes. He was governor of Mendoza. He left the country during the rule of Juan Manuel ...

, and

Royal Army of Peru The Royal Army of Peru (), also known as the National Army (), was the army organised by the viceroy of Peru, José Fernando de Abascal, to protect the Hispanic Monarchy in the Viceroyalty of Peru—and its surrounding provinces of Charcas, Ch ...

under Gen. Brigadier Jerónimo Valdés and culminated with the defeat of Patriots whose army would be almost completely destroyed two days later at the Battle of Moquegua with support of General

José de Canterac César José de Canterac Orlic y Donesan (July 29, 1786, Casteljaloux, Lot-et-Garone, France – January 18, 1835, Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish general of French origin who fought in the Spanish American wars of independence. In 1816 he join ...

The battle

After José de San Martín had abandoned Peru in September 1822, command of the United Peruvian army fell to General

, under whose command the United army was ordered to defeat the bulk of the Royalist troops that were still intact in the south and the country's mountains. The first goal was to take the remaining ports under Spanish control, intermediate between

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

and

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...

. Therefore this expedition was called the First Intermediate Campaign. In the first days of October, Alvarado's expedition, composed of approximately 4,300 troops and 10 pieces of artillery, sailed from

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

and on 6 December, it landed in

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

. Spanish Viceroy

José de la Serna José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, located in

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

, ordered Brigadier

Gerónimo Valdés Geronimo (1829–1909) was a Chiricahua Apache leader. Geronimo may also refer to: Places in the United States * Geronimo, Arizona * Geronimo, Oklahoma, a town * Geronimo, Texas, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Gero ...

to immediately march to

to take command of the troops stationed there, and attack the army of Alvarado. Both armies met at Torata and the battle ended in a defeat for the Patriots, mainly because of dissensions between the officers and a lack of discipline amongst the troops.Memoirs of general Miller, in the service of the republic of Peru,1828. Volumen 2,Chap XVII,p 20
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References

Torata Torata January 1823 1823 in Peru Conflicts in 1823 History of the Department of Moquegua {{Spain-battle-stub